Dani Stevenson (born September 3, 1980) is an American
contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...
singer-songwriter. She is best known for her background vocals on
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
's single, "
Hot in Herre
"Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the first single from his second studio album '' Nellyville'' (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the produc ...
" and her own singles, "
Honk Your Horn
"Honk Your Horn" is a song by American recording artist, Dani Stevenson. The song features production and guest vocals by Missy Elliott. It was released on September 17, 2002, as the lead single for Stevenson's debut album, ''Is There Another?!'' ...
" (featuring
Missy Elliott) and "
Yo, Yo, Yo
"Yo, Yo, Yo" is a song by American recording artist, Dani Stevenson. The song was featured in the soundtrack to the 2002 film, ''XXX
XXX may refer to:
Codes and symbols
* 30 (number), Roman numeral XXX
* XXX, designating pornography
** XXX, an ...
" which was featured in the film ''
XXX
XXX may refer to:
Codes and symbols
* 30 (number), Roman numeral XXX
* XXX, designating pornography
** XXX, an X rating#United_States, X rating
** .xxx, an internet top-level domain intended for pornographic sites
* XXX, a symbol of the straight ...
'' starring
Vin Diesel
Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise.
Diesel began auditio ...
.
Early life
At the age of 12, Dani Stevenson moved from her hometown
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia, to
Harlem, New York
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
. Upon her arrival in Harlem, she had deep aspirations of pursuing a music career. She went on to perform the
National Anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
at a junior high graduation and appeared in various talent contests. In 1998, she performed at the
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
open mic circuit.
[Kemp, Courtney. "NEXT > Dani Stevenson: The Hookup." '']Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
''. January 2003: 66. Print.
Music career
By August 2001, Stevenson met up with producer Rhemario Webber through a mutual friend and the two teamed up to craft a 10-track demo. The result was a contract deal with
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
in February 2002.
After signing to Universal, the label suggested Stevenson to contribute vocals to labelmate
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
's 2002 single, "
Hot in Herre
"Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the first single from his second studio album '' Nellyville'' (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the produc ...
"; Stevenson agreed and collaborated with Nelly and producer
Pharrell Williams. Stevenson recalled, "Nelly was writing lyrics in his two-way; Pharrell
rom_the_Neptunes.html"_;"title="the_Neptunes.html"_;"title="rom_the_Neptunes">rom_the_Neptunes">the_Neptunes.html"_;"title="rom_the_Neptunes">rom_the_Neptuneswanted_the_song_to_be_sexy._He_sang_it_the_way_he_wanted_me_to_sing_it,_and_then_I_just_put_my_own_little_stamp_on_it._It_only_took_about_15_minutes."
Following_the_song's_success,_Universal_Records_gave_her_the_go_to_prepare_a_debut_album._Stevenson_alongside_Webber_wrote_11_out_of_the_13_tracks_and_incorporated_the_10-track_demo_to_the_debut.
_The_debut_album_was_tentatively_titled_''Is_There_Another?!''_and_was_scheduled_for_a_release_in_March_2003."Rising_R&B_Stars_Make_Music_Magic_at_Organic_Soul_Night_in_New_York_City."_'' rom_the_Neptunes.html"_;"title="the_Neptunes.html"_;"title="rom_the_Neptunes">rom_the_Neptunes">the_Neptunes.html"_;"title="rom_the_Neptunes">rom_the_Neptuneswanted_the_song_to_be_sexy._He_sang_it_the_way_he_wanted_me_to_sing_it,_and_then_I_just_put_my_own_little_stamp_on_it._It_only_took_about_15_minutes."
Following_the_song's_success,_Universal_Records_gave_her_the_go_to_prepare_a_debut_album._Stevenson_alongside_Webber_wrote_11_out_of_the_13_tracks_and_incorporated_the_10-track_demo_to_the_debut._The_debut_album_was_tentatively_titled_''Is_There_Another?!''_and_was_scheduled_for_a_release_in_March_2003."Rising_R&B_Stars_Make_Music_Magic_at_Organic_Soul_Night_in_New_York_City."_''Jet_(magazine)">Jet''._December_16,_2002:_53._Print._The__Missy_Elliott–produced_"Honk_Your_Horn_
"Honk_Your_Horn"_is_a_song_by_American_recording_artist,_Dani_Stevenson._The_song_features_production_and_guest_vocals_by__Missy_Elliott._It_was_released_on_September_17,_2002,_as_the_lead_single_for_Stevenson's_debut_album,_''Is_There_Another?!''_...
"_was_released_as_the_album's_lead_single_on_September_17,_2002._Although_it_was_released_to_the_general_public_that_year,_it_did_not_begin_to_chart_until_October_2003,_a_year_following_its_original_release._On_August_6,_2002,_the_soundtrack_to_''