Bilal Oliver

Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born August 23, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is an independent artist, noted for his wide vocal range, work across multiple genres, and intense live performances.

Starting out at a major label, Bilal debuted with his popular R&B single "Soul Sista" in 2000, but turned to playing jazz venues and recording more progressive soul music in subsequent years. He has commercially released four albums to critical success, while his unreleased but widely leaked second album '' Love for Sale'' also found wide acclaim among critics and listeners. He was a member of the Soulquarians, an experimental black music collective active from the late 1990s to early 2000s. He has been well received, both nationally and internationally, with an extensive list of collaborations including Kendrick Lamar, Common, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Guru, Kimbra, J Dilla, Robert Glasper, and The Roots.

In August 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Bilal wrote and recorded his first EP, '' Voyage-19'', over the course of three days and in collaboration with various musicians in remote experimental sessions, which were streamed live on YouTube. The resulting three-track EP was released digitally the following month, with revenues of its sale and accompanying donations given to the participating artists, many of whom had been struggling financially due to the pandemic.

Early life

Bilal was born Bilal Sayeed Oliver in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a religiously mixed household, his mother being Christian and his father Muslim. When he was 11 he became choir director at his mother's church, and at 14 he formed a group and performed gigs at the Blue Moon Cafe in Philadelphia. As a formative experience, he cites his father taking him to the city's jazz clubs. "I used to have to sit in the back where the cigarette machine was. They had a curtain they could put over me just in case the police came", he recalls to ''Beat'' magazine:

Bilal graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and then attended New York City's The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he met the pianist Robert Glasper on his first day. With Glasper, he frequented a number of jazz clubs in the city and eventually the Wetlands Preserve nightclub, where he connected with musicians of the Soulquarians collective: the Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, and Mos Def. Concurrently, Bilal frequented jam sessions set up by New School professors and students. At one such event, he met Aaron Comess, a musician from the pop-rock band Spin Doctors. The two went on to improvise together at Comess's home and produced a demo that was later heard by Interscope Records, who signed Bilal to a record contract.

Career

1999–2001: Beginnings with the Soulquarians and ''1st'' album

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

In 2001, Bilal 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 peaked at number 31 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and it has sold 319,000 copies. ''1st Born Second'' received universal acclaim from music critics; and holds a score of 82 out of 100 at Metacritic.''1st Born Second'' (2001): Reviews
Metacritic. Retrieved on August 12, 2009
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2009-08-16. The album earned rave reviews from publications including ''The Village Voice'', ''Chicago Sun-Times'', and ''USA Today'',Columnist.
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on August 12, 2009. (Transcription of original review at talk page)Jones, Steve.
Review: ''1st Born Second''
. ''USA Today'': D.08. July 31, 2001.Cepeda, Raquel
Review: ''1st Born Second''
. ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on August 12, 2009. and it also received comparisons to the music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Prince, and Curtis Mayfield.Columnist
Review: ''1st Born Second''
''The Independent''. Retrieved on August 12, 2009.Product Page: ''1st Born Second''
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''Blender''. Retrieved on March 29, 2010.

The album showcased a wide variety, from the emotionally charged fan-favorite "Soul Sista", which peaked at No.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 of 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.

2001–2011: ''Love for Sale'' saga and ''Airtight's Revenge''

In the following years Bilal continued to appear on projects by other artists of 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. 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. Bilal switched it up on ''Love For Sale'', which includes live instrumentation and a vibe completely new and different from its predecessor.

Bilal's anticipation for the album was shot down, however, 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 he was considering quitting music; however, ''Love for Sale'' received over half a million downloads on the Internet, and Bilal began touring, despite there not being a proper release of the album. His concerts were known for being intense and inspiring awe among audiences.

In 2008, Bilal began recording for his next album. 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 it as a retrospective: an album that explores his experiences and things he has 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 album's single, "Little One", earned Bilal a nomination a 2011 Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Urban/Alternative Performance. That year, he also contributed as a guest performer to the Roots' Grammy-nominated album ''Undun'' (2011) and the Robert Glasper Experiment's Grammy-winning ''Black Radio'' (2012).

2012–2019: Further independent albums and guest projects

In 2012, Bilal revealed plans for a new album under a new label, eOne Music. During several interviews, he described the new project as "a lot warmer and oresensual" than its conceptual predecessor. The new album, titled '' A Love Surreal'', has a more acoustic sound, as Bilal worked closely with his entire band. To set up the album's release, on December 5, 2012, he released a mixtape titled ''The Retrospection'' via Facebook and then the album's lead single "Back to Love" six days later. The song's music video was released on January 8, 2013, telling the story of a drug-addicted love doctor who ironically uses the advice he gives to his patients to help his own relationship. The song sets the tone for the album, which Bilal says embodies "the whole process f love meeting, the break-up, ndthe get-back-together". ''A Love Surreal'' was released on February 26, 2013.

With the release of ''A Love Surreal'', Bilal immediately achieved commercial success, debuting at No.1 on iTunes' R&B Chart. On ''Billboard'', the album debuted at No.17 on the Independent Albums Chart, No.19 on the R&B Albums Chart, and No.103 on the ''Billboard'' 200, ranking higher than its predecessor, ''Airtight's Revenge''. The album also received numerous high reviews, including an 8/10 from ''SPIN'' magazine, 4.5/5 stars from Allmusic, and 4/4 stars from ''USA Today''.

