Miss Jones

Miss Jones (born Tarsha Nicole Jones in Brooklyn, New York) is a former R&B singer from the 90s. She graduated with honors from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, majoring in classical music.

Miss Jones also received a Bachelor's degree in music from Syracuse University. After completing college, she worked as a long-distance operator. She later met rapper Doug E. Fresh who admired her vocal skills & invited her to his Get Fresh Crew tour. She later signed a record deal with Tommy Boy Records.

In 1994, Miss Jones released her first single "Don't Front" which featured Doug E. Fresh. The song peaked at #73 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.

Her second single "Where I Wanna Be Boy" peaked at #79 on the Billboard Hot 100, #24 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #21 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks.

After that, Miss Jones left her record label to take a job as a radio DJ for New York radio station Hot 97. She eventually returned to performing, signed to Motown Records and began recording her debut album.

In 1998, Miss Jones released her only album "The Other Woman" whcih peaked at #51 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and #40 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. The album featured production from Mario Winans & Rashad Smith and guest appearances from Craig Mack & Mobb Deep.

The only single to chart was "2 Way Street" which peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #27 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. Miss Jones was later released from Motown Records and by 2001, she eventually left the music scene.

Miss Jones became the host of her own radio show on Hot 97 entitled "Miss Jones in the Morning" until 2008. In 2007, she wrote an autobiography entitled "Have You Met Miss Jones?: The Life and Loves of Radio's Most Controversial Diva."

These days, Miss Jones is the founder and CEO of Jonesyradio.com where she broadcasts "Jonesy in the Morning" from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. daily.

To follow Miss Jones on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/MorningJonesy

To see the music video for "Don't Front," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8VI3uo0pOk

To see the music video for "Where I Wanna Be," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdEBKpaekRQ

To see the music video for "2 Way Street," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGamMsfTGIs



[updated on 06/18/13]

Pure Sugar Singer Found

When I first made the Pure Sugar blog entry, I was unable to find anything about where lead singer Jennifer Starr was.......until now!

The good people at Milk Carton Pop Stars were able to find Jennifer Starr and interview her. To read the full interview, go to:
http://milkcartonpopstars.blogspot.com/2010/01/shes-delicious.html

If you wanted to know what Jennifer Starr's up to these days, check out the above link to find out.

Choice

Choice (born Kim Davis) was a female rapper from Texas. She made her first appearance on musician Willie D's album, "Controversy" and her stint on the album paved the way for Choice's solo album.

In 1990, Choice released her debut album, "The Big Payback." Even though it didn't chart, the album is best known for the track "Payback" in which she disses rap artists such as Too Short, the late Eazy-E, Ice Cube, the Geto Boys, Willie D and N.W.A.

In 1992, Choice released her sophomore album, "Stick-N-Moove" which managed to peak at #83 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album included sexually explicit songs which no female rapper has ever taken to the extremes.

The only single released from the album was, "HIV Positive" which failed to chart at all on the Billboard charts. After that, it seemed as if Choice faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been heard from her since.

To see a fan-made video for "Payback," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZIi63dmpA0

To see a fan-made video for "HIV Positive," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMNWSAF9nqI



[updated on 06/18/13]

Cookie Crew

Cookie Crew were a female hip-hop/rap duo from Clapham, South London that consisted of MC Remedee (born Debbie Pryce on December 4, 1966) and Susie Q (born Susan Banfield on March 10, 1967).

Susie Q is the sister of singer Andrew Banfield (who was a member of R&B group The Pasadenas) and MC Remedee was a former chief for the Ministry of Defence. They got their start in the music business after winning a national rap competition & recorded two sessions for the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show.

Cookie Crew later received a record deal from UK dance music label Rhythm King and they were placed in the studio with music production trio Beatmasters who helped put the duo in a dance music direction.

The first single "Rok Da House" was successful in nightclubs, but didn't appear to make the charts at all.

Cookie Crew's second single "Females (Get On Up)" peaked at #78 on the U.K. Singles chart, #16 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and #75 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.

In 1989, Cookie Crew released their debut album "Born This Way!" on FFRR Records. The album peaked at #93 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and #24 on the U.K. Albums chart.

Their third single "Got to Keep On" peaked at #17 on the U.K. Singles chart and #33 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The last single from the album "Come On and Get Some" peaked at #42 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 1991, Cookie Crew released their sophomore album "Fade to Black" which didn't appear to make the Billboard or UK album charts at all.

The only single to chart was "Secrets (of Success)" which peaked at #53 on the U.K. Single chart and #28 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart.

The follow-up singles "Love Will Bring Us Back Together" and "Brother Like Sister" failed to make the charts at all.

By 1992, Cookie Crew wanted to pursue a more orthodox hip-hop/rap style, but FFRR's parent record label London Records wanted to steer them into a pop-oriented rap style. The conflicting differences eventually led to Cookie Crew leaving their label and retiring from the music industry.

Despite that, Debbie and Susan have continued to be involved with other projects within in the music industry and continued to perform & travel the world.

To see a fan-made video for "Rok Da House," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGb7ktgwBE0

To see a fan-made video for "Females," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIUMP9xdpGg

To see the music video for "Born This Way," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LQILQHUBOM

To see the music video for "Got to Keep On," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YinhMSANjc

To see a fan-made video for "Come and Get Some," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmIYLeJZlAU

To see the music video for "Secrets (Of Success)," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpvb8btuU5A

To see a fan-made video for "Love Will Bring Us Back Together," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBR89vMD3qQ

To see a fan-made video for "Brother Like Sister," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK1HSwtVjvY


[updated on 06/19/13]

Wee Papa Girl Rappers

The Wee Papa Girl Rappers were a female British hip-hop/rap duo from the late 80s that consisted of twin sisters Sandra & Samantha Lawrence. The duo got their name "Wee Papa" from the Saint Lucia French Creole expression "Oui Papa" that their dad frequently uttered.

In 1988, the duo released their debut album "The Beat, The Rhyme, The Noise" which peaked at #39 on the U.K. Albums chart and #96 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The first single "Faith" peaked at #60 on the U.K. Singles chart.

The second single "Heat it Up" peaked at #21 on the U.K. Singles chart, #6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and #24 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.

The third single "Wee Rule" peaked at #6 on the U.K. Singles chart. The fourth single "Soulmate" peaked at #45 on the U.K. Singles chart.

The last single from the album "Blow the House Down" managed to peak at #65 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 1990, the Wee Papa Girl Rappers released their follow-up and last album to date "Be Aware" which didn't make the charts at all.

The only single to chart was "The Bump" which managed to peak at #10 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

In 1994, they released their last single "Wherever You Go" which didn't appear to make the charts. After that, it seemed as if the duo has faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been heard from them since.

To see the music video for "Wee Rule," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vGpdM3qG84

To see a fan-made video for "Faith," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfqrL3SNKtg

To see a fan-made video for "Heat it Up," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ69ydj_SHo

To see a fan-made video for "Soulmate," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhnNiKLEWkg

To see a fan-made video for "Blow the House Down," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVE71FAcM6I

To see a fan-made video for "The Bump," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fdxf-CrjHM



[updated on 06/23/13]

Riff

Riff is an R&B group from New Jersey whose members were Anthony "Chill" Fuller, Dwayne "Stylz" Jones, Michael "Nitty Green" Best, Kenny Kelly, and Steven Capers.

The group formed in high school and were originally named "Playboys." In 1989, the group was featured in the movie, "Lean on Me" and soon after, they changed the group's name to "Riff" and signed to SBK Records.
In 1991, Riff released their self-titled debut album which peaked at #117 on the Billboard 200 and #41 on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart.

The group's first single and biggest hit to date, "My Heart is Failing Me" peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 16 weeks.

The second single from the album, "If You're Serious" peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 16 weeks.

The last single from the album, "Everytime My Heart Beats" peaked at #26 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.
In 1992, Riff sang the title song for the movie, "White Men Can't Jump" which peaked at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #41 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks.
A year later in 1993, Riff released their second album, "To Whom it May Concern" which didn't chart at all on the Billboard charts.
The first single from the album, "Judy Had a Boyfriend" peaked at #91 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 3 weeks.

