Teedra Shenita Moses (born December 17, 1976) is an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer.

Early life

Moses was born and raised in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. She later moved to Los Angeles with her mother and three siblings after her parents separated. Her childhood has been a direct influence on her musical style, her mother was a gospel singer and she was raised on

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. Moses recalls wanting to listen to the music that was then being played on the radio, but her mother made her listen to gospel. The final song on her debut album, "I Think of You (Shirley's Song)", is dedicated to her late mother.

Career

Prior to becoming a recording artist, Moses worked as an assistant wardrobe stylist alongside her best friend Nonja McKenzie for artists such as

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

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 ...

and

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

. But after breaking her leg on a video set, Moses decided to follow her heart and make music. Moses teamed up with producer Paul Poli and signed with the Indie Record Label,

TVT Records TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...

to release her debut album '' Complex Simplicity'' in August 2004. Complex Simplicity included fourteen tracks penned by Moses, with dominant production handled by Poli; the two would share a deserved executive production credit. The album underperformed on the major U.S. chart, debuting and peaking at number one hundred and sixty-eight on the Billboard 200. However, the album was critically acclaimed, otherwise finding success on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the Top Independent Albums, and the Top Heatseekers charts, reaching number twenty, number eleven, and number ten, respectively. In addition to executive producing and penning all the lyrics on her own project, Moses has written songs for other artists including Nivea, Christina Milian, Mary J. Blige and others. She was featured on and co-wrote two songs from

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

's 2004 album '' Ray Ray'', "Chic" and "I Want You Back". Her songs have been showcased in the Logo series

Noah's Arc ''Noah's Arc'' is an American cable television comedy-drama series that aired for two seasons on the Logo network from October 19, 2005 to October 4, 2006. The show centered on the lives of four Black gay friends who share personal and professio ...

as well as in the HBO hit show Entourage, and in movies such as Never Die Alone, Beauty Shop, and Be Cool. Though Moses has not released a studio album in several years, she can be found touring and doing live shows on a regular basis. From March to November 2010 Moses was a spokesmodel on the Lady Hennessy Tour. In addition, Moses continued to release underground, all-original mixtapes for her fans to enjoy while she awaited a new label deal that was necessitated by the

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

filed by the now defunct

in 2008.

2011–present

On March 25, 2011, it was announced that Moses had signed to rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

Maybach Music Group Maybach Music Group (; abbreviated MMG) is a record label imprint founded by American rapper Rick Ross. Maybach Music Group albums are distributed by Atlantic Records, a division of the Atlantic Records Group. Atlantic took over distribution fo ...

via

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

as its first female artist. In 2011, Moses released the ''Luxurious Undergrind'' mixtape. In February 2014, Moses released the single "All I Ever Wanted," which samples

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

's 1980 song " Adventures in the Land of Music". The song was released as the lead single from her EP ''Cognac & Conversation'', which is co-executive produced by Rick Ross and

. In December 2014, it was reported that Moses signed to Shanachie Records after the ill-fated alliance with Maybach Music Group. Moses revealed singer Avery Sunshine was the reason why she signed with the label, due to the success that Sunshine is having while being on Shanachie's roster. On August 8, 2015, finally her sophomore effort, Cognac & Conversation was released.

Songwriting style

When writing songs Moses prefers to do so alone in her own space. Commenting on this Moses said; "I hate to admit it because it sounds so weird, but I don't like other energies around me. I need to be alone, in my own space, with just me and my music so I can be honest with whatever I feel from the music; otherwise I'm just giving something from the surface." Moses also tries to always be honest with her lyrical content noting it as important to her, expanding on this Moses commented saying "If I'm honest with people, then people will feel that. And that's been my experience so far, just being frank about my feelings about life, and my experiences in life and love. I think me being honest like that is why I've gained sincere fans. From here to America, sincere people who really dig me, that can quote lyrics."

Songwriting credits

*2003: "Still in Love" — from

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on 28 March 1882, by Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1890, it w ...

's album ''

'' *2004: "

Dip It Low "Dip It Low" is a song by American singer Christina Milian from her second studio album, ''It's About Time (Christina Milian album), It's About Time'' (2004). Written by Poli Paul and Teedra Moses and produced by Paul, the track was released as t ...

" — from

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19. ...

's album '' It's About Time'' *2004: '' Complex Simplicity'' – debut album entirely written by Teedra Moses *2004: "Chic" and "I Want You Back" – from

's album ''Raphael Saadiq As Ray Ray'' *2005: "Get Up on Ya Gangsta" — from

Teairra Marí Teairra Marí Thomas (born December 2, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress. At the age of 16, Jay-Z signed her to Def Jam and she released her first album, '' Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí''. After disappoi ...

's album '' Roc-A-Fella Presents: Teairra Marí'' *2006: " Here We Go" — from

Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...

's album ''

Glamorest Life ''Glamorest Life'' is the third studio album by American rapper Trina. It was released by Slip-N-Slide Records and Atlantic on October 4, 2005. Her final album with Atlantic, in 2007, Trina signed to EMI in conjunction with her original label, Sl ...

'' *2006: "So Lady" — from the Japanese and international edition of

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

's album ''

The Breakthrough ''The Breakthrough'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on December 20, 2005, by Geffen Records. Blige recorded the album with a host of songwriters and record producers, including 9th Wonder, Rodney Jerkins, ...