In between albums, Bilal appeared on albums by a variety of recording artists, including Kimbra, Otis Brown III, Kat Dahlia, and Slum Village. His guest contributions to Kendrick Lamar's third album ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' (2015) helped create buzz for Bilal's fifth album, '' In Another Life'', released in 2015 to critical success. In an essay on the Soulquarians published that year, Michael A. Gonzales traces the collective's impact to Bilal's contemporary contributions: "Listening to Kendrick Lamar's newest album ''To Pimp a Butterfly'', Bilal has transformed himself into an arty Nate Dogg for the post-Soulquarian generation that includes Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spalding and, now, Kendrick. Also writing that year, ''Exclaim!'' journalist Kevin Jones said, "Bilal's years spent in career limbo feel like a relatively minor blip in the wake of the many artistically ambitious personal releases and guest projects the uncompromising singer has managed to string together in recent years."

In 2019, Bilal contributed to Philip Bailey's single "We're a Winner", a recording of the Impressions' 1967 song of the same name. Bailey said of Bilal, who sang guest vocals and appeared in the music video: "Bilal was one of those singers who uses his oicelike an instrument. And he's very explorative with his vocal ange He's played and he sang on things with more jazzy guys, too. I thought that our voices — obviously having those falsettos — would complement one another. And with that one, we actually sent him the files. I wasn't even in the studio with Bilal when he did his stuff."

2020: Live-streamed EP amid pandemic

In August 2020, over the course of a three-day weekend, Bilal live streamed his creation of an experimental three-song EP for HighBreedMusic, a Brooklyn recording studio and digital music channel. He wrote, recorded, and produced one song each day, totaling 54 hours, in collaboration with producer Tariq Khan and 30 other musicians, including Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Tone Whitfield, Khemist, Simon Mavin (of Hiatus Kaiyote), Keyon Harrold, Madison McFerrin, Marcus Strickland, Yahzarah Sinclair, Raymond Angry, Ben Williams, Brandee Younger, Big Yuki, Melanie Charles, Marcus Gilmore, and Louis Cato. Each participant worked remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The stream simultaneously showed the EP's artwork being made, with a group of three visual artists enlisted for each song, including Angelbert Metoyer and Shanina Dionna.

The EP was available to be pre-ordered during the weekend of the live stream, with sales and optional donations given to the participating artists, a number of whom were in financial difficulties because of the pandemic. On September 6, it was released on Bandcamp as a three-track digital download titled '' Voyage-19'', for a price of $6.99, the profits of which were also distributed among the participants.

Discography

Studio albums
*''1st Born Second'' (2001)
*'' Love for Sale'' (2001–2003; leaked 2006)
*''Airtight's Revenge'' (2010)
*'' A Love Surreal'' (2013)
*'' In Another Life'' (2015)

EPs
*'' Voyage-19'' (2020)

Mixtapes
*''The Return of Mr. Wonderful'' (2007)
*''The Retrospection'' (2012)

Singles
*" Love It"; No. 61 R&B
*"Soul Sista"; No. 71 US, No. 18 R&B
*" Fast Lane; No. 41 R&B
*"Something To Hold On To"
*"Restart"
*" Little One"
*"Levels"
*"Back To Love"
*"West Side Girl"

Appearances

;Songs:

1999
*Grenique 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, 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''
*Max Herre on "Playground" from ''Max Herre''
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''
*Marvwon on "Need To Know" from ''Way Of The Won''
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 Hermione" from ''Black Radio''
*Lupe Fiasco on "How Dare You" from '' Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1''
*Chrisette Michele on "Can the Cool Be Loved?" from ''Better''
2014
*Kimbra on "Everlovin' Ya" from ''The Golden Echo''
2015
*Kendrick Lamar on "Institutionalized" and "These Walls" from ''To Pimp A Butterfly''
2016
*Kendrick Lamar on "untitled 01 , 8.19.2014." from '' untitled unmastered.''
*J Dilla on "The Ex" from '' The Diary''
*Mac Miller on "Congratulations" from ''The Divine Feminine''
2017
*The Roots on "It Ain't Fair" from "Detroit (film)" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Audio
*Talib Kweli, Datcha, Robert Glasper on "Write At Home" from Radio Silence
2018
*The Putbacks on "The Ways" from ''The Putbacks'' ( HopeStreet Recordings)
2020
*Salaam Remi on "Comin' Outta The Rain"

;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''
*"Joy and Peace" from Black America Again
*"Home" from "Black America Again"
*"A Bigger Picture Called Free" from "Black America Again"
*"Letter To The Free" from "Black America Again"

Awards and nominations

Tours

Little One Tour (2011)

References

External links

Official site
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilal
1979 births
Living people
Interscope Records artists
21st-century African-American male singers
Grammy Award winners for rap music
American neo soul singers
Musicians from Philadelphia
American hip hop singers
Singers from Pennsylvania
Soulquarians members
Plug Research artists
MNRK Music Group artists