Shareese Renée Ballard, known professionally as Res ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and musician from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Career

Solo career

Res released her debut album, '' How I Do'', in 2001 along with its first single "Golden Boys." Despite heavy rotation on VH1, the song did not catch on in radio play. "Ice King" (Remixed by Nas) emerged as the second single later that year but also failed to break through with radio audiences and no video was filmed. In early 2002, Res released the third single from ''How I Do'', " They-Say Vision." The song and accompanying video were breakthrough hits and reached #1 on the Billboard Dance chart and #37 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. With the chart success of the single, the album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 for the first time. A fourth single, "Sittin' Back," was also released but did not enjoy the same success as "They-Say Vision." Meanwhile, in 2002, Res appeared on a track with Tony Allen, Ray Lema, Baaba Maal, Positive Black Soul and Archie Shepp for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album '' Red Hot and Riot'', a tribute to Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Res also performed a cover of

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight RIAA certification, gold or Music rec ...

song, "Miracles" for the

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

movie '' Maid in Manhattan''. In 2003, her record label, MCA Records, was phased out by MCA Inc. and absorbed by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. Res was later released from her contract at her request after the label refused to release any further work despite paying her contracted label salary. After parting ways with Geffen, Res was called upon to model for Marc Ecko's "Ecko Red" clothing line and appeared in print advertising. In 2006, Res recorded "To Empower" for the soundtrack of the drama film '' Akeelah and the Bee''. She joined Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere tour providing supporting vocals while writing and recording material for her second album. In 2009, Res released her second album ''Black.Girls.Rock!'' through digital media available on iTunes. The album features tracks originally recorded for her shelved Geffen album. ''Black.Girls.Rock!'' is described by Res as "more of a singer/songwriters album than my debut. Great, classic songs!" Res funded a limited production run of vinyl pressings. On February 14, 2011, Res released a compilation of unreleased demos and remixed songs titled ''A Box of Chocolates'' after the '' Forrest Gump'' quote. The digital-only album is mixed by DJ NI** Sky (Nicole Albino of Nina Sky) and features a blend of music from multiple genres of music. The album was intended as a

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

gift to her fans as they awaited a proper release of ''Black.Girls.Rock!''. In 2013, Res signed with Javotti Media/EOne Records and her third studio album, 'Reset', was scheduled to be released on September 15, 2016. As of June 2018, the album had not been released, but an Indigogo campaign for the album had raised $39,000.

Idle Warship

In 2009, Res joined long-time collaborator and emcee Talib Kweli to form a

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

/ electro duo known as Idle Warship. They released a few teaser tracks online including a song named "Steady", that borrows from " Sunglasses At Night" by Corey Hart. In June 2009, Idle Warship completed their first headlining tour through Europe. They performed to sold-out crowds in Switzerland, Norway, France and Germany. Idle Warship has produced a mixtape called ''Party Robots'' made available for download in October 2010 on Res' official site. Their debut album, '' Habits of the Heart'', was released on November 1, 2011. The first single from this debut, "Laser Beams", was produced by

DJ Khalil Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard (born October 16, 1974), professionally known as DJ Khalil, is an American music producer and disc jockey, DJ from Los Angeles. The son of National Basketball Association, NBA player Walt Hazzard, he signed with rapp ...

and The New Royales.

Musical style

Her musical style is a blend of

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

, soul, and rock.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' How I Do'' (2001) *''Black.Girls.Rock!'' (2009) *''How I Do (RESET)'' (2024)

Collaborations

*'' Habits of the Heart'' (with Talib Kweli as Idle Warship) (2011)

Compilations

*''Party Robots Mixtape'' (with Talib Kweli as Idle Warship) (2010) *''A Box of Chocolates'' (2011)

Extended plays

*''ReFried Mac'' (2013)

References

External links

Official websiteBlack.Girls.Rock! Audio Files
{{DEFAULTSORT:Res African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters African-American rock musicians African-American rock singers American contemporary R&B singers American hip-hop singers American soul singers Experimental rock musicians Singers from Philadelphia Living people Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers