Andy Allo is a Cameroonian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress. She released her first of three albums in 2009, and joined

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

's band,

The New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

, in 2011. She had a recurring role in three episodes of the comedy-drama series '' The Game'' in 2011, followed by a number of other roles, including a supporting role in the 2017 film ''

Pitch Perfect 3 ''Pitch Perfect 3'' is a 2017 American musical comedy film directed by Trish Sie and written by Kay Cannon and Mike White. A sequel to ''Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015) and the third and final installment in the ''Pitch Perfect'' franchise, the film f ...

'' and the lead role of Nora in Amazon Prime's series ''

Upload Uploading refers to ''transmitting'' data from one computer system to another through means of a network. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via web browsers, FTP clients], and computer terminal, terminals ( SCP/ SFTP). Uploadin ...

'' (2020).

Early life and education

Born in

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is ...

, Northwest Region,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, Allo developed an interest in music at an early age; her mother taught her to play the piano at age seven. She also went to PNEU school Bamenda, Cameroon. She is the youngest of five siblings. Allo holds dual citizenship in the United States and Cameroon and moved with her sister Suzanne to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

in 2000 at the age of eleven, joining three other siblings. Her Californian-born mother Sue, was forced to move back after suffering chronic fatigue syndrome. Her father Andrew Allo is an ecologist. Allo's US education began in seventh grade at Arden Middle School in Sacramento, and she graduated in 2006 from

El Camino Fundamental High School El Camino Fundamental High School is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, near Sacramento. It is part of the San Juan Unified School District. Built in 1951 as El Camino High School, "Fundamental" was added to the name in the late 197 ...

in Sacramento. Following high school, Allo attended

American River College American River College (ARC) is a public community college in unincorporated Sacramento, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System. History The college was opened in 1955 as American River Junior College, on the site ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. At that time, Allo formed her own band, Allo and the Traffic Jam, which occasionally performed for tips on the corner of 22nd and J streets in Sacramento.

Career

Allo's first solo gig was an open mic night in 2008 at the Fox & Goose Public House in downtown Sacramento. In 2009, she released her first independent album, ''UnFresh'', a collection of 12 original songs. The album's first single, "Dreamland", features the

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 ...

Blu Blu or BLU may refer to: Businesses and brands *Blu (Italian company), a telecommunications company *Blu Manga, an imprint of Tokyopop * blu eCigs, a brand of electronic cigarette owned by Imperial Tobacco *BLU Products, an American mobile phone m ...

. Allo's reputation as a musician led her to a role as a singer and guitarist in American musician

's band, the

New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

, in 2011. She began writing with Prince while on tour, collaborating on three songs, "Superconductor", "The Calm" and "Long Gone", which appear on Allo's album, ''Superconductor''. ''Superconductor'' was released on 20 November 2012, and the album debuted at number one on

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

's Soul and R&B charts in France, the United Kingdom and the US The album also features musicians

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many o ...

and

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

.. She also appeared in three songs on Prince's 2014 album Art Official Age, in "Breakdown", she sings background vocals, and in both "What It Feels Like" and "Time", she sings co-lead vocals. She would appear again in a Prince album in 2015, when he included "Rocknroll Loveaffair" in Hit n Run Phase Two, and it also includes "Xtralovable", which was originally released in 2011 and included a rap verse by Allo, but it was replaced by a horn section in this version. In October 2014, she released her single "Tongue Tied". ''Hello'' was released in April 2015 and was funded through

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

. In the same year she collaborated with Prince on a covers project titled ''

Oui Can Luv ''Oui Can Luv'' is a studio album by Andy Allo featuring Prince (musician), Prince on guitar, containing nine acoustic tracks, mostly covers. To date, the album has only been available for 12 hours on November 9, 2015, on the music streaming servi ...

''. Allo first appeared on screen in 2011, in three episodes of the comedy-drama series '' The Game''. She has been interviewed on the talk show ''

Attack of the Show! ''Attack of the Show!'' (''AOTS'') is an American live television program and that aired on G4. AOTS features segments on pop culture, video games, and movies. After an initial run from 2005 to 2013 (which originally aired from 2005 until 2013 ...

'', and performed her music on the talk show '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!''. In 2017, she appeared in the film ''

'' as Serenity, a member of the band called Evermoist, alongside

Ruby Rose Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986) is an Australian model, actress, disc jockey and television presenter. Rose was a presenter on MTV Australia (2007–2011), followed by several high-profile modelling gigs, including Maybelline New Yor ...

. Since 2020, she's played the female lead role of Nora in the Amazon Prime TV series ''

''.

Discography

Albums

* ''UnFresh'' (2009) * ''Superconductor'' (2012) * ''Hello'' (2015) * ''

'' (2015) * ''One Step Closer'' (2017)

Filmography

References

External links

Andy Allo instagram
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allo, Andy 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American pianists Cameroonian emigrants to the United States 21st-century Cameroonian women singers Cameroonian female models American funk guitarists American funk keyboardists American funk singers Living people American neo soul singers People from Bamenda American pop guitarists American pop pianists American rhythm and blues guitarists Rhythm and blues pianists American soul guitarists American soul keyboardists American television actresses 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century women pianists