Teedra Shenita Moses (born December 17, 1976) is an American R&B and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer-songwriter.

Early life

Moses was born and raised in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. She later moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with her mother and three siblings after her parents separated. Her childhood has been a direct influence on her musical style, her mother was a gospel singer and she was raised on

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. Moses recalls wanting to listen to the music that was then being played on the radio, but her mother made her listen to gospel. The final song on her debut album, "I Think of You (Shirley's Song)", is dedicated to her late mother.

Career

Prior to becoming a recording artist, Moses worked as an assistant wardrobe stylist alongside her best friend Nonja McKenzie for artists such as

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

, R. Kelly and

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...

. But after breaking her leg on a video set, Moses decided to follow her heart and make music. Moses teamed up with producer Paul Poli and signed with the Indie Record Label,

TVT Records TVT Records, originally Tee-Vee Toons, was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb in 1984. Initially created to release the '' Television's Greatest Hits'' series of classic TV theme tune compilations, the label would expand into ra ...

to release her debut album '' Complex Simplicity'' in August 2004. Complex Simplicity included fourteen tracks penned by Moses, with dominant production handled by Poli; the two would share a deserved executive production credit. The album underperformed on the major U.S. chart, debuting and peaking at number one hundred and sixty-eight on the Billboard 200. However, the album was critically acclaimed, otherwise finding success on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the Top Independent Albums, and the Top Heatseekers charts, reaching number twenty, number eleven, and number ten, respectively. It is now considered a cult classic. In addition to executive producing and penning all the lyrics on her own project, Moses has written songs for other artists including Nivea, Christina Milian, Mary J. Blige and others. She was featured on and co-wrote two songs from

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...

's 2004 album '' Ray Ray'', "Chic" and "I Want You Back". Her songs have been showcased in the Logo series '' Noah's Arc'' as well as in the HBO hit show Entourage, and in movies such as Never Die Alone, Beauty Shop, and Be Cool. Though Moses had not released a studio album in several years, she could be found touring and doing live shows on a regular basis. From March to November 2010 Moses was a spokesmodel on the Lady Hennessy Tour. In addition, Moses continued to release underground, all-original mixtapes for her fans to enjoy while she awaited a new label deal that was necessitated by the

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

filed by the now defunct

in 2008.

2011–present

On March 25, 2011, it was announced that Moses had signed to rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

Maybach Music Group Maybach Music Group (; abbreviated MMG) is a record label founded by American rapper Rick Ross in 2008. An imprint of gamma. since 2023, the label was previously an imprint of Def Jam Recordings (2009–2011), Warner Records (2011–2012) and ...

via

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

as its first female artist. In 2011, Moses released the ''Luxurious Undergrind'' mixtape. In February 2014, Moses released the single "All I Ever Wanted," which samples

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

's 1980 song " Adventures in the Land of Music". The song was released as the lead single from her EP ''Cognac & Conversation'', which is co-executive produced by Rick Ross and

. In December 2014, it was reported that Moses signed to Shanachie Records after the ill-fated alliance with Maybach Music Group. Moses revealed singer Avery Sunshine was the reason why she signed with the label, due to the success that Sunshine is having while being on Shanachie's roster. On August 8, 2015, finally second album '' Cognac & Conversation'' was released.

Songwriting style

When writing songs, Moses prefers to do so alone in her own space. Commenting on this Moses said; "I hate to admit it because it sounds so weird, but I don't like other energies around me. I need to be alone, in my own space, with just me and my music so I can be honest with whatever I feel from the music; otherwise I'm just giving something from the surface." Moses also tries to always be honest with her lyrical content noting it as important to her, expanding on this Moses commented saying "If I'm honest with people, then people will feel that. And that's been my experience so far, just being frank about my feelings about life, and my experiences in life and love. I think me being honest like that is why I've gained sincere fans. From here to America, sincere people who really dig me, that can quote lyrics."

Songwriting credits

*2001: "Still in Love" — from

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG, who also makes the Eucerin brand. ''Nivea'' comes from the Latin adjective ''ni ...

's album ''

'' *2004: " Dip It Low" — from

Christina Milian Christina Milian ( , Flores; born September 26, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Following a number of minor television and film roles in the late nineties, Milian made her recording debut on American rapper Ja Rule's 20 ...

's album '' It's About Time'' *2004: '' Complex Simplicity'' – debut album entirely written by Teedra Moses *2004: "Chic" and "I Want You Back" – from

's album ''Raphael Saadiq As Ray Ray'' *2005: "Get Up on Ya Gangsta" — from

Teairra Marí Teairra Marí Thomas (born December 2, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress from Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 16, she signed with Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records to release her debut studio ...

's album '' Roc-A-Fella Presents: Teairra Marí'' *2006: " Here We Go" — from

Trina Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...

's album ''

Glamorest Life ''Glamorest Life'' is the third studio album by American rapper Trina. It was released on October 4, 2005, through Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic Records. The recording sessions took place at Studio Center, The Record Room and Circle House Studios in Miam ...

