Nadirah Shakoor is an American singer, songwriter and recording artist. She is best known for her work as featured female vocalist in

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

Coral Reefer Band The Coral Reefer Band is the touring and recording band of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. The band's name alludes to both coral reefs (in line with Buffett's tropical-themed music) and "reefer" (slang for marijuana). Origins Current ...

, in the hip hop group Arrested Development and for her solo albums. She has one Grammy nomination.

Career

Arrested Development and Speech

She was a female vocalist of the hip hop group

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

, of which she was a member from 1993 until 1995. She was nominated for 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 its second album, ''

Zingalamaduni ''Zingalamaduni'' is the second album by American hip hop group Arrested Development, released on June 14, 1994 by Chrysalis Records. The album's title is Swahili for "the beehive of culture." Despite spawning three singles ("United Front", "A ...

''. Nadirah was also featured in Arrested Development's ''

Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

'' DVD and album.

Jimmy Buffett Coral Reefer Band

Shakoor joined the

in 1995, touring as its featured female vocalist. "Nod to the Storyteller" is Shakoor's tribute to Jimmy Buffett, who for the last 22 years has featured her as part of his show. Alongside Tina Gullickson, she is a dancer and a vocalist. In concerts Shakoor often has a number as lead vocalist and contributes secondary vocals to Buffett's "

Son of a Son of a Sailor ''Son of a Son of a Sailor'' is the eighth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was initially released in March 1978 as ABC Dunhill AA-1046 and later re-released on its successor label, MCA. Chart perfor ...

Touring and recording

She also toured or recorded with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

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 ...

Jasmine Guy Jasmine Guy (born March 10, 1962) is an American actress, director, singer and dancer. She is known for her role as Dina in the 1988 film ''School Daze'' and as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'', ...

, Howard Hewett,

Phillip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...

and others.

Solo career

Her debut album, ''Soul Power'' (

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

), was produced by

Speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

, and her next two projects, ''NadirahSongs'' and ''Obsessed with Peace Vol. I'' were released independently. In 2000, she teamed up with her best friend, world-renowned producer

Osunlade Osunlade (; born March 13, 1969) is an American-born musician and music producer. Biography Osunlade was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He composed music for ''Sesame Street'' during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Afterward, he moved t ...

. Together, they released several house-music songs on Osunlade's

Yoruba Records The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

label that quickly became classics of the genre. "Love Song," "Just a Breath Away," and "Pride" are three of their most popular collaborations. On October 14, 2008, Shakoor released a new album titled ''Nod to the Storyteller'' on Jimmy Buffett's Mailboat Records label, which includes two songs written by her along with unique covers of songs written by Jimmy Buffett and several other artists. She announced on the "Time After Island Time" radio program that she will be releasing a follow-up album. After the release, Nadirah and her brother, drummer Rasheed Shakoor, put together a band called Outside Art to help promote the album and to bring more deep house to the live-music scene.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American house musicians EMI Records artists Coral Reefer Band members Arrested Development (group) members {{US-singer-stub