Bilal (American singer)

For other uses, see Bilal (disambiguation).

Bilal Oliver
Oliver performing at the Highline Ballroom in New York, 2007.
Background information
Also known as	Bilal
Born	August 23, 1979 (1979-08-23)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Jazz, alternative hip-hop, soul, funk, blues, rock
Occupations	Musician, singer, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Plug Research
Associated acts	The Roots, Soulquarians, Common, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Musiq Soulchild, The Dresden Soul Symphony, J Dilla, Nottz, Dr. Dre
Website	Bilal (American singer) on Twitter

Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born August 23, 1979), better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American jazz/alternative hip hop singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is currently an independent artist residing in New York City. From his wide vocal range, to his genre-bending albums, to his phenomenal live performances, Bilal is a total-package artist who has been well received, both nationally and internationally. He also has an extensive list of collaborations, which includes Common, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Guru, J Dilla, and many more.

Early life

Bilal was born Bilal Sayeed Oliver in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a religiously mixed household, his mother being a devout Christian and his father, a Muslim. He regularly attended church with his mother in a small church that consisted of mostly family members. It was there that Bilal grew an interest in music and singing. His interest in jazz music was fostered by his father, who took him to the city’s clubs. Singing eventually became more than an interest. After attending high school at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts, Bilal moved to New York City and studied at the New School for Social Research. He studied jazz, and his love for music caused him to use a voice as an instrument.

Career

Musical beginnings and debut album: 1999–2002

Bilal began to familiarize himself with the music scene in New York City, meeting big talents such as Common, The Roots, and Erykah Badu. Eventually, he was discovered by Aaron Coleman from the Spin Doctors during an after-school jam session. It was with him that Bilal recorded his demo that landed him a record deal with Interscope.

In 2001, he released his debut album 1st Born Second, which featured contributions from the Soulquarians as well as high profile producers such as Dr. Dre and J Dilla. The album showcased a wide variety, from the emotionally charged fan-favorite Soul Sista, which peaked at #18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, to the political viewpoints of Fast Lane and Second Child. Bilal managed to gain a sizable following and high attendance at his live shows, as well as much acclaim and respect from his peers, many whom noted his range and ability to sing in a freeform style, and his classically trained falsetto. The soulful feel of the album caused Bilal to be labeled as "neo-soul." Bilal stresses that this term does not fit, and throughout his career, his expansion in music and pushing of boundaries proved his point.

In 2002, Bilal contributed to the critically acclaimed Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti, that raised money for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. He collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, and Jorge Ben to remake the famous song by Fela Kuti, "Shuffering and Shmiling," for the CD.

Unreleased album and Airtight's Revenge: 2003–10

In the following years Bilal continued to appear on projects by other artists both high profile and avant garde, while recording and developing his follow-up set to be released on Interscope Records and featuring contributions primarily from producers Dr. Dre and J Dilla (as heard by Dilla himself). These plans proved to be changeable and the final result, Love for Sale, was an album that appeared to be built around Bilal's own musicianship. A forever evolving artist, Bilal switched it up on Love For Sale, which includes live instrumentation and a vibe completely new and different from its predecessor. However, his anticipation was shot down after receiving disapproval from Interscope. Unwilling to start from scratch, Bilal continued to push his LP. However, near the album's completion, the album was leaked in its entirety on the Internet. Interscope shelved the album indefinitely, hinting that it saw little commercial potential in it. The event sent Bilal into a period of distress, and was considering quitting music. However, many fans and music critics expressed their love for his shelved album online, and Bilal began to perform at many shows, practically touring for his unreleased Love For Sale. This gave him the encouragement to go on and record new music.

After nine years without a properly released album, Bilal made a comeback on September 14, 2010 with Airtight's Revenge, a sophomore LP released under independent record label Plug Research. Bilal describes the album as a retrospective album: an album that explores his experiences and things that he's learned since his last release. An experimental album, Airtight's Revenge blends jazz, hip-hop, electronic, rock, soul, and blues into one raw, genuine collection of music. The successor of a soulful love album, the lyrics of Airtight's Revenge focus on a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, religion, the economy, politics, capitalism, and much more. The album received immense, positive feedback from fans and praise from numerous music critics. In 2011, Bilal received a Grammy nomination for the song Little One, a track dedicated to his eldest son, who has Autism. Bilal dedicated his Summer tour to his son, naming it the Little Ones Tour and raising money for autism awareness.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1st Born Second (2001)
• Love for Sale (2006)
• Airtight's Revenge (2010)

Singles

• "Love It"; #61 R&B
• "Soul Sista"; #71 US, #18 R&B
• "Fast Lane; #41 R&B
• "Restart"
• "Little One"
• "Levels"

