Erica Monique Campbell (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'', Atkins; born April 29, 1972) is an American

urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

Christian R&B Christian R&B (also known as gospel R&B, rhythm & praise music, and R&P) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music consisting of tracks with Christian-based lyrics or by musicians typically known for writing such songs. Music in this genre intends t ...

and

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 and songwriter. She started her music career in 1998 with her younger sister,

Tina Campbell Tina Campbell (born 1971)"New job, new baby"
Belfa ...

, as part of the

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

group,

Mary Mary Mary Mary is a female American urban contemporary gospel duo composed of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born April 29, 1972) and Trecina Atkins-Campbell (born May 1, 1974). Formed in 1998, Mary Mary was launched into mainstream recognition fo ...

. Her solo music career began in 2013, and has since released two albums with

Entertainment One Music 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 b ...

, which both charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine charts. She won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Gospel Album The Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the Gospel music genre. Honors in s ...

at the 57th edition of the event. Since May 2016, she has been the host of ''Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell'' with comedian Griff, currently distributed by Reach Media, the syndication arm of

Urban One Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is a Silver Spring, Maryland-based American media conglomerate. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-American-o ...

Early life

Campbell was born Erica Monique Atkins, on April 29, 1972, in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, the daughter of Eddie Aaron Atkins Jr. (1948–2013), originally from

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

, a pastor and minister, and Thomasina Andrea "Honey" Atkins (''née'' Daniels), who is originally from

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. Her paternal grandparents are Eddie Aaron Atkins, Sr. and Lavada Cruthird, and her maternal grandparents are Tommy and Ruth Daniels. She had two older brothers, Andre Lavelle Atkins, who died at six years old from a combination of Down Syndrome, spinal meningitis, and a hole in his heart, while her other brother is living in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, Darrell Antoine Atkins. She has one older sister, Maliea Dionne Atkins, and five younger sisters, Trecina Evette "Tina" Atkins, Delisa Marie "Lisa" or "Wittle Wees" Atkins, Thomasina Andrea "Goo Goo" Atkins, Alana Ellesse "Lainz" or "Luv Luv" Atkins, and Shanta Nena Lavea Atkins.

Music career

Her music career started in 1998, with her younger sister,

Tina Campbell Tina Campbell (born 1971)"New job, new baby"
Belfa ...

, who formed half of the

duo,

. As part of

, Campbell earned numerous Stellar Music and

Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

, four

s, three

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

s, two

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

s, a

Soul Train Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the ...

and a

BET Award The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annu ...

. In 2008, Campbell recorded a solo track called "Stand" for the soundtrack to the independent film ''A Good Man Is Hard to Find''. In 2011, Mary Mary received the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Golden Note Award for their extraordinary songwriting. Erica commenced her solo music recording career in 2013, by recording her first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Help Help is a word meaning to give aid or signal distress. Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * '' ...

'', that released on March 25, 2014, with

. This album was her breakthrough release upon the ''Billboard'' magazine charts, while it charted on The ''Billboard'' 200,

Top Gospel Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, and

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

charts, where it peaked at Nos. 6, 1, and 2, correspondingly. Campbell won a

for

at the 57th edition of the event. The subsequent studio album, '' Help 2.0'', was released on March 31, 2015, from Entertainment One Music. This album charted on the same charts, but at Nos. 120, 1, and 12, respectively. In early April 2018, Erica and her husband

Warryn Campbell Warryn Stafford Campbell, Jr. (born August 21, 1975) is an American record producer. He has worked with a number of gospel, hip hop and R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician and producer under the tutelage of DJ Q ...

are to star in their own reality show on TV One. The show will highlight Erica going back in the studio to record her new album. Also in 2018, Erica and her husband released a music video titled, "All of My Life".

Personal life

She is married to

, with whom she resides in

Los Angeles 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' ...

, together with their three children, Krista Nicole, Warryn III, and Zaya Monique.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Official Facebook profileOfficial morning show website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Erica 1972 births Living people African-American songwriters African-American women singers African-American Christians Musicians from Inglewood, California Songwriters from California MNRK Music Group artists Grammy Award winners American gospel singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers Mary Mary 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American women singers African-American radio personalities