Marinna Teal (born November 25, 1975), better known as Strings, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and songwriter formerly signed to

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

and

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hip h ...

. She is best known for being featured on

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

's "

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...

Remix" and

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give A ...

's "Im Not Ready Remix" in the mid and late 1990s.

Early life

Her grandfather was Aaron Moore, a famous bluesman from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. When growing up, Strings begin singing in the choir in her hometown and won talent show prizes. She had her first baby at 13. After graduating from

Chicago Vocational High School Chicago Vocational High School (commonly known as CVCA, Chicago Vocational Career Academy or CVS) is a public 4–year vocational high school located in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened i ...

she moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

for five years, where she became an exotic dancer to support her daughter.

Music career

One night when she was out of town she attended an R. Kelly concert she had got her way backstage, where she met R. Kelly she sang for him then when she was done singing R. Kelly took her to a restroom and start beating on a sink while she was rapping for hours. Then one night she got a phone call and it was Kelly he wanted her to fly to Miami to record some songs that she had written. When everything went well, Strings signed to R. Kelly's label Rockland Records and appeared on R. Kelly's "Gotham City Remix". She also performed vocals on his self titled album and appeared on

Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Dick Tracy#Plenty family, Sparkle Plenty, a character ...

's "Vegas" on her self titled album. Strings later left Rockland because they didn't release her solo album. She later signed a deal to Keith Sweat's record label Epic in 1998. In 1999 she released "Raise It Up", and " Tongue Song" in 2000, which sampled Sisqo's hit "

Thong Song "Thong Song" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Sisqó. It was released on February 15, 2000, as the second single from his solo debut studio album, ''Unleash the Dragon'' (1999). "Thong Song" garnered four Grammy nominations and numerou ...

". Tongue Song made it to number 24 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 ...

Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart and number 13 on

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart. The song received regular airplay on East Coast radio stations, and she performed two singles on

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

and on BET Live from LA. The album's release date was scheduled for November 2000, however it was shelved, and only the Listening Post Edition (

Promo CD A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

) and

sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

copies were pressed. She was later released from her contract with Epic. When she was a free agent she signed to

, and later changed her name to Tateeze. She was featured on the

Big Tymers Big Tymers (stylized as Big Tymer$) was an American musical duo active from 1997 to 2005 and again in 2018-2018 from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman (rapper), Baby and former Cash Money in-house record ...

single Oh Yeah!. She planned to release another solo project under their label, but due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

it was never released, and two weeks later she left the label. In 2011 she released her debut Mixtape entitled High Maintenance Music 101 The Mixx Education of Strings.

Discography

Albums

* 2000: '' The Black Widow''

Singles

Album appearances

* 1998: "Vegas"

* 1999: "Im Not Ready Remix"

- Im Not Ready * 2000: "Whatcha Like" Keith Sweat - Didn't See Me Coming * 2002: "Get That Dough"

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

500 Degreez ''500 Degreez'' is the third studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on July 23, 2002, by Cash Money Records and Universal Records. The album's title was inspired by the album '' 400 Degreez'' (1998), by fellow rapper and lab ...

* 2002: "Do That...."

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

- Birdman * 2002: "Oh Yeah!" Big Tymers - Hood Rich * 2003: "Beat It Up" Big Tymers -

Big Money Heavyweight ''Big Money Heavyweight'' is the fifth and final studio album by hip hop duo Big Tymers. It was released on December 9, 2003, through Cash Money Records and was mainly produced by Mannie Fresh, with other production handled by R. Kelly, Jazze ...

* 2003: "Chi-Town" Boo & Gotti - Perfect Timing * 2004: "Beat It Up" Big Tymers - No Love (Beautiful Life) * 2004: "Shake That A**" Mannie Fresh - The Mind of Mannie Fresh * 2005: "Smoke Out" - Birdman - Fast Money * 2005: "Addiction" -

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 ...

Late Registration ''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions ...

* 2009: "Dope Money" D Boyz - Life Of A D-Boy

Mixtapes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strings Living people 1975 births American women rappers African-American women rappers Chicago Vocational High School alumni African-American women singer-songwriters African-American songwriters American female erotic dancers American erotic dancers Hardcore hip hop artists Epic Records artists Cash Money Records artists Midwest hip hop musicians Rappers from Chicago 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people Singer-songwriters from Illinois 20th-century African-American women 21st-century women rappers