Inaya Day (born Inaya Davis, January 17, 1977) is an American singer, best known for her vocal work on

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

tracks such as "

Horny '98 "Horny '98" is a house song by German producer Mousse T. featuring British pop duo Hot 'n' Juicy with vocals provided by Inaya Day. It was released in May 1998 and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in the following month, staying on the ...

" by Mousse T, and her

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of " Nasty Girl" by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

protégées

Vanity 6 Vanity 6 was a short lived American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégés of musician Prince. Led by singer Vanity, they are known for their song " Nasty Girl." History Formation In 1981, Prince, hi ...

Biography

Early career

Day started singing in church in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. She attended the prestigious High School of Music and the Performing Arts,"Inaya Day Biography"
, ''LocalProductions.com'' found a
"About Inaya Day"
, ''InayaDay.com''. and went on to study musical theater at the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own ...

. She also appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, notably as understudy to

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

as "

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

" in ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'', and stepped into the lead role in Washington, D.C. and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. She has had extensive experience as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, having appeared on tracks by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Al Green, Puff Daddy,

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

Monie Love Simone Johnson or Simone Gooden (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is a British rapper, actress and radio personality from London. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love curre ...

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...

and

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Ap ...

. Day has also written songs for

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

and

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

, and has writing credits on

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

's"Gossip Folks" (the second single from her '' Under Construction'' album), on which Day co-wrote the hook and provided backing vocals.

House music

Day was introduced to

in 1996 when she was asked to do a demo. She met German record producers

Boris Dlugosch Boris Dlugosch (; born 2 August 1968) is a German house music producer from Hamburg. Boris is usually known for funky/deep house tracks, mostly produced in conjunction with Mousse T. and Michi Lange, his partners in the Peppermint Jam Records ...

and Mousse T, who produced a dance single "Keep Pushin", which went on to reach No. 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' dance charts. She then sang chorus for Mousse T's track "Horny", which later gained in popularity when additional vocals from the duo

Hot 'N' Juicy "Horny '98" is a house song by German producer Mousse T. featuring British pop duo Hot 'n' Juicy with vocals provided by Inaya Day. It was released in May 1998 and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in the following month, staying on the ...

were added to the song. "Horny" reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' dance chart. The follow-up song "Hold Your Head Up High", with Booom!, reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' dance chart. In 1997, she released the club anthem "Movin' Up", credited as DJ Mike Cruz Presents Inaya Day and Chyna Ro. For this record, long time friend and actress

Tichina Arnold Tichina Rolanda Arnold (; born June 28, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child actor, appearing in supporting roles in ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986) and '' How I Got into College'' (1989) before being cast a ...

lent her vocals but chose to use the moniker Chyna Ro for the project. She again teamed up with Cruz for "Can't Stop Dancing" which reached No. 1 on the Billboard club play chart. In 2004 she sang on a track by the Australian dance producer mrTimothy called "I Am Tha 1", credited to Mr Timothy featuring Inaya Day, which went to the top of the Australian dance charts and top 30 in the Australian pop charts. She also sang on his next single "Stand By Me" later that year. "Nasty Girl" was first released in Australia, reaching the top 20, and it was then released in the UK in July 2005, and reached No. 9 there. Later that year, she also guest featured on "The Glamorous Life", a single by

T-Funk Mr Timothy (a.k.a. 'T-Funk', real name Tim Dudfield) is an Australian dance music producer and DJ. Over the years, he has worked on projects by a wide variety of artists including Madonna, INXS, Felix da Housecat, E Smoove, Inaya Day, Slinkee M ...

, an alternate alias of mrTimothy. In June 2007, Day released a cover version of the 1988 Big Pig song, "Breakaway", which itself was a cover of the song "I Can't Break Away" by

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

Family life

Day is also the cousin of Solomon Roberts Jr., the bandleader and co-founder of the Dance/funk group Skyy, for which she has confirmed as she is serving as a contributor as part of a profile on the group in an '' Unsung'' episode that will in March 2020.

