Bilal Oliver
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| Bilal Oliver | |
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.jpg) Photo by Jalylah Burrell
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| Background information | |
| Born | 23 August 1979[1] |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Neo soul |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
| Labels | Universal Records |
| Website | [1] |
Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born 21 August 1979)[2], also known by the stage name of just Bilal, is an American "neo soul" and jazz singer, who is also a member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians.
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[edit] Biography
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. The album, while critically lauded, failed to achieve any significant mainstream success, and received limited promotion (although the single "Soul Sista" became fairly popular on late night alternative radio). Despite this, Bilal managed to gain a sizable following and high attendance at his live shows,[3] 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.[4]
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, with many of the tracks produced and written by the artist himself. However, near the album's completion, Interscope delayed the release date, then shelved the album indefinitely, hinting that it saw little commercial potential in it since it had already leaked online in its entirety. Online, many fans and music critics expressed their sadness that what they viewed as a carefully crafted album would be kept from a proper release. Bilal continues to tour and he signed to Plug Research in 2009. [5]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Billboard 200 | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | ||
| 2001 | 1st Born Second | 31 | 10 |
| 2006 | "Love for Sale" | - | - |
| 2010 | "Air Tight's Revenge" | - | - |
[edit] Singles
- "Fast Lane"; # 41 R&B, # 27 R&R-Urban, # 7 Germany Black Singles
- "Love It"; # 61 R&B
- "Soul Sista"; # 71 US, # 18 R&B
[edit] Appearances
With Common
- Common and Jill Scott, on "Funky For You" from Like Water for Chocolate
- Common on "Nag Champa (Afrodesiac For The World)" from Like Water for Chocolate
- Common, on "The 6th Sense" from Like Water for Chocolate
- Common, on "Heaven Somewhere" from "Electric Circus (album)"
- Common, on "Aquarius" from "Electric Circus (album)"
- Common, on "Star69 (PS With Love)" from "Electric Circus (album)"
- Common and John Legend, on "Faithful" from Be
- Common, on "It's Your World/Pop's Reprise" from Be
- Common, on "Black Maybe" from Finding Forever
- Common, on "Misunderstood" from Finding Forever
- Common, on "Play Your Cards Right Finding Forever
- Others
1999
- Grenique [2] 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[3]
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"[4]
- Clipse and Pharell Williams, on "Nightmares" from Hell Hath No Fury
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" fromThe 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" off New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
- The Game (rapper) on "Cali Sunshine" from LAX (album)
- 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's on "The Way You Are", from ReCreation
- Shafiq Husayn on "Cheeba" from En' A-Free-Ka (Plug Research) REMIXED BY NOTTZ
- Robert Glasper's "All Matter" track 11 on Double-Booked from EMI Bilal shows heart-wrenching range & the beauty of jazz-fusion
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Bilal Online Official site
- Obnoxious Listener's Review of Bilal
- Bilal at Allmusic
- Bilal at MySpace
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