Kendra Ross (born Kendra Janelle Ross, December 4, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, music business executive, and community organizer from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania. She was born in

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

, Ohio.

Career

She got her start singing in church and performing with the Civic Light Opera Mini Stars of Pittsburgh. After many years of working in musical theater, Ross went on to work as a vocalist and songwriter with artists such as

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

Idle Warship Idle Warship was a musical duo composed of Brooklyn emcee Talib Kweli and Philadelphia singer Res. Res has appeared on each Talib Kweli album since 2000's ''Train of Thought''. They have also toured together, including on the summer 2005 MGD F ...

Res (singer) Shareese Renée Ballard, better known by her stage name Res ( ), is an American singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her musical style is a blend of indie pop, soul, and rock. Solo career Res released her debut album, ''How I Do'', in 2001 ...

Omar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

Tamar-kali Tamar-kali (born Tamara Colletta Brown) is an American rock singer-songwriter and composer based in Brooklyn, New York. Early life Tamar-kali was born and raised in Brooklyn a 2nd generation musician through her father, who was a band leader ...

and many more. She has appeared on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' and has been featured in ''

O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...

''. Ross has opened for musicians

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

. Ross' debut album titled ''New Voice'' was released in June 2007. The album was co-produced with longtime collaborator/music director Christian Ver Halen and features appearances by Talib Kweli,

Eric Roberson Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represen ...

, and more. Many touring and session musicians are also featured on the album, including Teodross Avery (

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

), Maurice Brown (

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

Lonnie Plaxico Lonnie Plaxico (born September 4, 1960) is an American jazz double bassist. Biography Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both ...

(

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

Chris Rob Chris Rob, born Christopher Robinson, is an American musician, originally from Chicago, Illinois, who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. Rob, the younger brother of actor, comedian, and musician Craig Robinson, attended Roosevelt Univer ...

(

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

), Daniel Sadownick (

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum mac ...

), and Skoota Warner (

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

). The album has been well received in the U.S. and Japan where it was released by

P-Vine Records P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name c ...

in December 2007. Ross won for New Artist of the Year at the 2007 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards in Detroit on November 16, 2007. Hip hop recording artist Talib Kweli wrote in the liner notes of his 2002 album ''

Quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

'' (on which she wrote and performed): "Kendra's talented, beautiful, and one of a kind." Ross is also an independent feminist scholar and

cultural anthropologist Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portman ...

who cites

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

and

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...

as two of her greatest academic influences. She received a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

and another in Anthropology from

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...

in New York City. She also holds a PhD in Community Engagement from

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered. History Beginnings The university bega ...

. Ross is set to release a new EP of original music sometime in 2023.

Discography and appearances

*2000 Train of Thought/Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek) ead and background vocals*2001 Too Close/A Hundred Birds(Japan) ongwriter; background vocals*2002 Quality/Talib Kweli ongwriting; featured and background vocals*2003 Space Under Sun/Ari Gold ongwriting; featured and background vocals*2004 Beautiful Struggle/Talib Kweli ongwriting*2005 Right About Now/Talib Kweli ackground vocals*2005 Rawkus Records Best of Decade I 1995–2005 ocals*2006 Live Shot/The Rooftop eatured vocals*2007 Kendra Ross/New Voice (debut album) xecutive producer, co-producer, arranger, and lead and background vocals*2007 Art of Life/Charon Don ackground vocals*2007 Eardrum/Talib Kweli ackground vocals*2010 Q: Soul Bossa Nostra/Quincy Jones eatured and background vocals*2010 Sleeping Beauty: You Are the One You've Been Waiting On/Abby Dobson ackground vocals*2011 Gutter Rainbows/Talib Kweli ongwriting; featured and background vocals; production coordination*2011 Habits of the Heart/Idle Warship (Talib Kweli & Res) ongwriting; background vocals*2014 Prisoner of Conscious LIVE/Talib Kweli ackground vocals*2015 F--- The Money/Talib Kweli ongwriting/featured vocalist*2015 Indie 500/9th Wonder & Talib Kweli eatured vocalist*2017 Heads Up Eyes Open/Talib Kweli ft. Rick Ross & Yummy Bingham ackground vocalist/background arrangements*2020 Kendra Ross/You Don’t Know What Love Is over/single*2023 Kendra Ross/This Womanist's Work EP ORTHCOMING

References

External links

Official website
*
Sonicbids EPK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Kendra 1975 births Living people African-American activists African-American women singer-songwriters American jazz singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Feminist musicians Brooklyn College alumni Singers from New York City Musicians from Pittsburgh American neo soul singers Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Musicians from Brooklyn Musicians from Youngstown, Ohio Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Singer-songwriters from Ohio Jazz musicians from New York (state) Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from Ohio 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century African-American women singers