Discography

*1996 – "Can't Stop Dancin'" – Cruz and Bugz – No. 1 ''Billboard'' dance chart *1997 – "Movin' Up (Take My Problems to the Dance Floor)" – Mike Cruz featuring Inaya Day and

China Ro – No. 2 ''Billboard'' dance chart *2000 – "Feel It" – with DJ Dome – UK No. 51 *"I'm Touched" – DJ Dove featuring Inaya Day *"Shout It Out" – Inaya Day meets Louis Benedetti *1999 – "Just Can't Get Enough" – Harry "Choo Choo" Romero Presents Inaya Day – No. 39 UK *"I Will" – Mongobonix featuring Inaya Day *"Hold Your Head Up High" – Boris Dlugosch Presents Booom! *"Keep Pushin' On" – Boris Dlugosch remix *2004 – "Better Things" – Afropeans *2004 – " I Am tha 1" – Mr Timothy featuring Inaya Day *2004 – " Nasty Girl" – produced by Mousse T. and So Phat! (cover of the

song) *2006 – "Stand By Me" – Mr Timothy featuring Inaya Day *2007 – "The Glamorous Life" – by

featuring Inaya Day *2007 – "Breakaway" *2008 – "Say You Will" *2008 – "Natural High" – Michael Woods Feat. Inaya Day *2009 – "Take Me Up" – Inaya Day vs. Leggz & Femi B *2009 – "Got 2 Get Up" – Mr Timothy featuring Inaya Day *2009 – "Let There Be" – Inaya Day and Antoine Dessante *2010 – "Superstar" – Inaya Day and DJ Eako *2010 – "Never Had Another Love" – Mike Cruz presents Inaya Day *2010 – "Better Days" – Inaya Day and Native Sons *2010 – "All I'm Sayin' (Just Hold On)'" – Inaya Day and Nick J *2010 – "Joy" – Inaya Day and Antoine Dessante *2010 – "Til The Morning Comes" – Inaya Day vs Diego Ray & Nick Corline *2010 – "Do The Right Thing" – Quentin Harris and Inaya Day *2011 – "Chase me" – Inaya Day *2011 – "Rapid Fire (Rapido)" – Inaya Day & Giangi *2011 – "Where Are They Now" – Inaya Day & Dmitry Filatov *2011 – "Sweet Lover" – Inaya Day vs Menini & Viani *2011 – "Next To You" – Inaya Day *2011 – "Time Is Now" – Inaya Day and Mangesto *2011 – "Lose My Worries" – Inaya Day & Ralf Gum *2011 – "My Love" – Inaya Day vs Sem Thomasson & Siege *2011 – "One Way" – Inaya Day *2012 – "That Place" – Dunk N' Aliens feat Mia & Inaya Day *2012 – "Redemption" – DeVonde & Mangesto feat Inaya Day *2012 – "Jump Up & Down" – Mike Cruz produces Inaya Day & Mark Shine *2012 – "Long Day" – Inaya Day Allstars featuring Crystal Waters *2013 – "Like You" – Ridney & Inaya Day *2013 – "Make Some Noise" – Inaya Day & DJ Escape *2014 – "Shelter Me" – Lee Dagger, featuring Inaya Day *2015 – "Stranded" – Dirty Disco, featuring Inaya Day *2016 – "Do What We Do" – Bit Error & Country Club Martini Crew feat. Inaya Day *2016 – "Keep Pushin'" – Tujamo, featuring Inaya Day *2016 – "One Night In Heaven" – Toy Armada and DJ Grind feat. Inaya Day *2020 – " Love Like This" – (

Greg Gould '' Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television show, based on the original UK series, to find new talent. The seventh season aired on the Nine Network from 11 August 2013 until 10 November 2013. Kyle Sandilands returned as a ju ...

feat. Inaya Day) on the album ''1998''

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Inaya 1977 births Living people American dance musicians American house musicians University of Bridgeport alumni American contemporary R&B singers American women in electronic music 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers