Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, who scored her biggest
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...
Randy Crawford
Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...
's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the first productions by the Norwegian producing team
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen b ...
.
Career
When she was 15, Ama was singing to herself on a platform at Hammersmith tube station, and was overheard by Kwame Kwaten, a producer at the FreakStreet record label. In 1995, an unknown independent label released a single titled "Celebrate", which was a
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
produced by
D'Influence
D'Influence (also D-Influence and D*Influence) is a British production team and acid jazz band. Formerly of The Echo Label, they founded their own label, Freakstreet Records. Original members include Kwame Kwaten, Sarah-Ann Webb, Ed Baden-Powel ...
. Although the single was not a commercial success, it did draw attention to Shola Ama as an artist. On her 16th birthday, she signed a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with WEA.
The single " You're the One I Love" was Ama's first single release for WEA in 1996; it barely made an impact on the charts, only managing to reach No. 85. Her second WEA single, " You Might Need Somebody", remains her biggest hit. This Turley Richards cover reached No. 4 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in April 1997. It remained in the top 40 for almost two months, becoming one of 1997's biggest hits. A re-release of "You're the One I Love" followed in August 1997 and reached No. 3. Her third single "Who's Loving My Baby" was released in November 1997 and reached No. 13. At the age of 18, Shola Ama released her debut album '' Much Love'' (1997).
In May 1997, Ama performed her single "You Might Need Somebody" at Wembley Stadium as part of the build-up to the
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
Challenge Cup Final.
On the success of the album, Ama won a
Brit Award
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsore ...
for Best British Female and two
MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Act.
In 1999, Ama released her second album ''In Return''. The project saw her working with the record producers
Fred Jerkins III
Fred Jerkins III, also known as Uncle Freddie, is an American songwriter and record producer who is best known for his work with his brother Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Jerkins has co-written several hit songs with Rodney Jerkins and LaShawn Dan ...
,
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen b ...
, Shaun Labelle, Full Crew, D-Influence Productions and
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, and rapper, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the group released five studio albums ...
(formerly of
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip ). Co-writers included
Angie Stone
Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990 ...
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
.
Despite having support from her record label, ''In Return'' was a commercial flop. Following this, Ama took a break from recording.
In 2002, Ama went back into the recording studio to record her third album, ''Supersonic''. Unable to obtain a major label deal, she instead formed a distribution deal with
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affil ...
.
In 2004, Ama featured on the track "
You Should Really Know
"I Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American R&B artist Mario Winans featuring rapper P. Diddy and re-recorded background vocals by Enya. The song is based on a sample of the Fugees' song " Ready or Not", which in turn samples the synthesizer riff ...
" by the Pirates, a
response
Response may refer to:
*Call and response (music), musical structure
*Reaction (disambiguation)
*Request–response
**Output (computing), Output or response, the result of telecommunications input
*Response (liturgy), a line answering a versicle
...
in song to
Mario Winans
Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 2004 song " I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Wina ...
' "
I Don't Wanna Know
"I Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American R&B artist Mario Winans featuring rapper P. Diddy and re-recorded background vocals by Enya. The song is based on a sample of the Fugees' song " Ready or Not", which in turn samples the synthesizer rif ...
" which reached No. 8 on the UK chart.
Ama also mentored her sister Sadie Ama, who signed her own recording contract and released "So Sure" (2004) and "Fallin" (2007).
Ama featured as vocalist on the Perempay & Dee single "DJ Play". The song was released in October 2009 and received heavy rotation on the radio. She also featured on one of rapper Giggs' songs, "Cut Above the Rest", and later featured on the bonus disc to his album, ''
Let Em Ave It
''Let Em Ave It'' is the second studio album by English rapper Giggs. The album was released on 21 June 2010 under XL Recordings. It is the follow-up to his debut album '' Walk in da Park'' (2008). The album was supported by four singles — "Sl ...
'', on a song called "Blow Em Away".
In February 2010, Ama joined a new collective group formed by Wiley called
A-List
An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry.
The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industr ...
grime music
Grime is a genre of electronic music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated bre ...
ians
Roll Deep
Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel.
The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, " Good Times" and " Green L ...
,
Mz. Bratt
Cleopatra Humphrey (born 4 November 1988) formerly known by her stage name Mz. Bratt and currently known as Cleo., is an English rapper and neo-soul grime musician.
History
Humphrey was born in Bow, London. Later, she moved to Hainault and st ...
, Wrigley, Margs, Young Kye and Kivanc.
In 2013, Ama narrated on the show ''My Crazy Jamaican Life''.
In October 2015, Ama released a new 8-track EP featuring new reggae influenced tracks titled ''Surreal'' on Necessary Mayhem Records, 13 years after her last album ''Supersonic'' in 2002.
In April 2016, she featured on the album ''System Killer'' by Frisco on the song "Rocket".
Discography
Albums
*'' Much Love'' (1997) - UK No. 6 (gold), FRA No. 21
*'' In Return'' (1999) - UK No. 92 (silver), FRA No. 57
*''Supersonic'' (2002) (Japan only) - FRA No. 126
*''Surreal'' (2015)