RaVaughn Nichelle Brown, known professionally as RaVaughn, is an American singer-songwriter and actress from

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

. She was initially signed to Ne-Yo's imprint Compound University which includes artists such as Adrienne Bailon. RaVaughn is the older sister of actress Rhyon Nicole Brown. Her music is primarily R&B but contains pop and rock elements. She has been influenced by artists such as Mary J. Blige,

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, Anita Baker,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and Nas. RaVaughn has recorded demos and background vocals for multiple artists, including Celine Dion, Natasha Bedingfield, Jennifer Hudson and

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

to name a few. RaVaughn released her debut EP, ''Love Always… The Introduction'', in 2012. Her unreleased debut studio album,'' Love Always'', was supposedly underpromoted by the singles "Better Be Good" and "Best Friend".

Career

After attending college in New York City and putting out a few demos, she became a background singer on the hit TV show Glee for three seasons. Shortly thereafter, she was signed to Ne-Yo's imprint Compound University and soon after to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 2011. RaVaughn attended the

2013 Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

with singer-songwriter, Ne-Yo. On June 17, RaVaughn sat down with ''The Source'' to discuss her career and unmateralized projects. In the interview, she shed some light on her album, ''Love Always''. "For my debut album, I want women to be inspired to be a strong woman, not taking B.S. from anyone, and being in control for yourself."

Releases

RaVaughn's debut EP entitled ''Love Always… The Introduction'' was released on September 14, 2012. After its release, music website Urban Music Daily wrote that "RaVaughn is the ultimate contemporary R&B artist. The passion she pours into her lyrics is astounding." On February 21, 2013, she released her planned debut album's lead single "Better Be Good" featuring

Wale Wale or WALE may refer to: Places *Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England *Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland People *Wale (surname) *Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Radio and television ...

. On March 15, 2013, she published via her SoundCloud page her album's sampler which includes tracks "Better Be Good", "It's Over", "Sick of Crying", "Lovin U", and "God Made Me Over". Her second single "Best Friend" was released on May 16, 2013. As of 2014, RaVaughn had since been released from her deal with Compound and Columbia Records, thus the album, ''Love Always'', has remained unreleased.

Performances

She performed her song "Best Friend" On Sirius XM Radio in April 2013. On May 7, 2013 RaVaughn joined Yahoo!'s ''On the Road'' tour featuring Kendrick Lamar in Cincinnati, Ohio. In an exclusive interview with Yahoo!, she talked about her past experiences and her life on tour. RaVaughn performed alongside Kendrick Lamar,

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

, and

, at 106 KMEL's Summer Jam concert on June 9 in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California. Staff members at Concrete Loop were "blown away" by RaVaughn's exclusive performance of "Best Friend" on June 26, 2013. RaVaughn performed at the 2013 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California on June 30, 2013 as one of the Music Matters artists.

Discography

;EPs *2012: ''Love Always… The Introduction'' ;Albums *''Love Always'' ;Singles

References

{{authority control African-American women singer-songwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women singers