'' *2006: "So Lady" — from the Japanese and international edition of

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

's album ''

The Breakthrough ''The Breakthrough'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was released by Geffen Records on December 20, 2005. Initially expected to be released in 2006, it switched release dates with Blige's first greatest hits albu ...

'' *2007: " Finally Made Me Happy", "Ghetto Love", and "AEIOU" — from

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...

's album ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

'' *2008: "So Deep So Fast" — leaked track from

's album '' It's About Time'' *2010: "Still Hurts" — from

's album ''The Sellout'' *2014: "The Last Song" — from

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

' album ''3ChordFold Pulse''

Discography

Albums

* '' Complex Simplicity'' (2004) * '' Cognac & Conversation'' (2015)

Mixtapes

* ''The Young Hustla Compilation'' (2004) * ''Young Hustla, Vol II: Live from the Jungle Mixtape'' (2007) * ''Lionhearted – Young Hustla, Vol. III'' (2009) * ''Royal Patience Compilation... A Love Journey'' (2010) * ''Luxurious Undergrind'' (2011) * ''Clair Voyant: The Mixtape'' (2015)

Extended plays

* ''California Vibes'' (2014)

Singles

Collaborations

*2003: "Hot 1" and "I'm That Gangsta" — from

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup The Hrsmn, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is als ...

' album ''Presents Re-Up The Compilation'' *2003: "Realize" — from Bravehearts' album ''Bravehearted'' *2004: "Chic" and "I Want You Back" — from

's album '' Ray Ray'' *2005: "Get High" — from Ambitious' album ''The Intricate Plot'' *2005: "Put That Thang Down" — from

Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). Despite the name, the duo are not twins, brothers or related in any way. They d ...

' album ''U.S.A. (United States of Atlanta)'' *2005: "Here We Go" — from

's album ''

'' (the album features the version with

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

) *2006: "Nothings Gonna Change" and "County Jail" — Scipio *2008: "Get Yours" —

Raheem DeVaughn Raheem DeVaughn (born May 5, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, '' The Love Experience'' (2005), reached No. 46 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His ...

*2009: "Internet Connection" — from Nu Jerzey Karpet's album ''Mr. Red Karpet'' *2010: "World On Wheels" — X.O. aka Scipio *2010: "Turns Me On" — from

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...

's album '' Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty'' *2010: "Magic Touch" — Triflon *2011: "Face The Music" — from Trackademicks' album ''State of the Arts'' *2011: "Self Made", "Rise" & "Running Rebels" — from

's album ''

Self Made Vol. 1 ''Self Made Vol. 1'' is the first compilation album by MMG. The album was released on May 24, 2011, by Maybach Music Group and Warner Bros. Records. It features MMG's new roster additions, Wale, Meek Mill, Teedra Moses, Pill and Stalley along ...

'' *2011: "Me & My Nuh" — from

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record ...

's album '' The Wonder Years (9th Wonder album), The Wonder Years'' *2011: "It's On You" — from the mixtape ''Wing Stop & Cîroc'' hosted by DJ Scream & DJ Sam Sneak *2011: "I Wish I Could Fly" — from Fiend's mixtape ''Smokin' Champagne'' *2012: "Go Get It" — from Torch's mixtape ''UFO Vol. 2'' *2012: "We Fly" — from

's album ''3ChordFold'' *2012: "Amsterdam" — from

' album ''

God Forgives, I Don't ''God Forgives, I Don't'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on July 30, 2012, by Maybach Music Group, Slip-n-Slide Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album was produced by several record producers, includi ...

'' *2012: "Message From The Soul Sisters" — from the compilation ''Soul Finger The Life, Love & Passion Sessions Volume 1'' *2013: "Breathe" — from Donnie Cash's album ''Antithesis of Average'' *2013: "Coupes & Roses" with

Stalley Kyle Alfonso Myricks (born October 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Stalley, is an American Rapping, rapper from Massillon, Ohio. Music career In 2008, Stalley made his mixtape debut, ''Goin Ape'', with Terry Urban. In 2009, he follow ...

— from

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Self Made Vol. 3'' *2014: "Nobody" — from

' album ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...

'' *2014: "The Last Song" — from

' album ''3ChordFold Pulse'' *2015: "Heartbreak" — from Semi Hendrix' (

and

Jack Splash Jack Splash is an American recording artist, musician, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Splash's works have won multiple Grammy's and include writing and production on singles for artists such as Alicia Keys, Kendrick ...

) album ''Breakfast at Banksy's'' *2016: "Entitled" — from Torae's album '' Entitled'' *2016: "Evil Genius" – from

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed We ...

's album '' Do What Thou Wilt.'' *2019: "Culture" – from

Kaytranada Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian music producer, rapper, singer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of m ...

's album '' BUBBA''

Tours

*2004: Seagram's Gin Live *2004: Live in London *2005: Raphael Saadiq As Ray Ray *2007: Heineken Red Star Soul *2008: Turn It Up *2010: Lady Hennessy

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Teedra 1976 births African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Living people American neo soul singers Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Singer-songwriters from Louisiana TVT Records artists 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers