We all know New York as the land of dreams and talent and we at Soul Culture will like to introduce you to another star. Born in 1985, singer/songwriter Emily King was raised by Jazz duo Kim and Marion. Blossoming under the musical roof was another singer in the making who went on to receive a Grammy nomination and a record deal.
After leaving school at 16 and starting a string of small gigs in and around New York city, King was on her way to making her first credential mark of her musical career. Mixing her Jazz roots with her contemporary style, he was adored my many during her young years, many of which included HipHop and R&B producer Carl. E “Chucky” Thompson, of Bad Boy Records’ in-house producing team Hitmen.
The spotting led to the producer being responsible for a majority of the tracks that featured on her debut album East Side Story, released in 2007. The album came after a couple of years (record deal was penned in 2004) of King’s first meeting with music mogul Clive Davis and official signing to J Records/Sony Music.
Creating a buzz before the album release, the singer placed five tracks taken from the album a year prior to the official date on her East Side Story Sampler EP – handed out to fans during various tours and performances. Well received by the music world, several opportunities followed leading to the singer touring with the likes of British R&B/Neo-Soul duo Floetry and Grammy award winning singer John Legend.
East Side Story (featuring Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco on lead single “Walk In My Shoes”) went on to gain the singer her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B album of the year in 2007.
Now with four more years added to her solo career, Emily King has had the pleasure of supporting the likes of Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu, Gnarls Barkley and Chaka Khan on tour. Not keeping loyal listeners and new fans of her out on a lurch, King began to work on her sophomore release.
Moving away from the label in 2008 and continuing to work independently, Emily King displays her own unique style on the follow-up Seven EP, released in December 2011. Her once contemporary R&B sound moved into a more crisp and stripped back style, revealing her raw voice.
Created in her very own room, Seven successfully combines her love for Jazz, R&B, Soul and Rock. The seven-track EP has seen a great response from all across the world including BBC Radio 1’s Gilles Peterson, who described her “one of the best songwriters around at the moment.”
Emily King has gone on to tour in support of her project and joined Maroon 5 on their European Tour in October last year. Whilst there’s no news on her new material as yet, the sounds of what is already out it will be worth the wait.
Emily King Online: Official Website / Twitter / Facebook
Reply