Sophia Fresh was an American
R&B girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
comprising three members, Skye,
Crystal Tamar, and Cole Rose. The trio was set to release their debut album with executive producer
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
before disbanding in 2012.
Music career
The group was originally called Gyrlfriend and consisted of members Chelle, Skye, Cole Rose and Jade Johnson. The group signed their first major deal with
J Records
J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...
in 2005; however, the group eventually disbanded. Skye and Cole Rose then joined with Crystal to form Sophia Fresh. The girls decided on the name Sophia Fresh because it was "a reflection of three southern girls in one, united by hip hop".
In 2008, the group's manager took them to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
and introduced them to singer/producer
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
. According to Cole Rose, "they took us to T-Pain, he loved us and the rest is history". T-Pain signed the trio as one of the first acts to his Atlantic imprint,
Nappy Boy Entertainment. The group began recording their debut album with T-Pain, and were allowed the creative freedom to record their "very high energy, very edgy and funky" music. The group said that with J Records, "they had us in like a safe lane", but when recording with T-Pain, "we're free to be Sophia Fresh. We're free to do whatever - express ourselves. That's T-Pain. He talks about what he feels and that's what we're gonna do."
Sophia Fresh have confirmed that T-Pain will be "heavily involved" in the production of their album". For the album, the trio promised, "energy, expect fun, and expect the real because that's what we're talking about - just real situations. Expect to laugh, expect to cry... expect everything. We're three different girls with three different personalities and we're all showcase."
T-Pain described Sophia Fresh as "a contemporary
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
". Despite Nappy Boy Entertainment being a digital label, T-Pain said that they would still release physical albums.
Sophia Fresh debuted their first song, "Lives In Da Club", on the soundtrack ''
Step Up 2: The Streets'', which was released in February 2008.
In November 2008, Sophia Fresh released their debut single, "What It Is", featuring
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
. Singer
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
praised the song, exclaiming, "I fell in love with it. I almost wish the song was mine. It's really, really incredible. There's no genre for it. The melody is very pop, but the beat is really gutter. It's a heavy hip-hop beat." Another Sophia Fresh track, "This Instant" featuring T-Pain, was selected to appear on the ''
Step Up 3D'' soundtrack.
The group made various cameos in T-Pain videos, mostly from the 2008 Three Ringz album, including "Can't Believe It" and "Chopped 'n' Screwed." They trio can also be seen briefly in
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
's 2010 video for "All I Do Is Win" alongside rappers
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
and
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
.
Sophia Fresh played Leacosia, Toprameneesha, Obamaniqua, and Suzie in the 2010
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
TV movie ''
Freaknik: The Musical''.
Discography
Albums
*''Sophia Fresh'' (Unreleased)
Mixtapes
*''So Phreakin' Fresh'' (Nov. 04, 2008)
*''T-Pain Presents: Nappy Boy All Stars, Vol. 1'' (2010)
Singles
*2008: "Superbad"
(feat. T-Pain & Cee-Lo Green
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway-Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green or simply Cee-Lo), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Green came to initial pr ...
)
*2008: "What It Is"
(feat. Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
)
*2008: "Lives In Da Club"
(feat. Jay Lyriq)
*2009: "Do The Dance"
*2009: "It's So Easy"
(feat. T-Pain)
*2010: "This Instant"
(feat. T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
)
*2012: "Love (What Did I Do)"
References
External links
Sophia Fresh official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophia Fresh
American girl groups
American rhythm and blues musical groups