The last single from the album, "Baby It's Yours" peaked at #65 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.

After that, the group went their separate ways. Michael, Anthony, and Dwayne went on to join the music group, "Men of Vizion." In 2009, the group reunited and are now working on a new album.

To see Riff's MySpace page, go to:
www.myspace.com/riffsounds

To see the music video for "White Men Can't Jump," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q85DlOAv3V4

To see the music video for "Everytime My Heart Beats," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELiP5hfpLRQ

To see the music video for "My Heart is Failing Me," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZf_-hKVzoY

To see the music video for "Judy Had a Boyfriend," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6RjuJ_D7ro

Partners in Kryme

Partners in Kryme were a hip-hop duo from New York City whose members consisted of James Alpern and Richard Usher.In 1990, the duo released their first single, "Turtle Power" which peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, #23 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, #37 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #2 on Billboard's Rap Singles chart. The song also topped the UK music charts.

The song was featured on the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie soundtrack and was featured in the movie's ending credits.

The duo released a second single, "Undercover" which failed to make any impact on the charts.  In 1991, the duo was featured on the movie soundtrack to Vanilla Ice's movie, "Cool as Ice" with the song, "Love 2 Love U."

After that, they seemed to have faded into obscurity and didn't appear to release an album, but 24 years later in 2015, the duo released a new song called "Rock the Halfshell" on their official YouTube channel.

To see Partners in Kryme's Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/partners.in.kryme/

To see Partners in Kryme's YouTube page, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmpidnJy88-Pkd7IidWE1qA

To see the music video for "Turtle Power," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFsTr0kGAqU

To see the music video for "Undercover," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Yre3xHO-w

To see the music video for "Rock the Halfshell," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoXcDLikPLA



[updated on June 19, 2017]


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Jimmy Ray

Jimmy Ray (born on October 3, 1970 in London, England) is a pop\rock musician from the mid-90's. He was influenced by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Tommy Steele.

Jimmy's manager was Simon Fuller (who managed the Spice Girls and produced the hit reality show, "American Idol").

He started his music career as one half of the techno-pop group, AV (or Alternative Vision) who released a few moderately successful techno hits during the early 90's. After that, Jimmy went on to pursue a solo career.
In 1998, Jimmy released his self-titled debut album which peaked at #112 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on Billboard's Heatseekers albums chart.
Jimmy's biggest hit single to date, "Are You Jimmy Ray?" peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, #25 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, #10 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart, and #42 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The follow-up single from the album, "Goin' To Vegas" flopped, peaking only at #47 on the UK Singles chart. Although a video was made for the single, it was never released in the US.
In the summer of 1998, Jimmy went on tour in the US with Backstreet Boys and during that fall, he released his third single, "I Got Rolled" which also flopped.

After that, it seemed as if Jimmy faded into obscurity, but in 2009, he became a member of the Airplayers song production team.

To see Jimmy's MySpace page, go to:
www.myspace.com/officialjimmyray

To see the MySpace page for the Airplayers, go to:
www.myspace.com/airplayersmusic

To see the music video for "Are You Jimmy Ray?" go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skoPxPZmySs

To see the music video for "I Got Rolled," go to:
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2013907/v2149887

The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.

The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. were an R&B\dance group from the 90's formed by music producers Robert Clivilles and David Cole (of C&C Music Factory fame).

The group's lead singer was former Seduction member, Michelle Visage. The other members were Gary Michael Wade, Jamal Alicea, and Octavia Lambertis.
In 1993, the group's first single and only biggest hit to date, "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" (which sampled Bill Withers' song, "Lovely Day") peaked at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100, #36 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart, #44 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, #13 on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart.
The song also topped Billboard's dance charts. It was featured on the hit movie soundtrack, "The Bodyguard."

After that, it seemed as if the group faded into obscurity. Michelle Visage went on to work as a talk show host for VH1 and Octavia Lambertis went onto to pursue a solo career.

To see the music video for "It's Going to Be a Lovely Day," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqreV2ofQXo