Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966) is an American R&B singer and musician. DeBarge was formally a member (for their final album) of the family musical group

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

. As a solo artist he scored a 1986 US Top Forty hit with the song "Talk to Me".

Biography

Recording career

He began a musical career of his own with

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

in the mid-1980s. His debut self-titled album was released in 1986 and featured the hit single "Talk To Me" (#21 US, #7 R&B). The album peaked at #90 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

and released a follow-up single "The Girl Next Door" which charted on the R&B chart. Two years later, he released a second album with Motown, ''

Kiss Serious ''Kiss Serious'' is the second album by American singer Chico DeBarge. It was released by Motown Records in 1987 in the United States. Critical reception AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American onl ...

'' that included the hit R&B single "Rainy Night" (#18 R&B) plus "I've Been Watching You" (#43 R&B) and the title track (#53 R&B). However, he was imprisoned for

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

charges not long after and served time in prison for drug trafficking. After his release in the mid-1990s, DeBarge returned to Motown to continue his musical career under the auspices of

Kedar Massenberg William "Kedar" Massenburg (born 1963) is an American record producer and record label executive, who was the president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is best known for bringing Erykah Badu to fame. He trademarked the term "neo s ...

and his

neo-soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

pioneering label imprint Kedar Entertainment. His third album ''

Long Time No See "Long time no see" is an English language, English expression used as an Formality, informal greeting by people who have not seen each other for an extended period. The phrase is also acronymized as LTNS in Internet slang. Its Word origin, or ...

'' was released on November 18, 1997, to critical acclaim and was preceded by the single "Iggin' Me" which garnered considerable airplay. The album would spawn three additional singles: "Love Still Good," "No Guarantee" (a collaboration with

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

) (#18 R&B Airplay) and "Virgin" (#97 R&B). A non-album single "Superman" followed and was featured in the 1998 romantic comedy film ''

Woo Woo, WoO, WOO, W.O.O. and variants may refer to: People Woo or Wu, romanization of several East Asian names: * Hu (surname): 胡, 瓠, 護, 戶, 扈, 虎, 呼, 忽, 斛 * Wu (surname): 吳, 伍, 武, 仵, 烏, 鄔, 巫 * Ng (name): 吳, 伍 * ...

'' starring

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

and

Tommy Davidson Thomas Davidson (born November 10, 1963) is an American comedian and actor. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show '' In Living Color'', Mitchell on ''Between Brothers'' (1997-1999), Dexter on '' Malcolm & Eddie'' (1999-200 ...

. "Superman" peaked at #55 on the R&B charts. His fourth album '' The Game'' was released on October 26, 1999, and peaked at #41 on the

. The lead single "Give You What You Want (Fa Sure)" gave him one of his biggest hits (#71 US, #11 R&B) to date, and had a remix featuring rapper

Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...

released. The follow-up single "Listen To Your Man" (reuniting him with R&B singer

) peaked at #41 on the R&B chart and at #33 on the R&B Airplay Chart. A third single (which did not appear on the album), "Playa Hater" was released in 2000. He later moved to the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

, where he released 2003's ''Free'' (which peaked at #43 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart). It featured the single "Home Alone" which garnered some airplay. DeBarge released his first single "Not 2 Gether" on December 17, 2002. In 2005, DeBarge contributed a song to the ''

Beauty Shop ''Beauty Shop'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff. The film serves as a Spin-off (media), spin-off of the ''Barbershop (film), Barbershop'' film franchise, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina, a character first introduced in t ...

'' movie soundtrack called "Hard Times." In 2008, Chico DeBarge appeared in the video for Joe's single, "We're Family" off the ''

Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins ''Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins'' is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film also features an ensemble cast featuring: Martin Lawrence, Nicole Ari Parker, Margaret Avery, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo'Niq ...

'' soundtrack. His sixth studio album ''Addiction'' was released in July 2009 under Kedar Entertainment Group (since 1997) and included the single "Oh No" which peaked at #76 on the R&B chart. On October 2, 2010, DeBarge performed with

Glenn Jones Glenn Jones (born September 27, 1962 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American R&B/soul singer. He is best known for his songs "Show Me", "We've Only Just Begun (The Romance Is Not Over)" and "Here I Go Again" which reached No. 1 on the Billboa ...

Lenny Williams Leonard Charles Williams (born February 16, 1945)"Biography by Alex Henderson"
AllMus ...

and

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

at the Performing Arts Center in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. In March 2017, he announced he's at work on a new studio album in addition to doing some work on a forthcoming

family album due in 2018. In September 2017, he released his first new single in eight years called "Feel Good" featuring

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

and Capone Noel. Additionally, his 2003 album ''Free'' was remastered and re-released (as ''Free Remastered'') to include 6 additional tracks.

Personal life

In 2003, while touring in the

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...

stage play ''Why Did I Get Married?,'' DeBarge was stabbed by

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Italian mafioso John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto, inside a Philadelphia nightclub, due to an altercation with one of his associates. The stab wound was within inches of his kidney and lungs. In 2007, DeBarge was arrested for drug possession in California and later went to rehab. In 2009, he admitted to addictions to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

and

prescription medication A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The r ...

and based his album, aptly titled ''

Addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

'', on his drug usage. In November 2019, DeBarge was arrested again for drug possession in California. On April 2, 2020, DeBarge's eldest son, Dontae (born 1984), was murdered in a stabbing incident in the

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

area of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at age 35. In January 2021, DeBarge was charged with drug possession, DUI and false impersonation after pretending to be his brother

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

during a traffic stop in Burbank, California.

Discography

Albums

* ''

Chico DeBarge Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966) is an American R&B singer and musician. DeBarge was formally a member (for their final album) of the family musical group DeBarge. As a solo artist he scored a 1986 US Top Forty hit with the s ...

'' (1986) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1997) * '' The Game'' (1999) * '' Free'' (2003) * ''

'' (2009)

Singles

* 1986: "Talk to Me" (US #21, R&B #7, UK #88) * 1987: "The Girl Next Door" (R&B #59) * 1987: "I've Been Watching You" (R&B #43) * 1987: "Rainy Night" (R&B #18) * 1988: "Kiss Serious" (R&B #53) * 1997: "Iggin' Me" (UK #50) * 1997: "Love Still Good" * 1998: "No Guarantee" (featuring

) * 1998: "Virgin" (R&B #97) * 1999: "Soopaman Lover" (R&B #55) * 1999: "Give You What You Want (Fa Sure)" (US #71, R&B #11) * 1999: "Give You What You Want (South Central Remix)" (featuring Trina) * 2000: "Listen to Your Man" (featuring

) (R&B #41) * 2000: "Playa Hater" * 2003: "Home Alone" * 2009: "Oh No" (R&B #76) * 2017: "Feel Good" (featuring

& Capone Noel)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debarge, Chico 1966 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers Shooting survivors Motown artists American tenors Neo soul singers Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan American people convicted of drug offenses American soul singers DeBarge family Singers from Detroit