Appearances

Songs

with Common

• "Funky For You" (Common & Jill Scott) from Like Water for Chocolate
• "Nag Champa (Afrodesiac For The World)" from Like Water for Chocolate
• "The 6th Sense" from Like Water for Chocolate
• "Heaven Somewhere" from Electric Circus
• "Aquarius" from Electric Circus
• "Star69 (PS With Love)" from Electric Circus
• "Faithful" (Common & John Legend) from Be
• "It's Your World/Pop's Reprise" from Be
• "U, Black Maybe" from Finding Forever
• "Misunderstood" from Finding Forever
• "Play Your Cards Right" from Finding Forever

with others

1999

• Grenique [1] on "Let Go", "You Say" and "Love Within" from Black Butterfly

2000

• Guru and J Dilla, on "Certified" from Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul

2001

• Jermaine Dupri on "Supafly" from Instructions
• "Bring 2" on The Wash (soundtrack)

2002

• Scratch (musician), on "Square One" from The Embodiment of Instrumentation
• Talib Kweli on "Waitin' for the DJ" & "Talkin' to You" from Quality
• Da Ranjahz & Ras Kass on "Da Dopest"
• Jaguar Wright on "I Can't Wait" from Denials Delusions and Decisions
• Tweet on "Best Friend" from Southern Hummingbird
• Cherokee, on "A Woman Knows" from Soul Parade
• John Ellis, on "John Brown's Gun", "Nowny Dreams" and "The Lonely Jesus" from Roots, Branches & Leaves

2003

• Beyoncé on "Everything I Do", from the soundtrack of The Fighting Temptations
• Musiq on "Dontstop/Her" from Soulstar

2004

• Boney James's "Better With Time", from Pure
• Robert Glasper on "Maiden Voyage" and "Don't Close Your Eyes" from Mood

2005

• Robert Glasper on "Chant" from Canvas
• Luvpark on "Fade Away" and "Luvtheme" from Luvpark

2006

• Pete Kuzma on "High and Dry" from Exit Music: Radiohead Tribute
• Clipse and Pharrell Williams, on "Nightmares" from Hell Hath No Fury
• A-Alikes on "What You Give" from I Eat You Eat

2007

• Hezekiah on "Looking Up" from I Predict a Riot
• Timbo King & The Last Poets on "Trust Factor" from Spookz Who Kicked Down The Door
• Sa-Ra on "Sweet Sour You" from The Hollywood Recordings
• Jay-Z on "Fallin'" from American Gangster
• The Randy Watson Experience on "Can't Hide Love" from Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire
• Common on "Play Your Cards Right" from Smokin' Aces soundtrack.

2008

• Ghostface Killah & Prodigy of Mobb Deep on "Trials of Life" off an unknown DJ Green Lantern mixtape.
• Erykah Badu on "The Healer","My People","Soldier","Twinkle" & "Master Teacher" from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
• The Game (rapper) on "Cali Sunshine" from LAX
• Solange on "Cosmic Journey" from Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
• M.O.P. on "Get Rich"
• 88-Keys on "M.I.L.F." from The Death of Adam
• Scarface on "Can't Get It Right" from Emeritus
• J Dilla on "Remember"

2009

• Zap Mama on "The Way You Are", from ReCreation
• Shafiq Husayn on "Cheeba" from En' A-Free-Ka (Plug Research)
• Robert Glasper's "All Matter" and "Open Mind" from Double-Booked
• The Terence Blanchard Group's "Journey" and "When Will You Call" from Choices

2010

• Erykah Badu on "Jump In The Air & Stay There" from New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)
• Little Brother and Darien Brockington on "Second Chances" from The Leftback
• Reflection Eternal on "End" from Revolutions per Minute
• Nottz on "Right Here" from You Need This Music
• Diddy – Dirty Money on "Shades feat. Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, James Fauntleroy" from Last Train to Paris

2011

• Daedelus on "Overwhelmed" from Bespoke
• Kindred the Family Soul on "Take a Look Around" from Love Has No Recession
• Stimulus & Chris 'Daddy' Dave on "Full Grown" from 3rd 1st Impression
• Georgia Anne Muldrow on "More & More" from Owed to Mama Rickie
• The Roots on "The OtherSide" from Undun

2012

• Robert Glasper on "Always Shine Ft. Lupe Fiasco" & "Letter to Hermoine" from Black Radio

Tours

• Little One Tour (2011)

External links

• Bilal Online Official site
• Obnoxious Listener's Review of Bilal
• Bilal Fan Group SoulRnB.com
• Bilal at Allmusic
• Bilal on Myspace
• Bilal 2011 Video Interview Soulinterviews.com