'' *2007: " Finally Made Me Happy", "Ghetto Love", and "AEIOU" — from

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

's album ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

'' *2008: "So Deep So Fast" — leaked track from

's album '' It's About Time'' *2010: "Still Hurts" — from

's album ''The Sellout'' *2014: "The Last Song" — from

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

' album ''3ChordFold Pulse''

Discography

Albums

* '' Complex Simplicity'' (2004) * '' California Vibes'' EP (2014) * '' Cognac & Conversation'' (2015)

Singles

Mixtapes

* ''The Young Hustla Compilation'' (2004) * ''Young Hustla Compilation Vol II: Live from the Jungle'' (2007) * ''Lionhearted – Young Hustla Vol III'' (2009) * ''Royal Patience ... A Love Journey'' (2010) * ''Luxurious Undergrind'' (2011) * ''ClairVoyant'' (2015)

Collaborations

*2003: "Hot 1" and "I'm That Gangsta" — from

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup The HRSMN, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is als ...

' album ''Presents Re-Up The Compilation'' *2003: "Realize" — from

Bravehearts Bravehearts are an East Coast hip hop group from New York, New York. The group's roster originally included Jungle (born Jabari Jones, son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, and younger brother of hip hop star Nas), Wiz (born Mike Epps), and Horse (born ...

' album ''Bravehearted'' *2004: "Chic" and "I Want You Back" — from

's album '' Ray Ray'' *2005: "Get High" — from Ambitious' album ''The Intricate Plot'' *2005: "Put That Thang Down" — from

Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo/D'Angelo Holmes on February 13, 1979). They are not twin brothers. They did the windows to the walls song. The ...

' album ''U.S.A. (United States of Atlanta)'' *2005: "Here We Go" — from

's album ''

'' (the album features the version with

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

) *2006: "Nothings Gonna Change" and "County Jail" — Scipio *2008: "Get Yours" — Raheem DeVaughn *2009: "Internet Connection" — from Nu Jerzey Karpet's album ''Mr. Red Karpet'' *2010: "World On Wheels" — X.O. aka Scipio *2010: "Turns Me On" — from

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 3000. ...

's album '' Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty'' *2010: "Magic Touch" — Triflon *2011: "Face The Music" — from

Trackademicks Trackademicks is an American Hip-Hop artist. He was born and raised in Alameda, California and is also part of the San Francisco-Bay Area music collective, the Honor Roll Crew. Biography Trackademicks was born in Alameda, California, to a Filip ...

' album ''State of the Arts'' *2011: "Self Made", "Rise" & "Running Rebels" — from

's album ''

Self Made Vol. 1 ''Self Made Vol. 1'' is a compilation album by Maybach Music Group, MMG. The album was released on May 24, 2011, by Maybach Music Group and Warner Bros. Records. It features MMG's new roster additions, Wale (rapper), Wale, Meek Mill, Teedra Moses, ...

'' *2011: "Me & My Nuh" — from

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a The Wonder Years (9th Wonder album), The Wonder Years'' *2011: "It's On You" — from the mixtape ''Wing Stop & Cîroc'' hosted by DJ Scream & DJ Sam Sneak *2011: "I Wish I Could Fly" — from Fiend's mixtape ''Smokin' Champagne'' *2012: "Go Get It" — from Torch's mixtape ''UFO Vol. 2'' *2012: "We Fly" — from

's album ''3ChordFold'' *2012: "Amsterdam" — from

' album ''

God Forgives, I Don't ''God Forgives, I Don't'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on July 30, 2012, by Maybach Music Group and Slip-n-Slide Records, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. The album was produced by several record ...

'' *2012: "Message From The Soul Sisters" — from the compilation ''Soul Finger The Life, Love & Passion Sessions Volume 1'' *2013: "Breathe" — from Donnie Cash's album ''Antithesis of Average'' *2013: "Coupes & Roses" with

Stalley Kyle Alfonso Myricks (born October 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Stalley, is an American rapper from Massillon, Ohio. Music career In 2008, Stalley made his mixtape debut, titled ''Goin Ape'', with fellow Ohio-native rapper Terry U ...

— from

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

Self Made Vol. 3 ''Self Made Vol. 3'' is the third compilation album by MMG. The album was released on September 17, 2013, by Maybach Music Group and Atlantic Records. Like the two previous albums in the ''Self Made'' series, the album features contributions from ...

'' *2014: "Nobody" — from

' album ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

'' *2014: "The Last Song" — from

' album ''3ChordFold Pulse'' *2015: "Heartbreak" — from Semi Hendrix' (

and

Jack Splash Jack Splash is an American recording artist, musician, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Splash's works include writing and production on singles for artists such as Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, John Legend, ...

) album ''Breakfast at Banksy's'' *2016: "Entitled" — from Torae's album ''

Entitled An entitlement is a provision made in accordance with a legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are based on concepts of principle ("rights") which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement. In psycholog ...

'' *2016: "Evil Genius" – from

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where ...

's album '' Do What Thou Wilt.'' *2019: "Culture" – from

Kaytranada Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian record producer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, ...

's album ''

BUBBA In American usage, "Bubba" is a term of endearment mainly given to boys. Being formed from the word "brother", it often indicates that someone is a "little brother". Etymology and history The linguist Ian Hancock has described similarities betw ...

Tours

*2004: Seagram's Gin Live *2004: Live in London *2005: Raphael Saadiq As Ray Ray *2007: Heineken Red Star Soul *2008: Turn It Up *2010: Lady Hennessy

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Teedra 1976 births African-American women singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Living people American neo soul singers Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Singer-songwriters from Louisiana TVT Records artists 21st-century African-American women singers