Traci Renee Braxton (April 2, 1971 – March 12, 2022) was an American singer, reality television personality, and radio personality.

Early life

Braxton was born in

Severn, Maryland Severn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Severn is 57,118, a 22.6% increase from 44,231 according to the 2010 census. The zip code is 21144. Geograp ...

as the third child of her parents. Her father, Michael Conrad Braxton Sr., was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

clergyman and power company worker, and her mother, Evelyn Jackson, a native of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, was a former opera singer and cosmetologist, as well as a pastor. Braxton's maternal grandfather was also a pastor. Braxton has an older brother, Michael Jr. (born in 1968), and four sisters,

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...

(born in 1967), Towanda (born in 1973),

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 ...

(born in 1974) and Tamar (born in 1977). Braxton and her siblings were raised in a strict religious household, and Braxton's first performing experience was singing in her church choir.

Career

1989–1991: Career beginnings with The Braxtons

Toni, Traci, Towanda, Trina, and Tamar Braxton signed their first record deal with Arista Records in 1989. In 1990, they released their first single, " Good Life". It would be their only single as a fivesome. "Good Life" was not a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, peaking at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. At the time of the single's release, the members' age differences created a problem with marketing. Subsequently, The Braxtons were dropped from Arista Records. In 1991, during a showcase with Antonio "L.A." Reid and

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...

, who were in the process of forming

LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

, Toni Braxton, minus her four sisters, was chosen and signed as the label's first female solo artist. At the time, the remaining members were told that LaFace was not looking for another girl group since it had just signed

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

1992–1995: Career complications and pregnancy

After Toni's departure from the group in 1991, the remaining Braxtons members became backup singers for Toni's first U.S. tour, music videos, and promotional appearances. Traci, Towanda, Trina, and Tamar were featured in the music video for Toni Braxton's third single, "

Seven Whole Days "Seven Whole Days" is a song performed by American singer Toni Braxton. It serves as the third single from her self-titled debut album (1993). It was released on October 8, 1993 by LaFace and Arista Records. Written and produced by Kenneth Ed ...

", from her debut album. In 1993, LaFace Records A&R Vice President, Bryant Reid, signed The Braxtons to LaFace. However, the group never released an album or single for the record label. When Reid moved on to work for Atlantic Records, he convinced executives at

LaFace LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achie ...

to allow him take the group to Atlantic also.Reynolds, J.R. "'So Many' Braxtons on Atlantic Label Downplays Link To Famous Sister." ''Billboard''. July 6, 1996: 18–19. Print. It was reported in ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

'' magazine that in 1995, Traci Braxton had left the group to pursue a career as a youth counselor. However, it was not confirmed until 2004 when Towanda Braxton appeared in season 2 of the reality show '' Starting Over'', that Traci was not allowed to sign with

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

because of her pregnancy at the time.

2011–2014: Reality television

In 2011, Braxton reunited with her sisters for the

WE tv We TV (stylized as WE tv) is an American pay television channel. Owned by AMC Networks since its September 1997 launch, it is oriented mainly towards lifestyle and entertainment programming. As of February 2015, approximately 85.2 million Amer ...

reality show, ''

Braxton Family Values ''Braxton Family Values'' (abbreviated ''BFV'') is an American reality television series that airs on WE tv and premiered on April 12, 2011. It chronicles the lives of the Braxton sisters—Toni, Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar and their mother ...

''. She makes appearances as backing vocal singer of her sisters in some shows over the years. In 2013, Braxton and her husband Kevin Surratt joined the third season of

Marriage Boot Camp ''Marriage Boot Camp'' (also known as ''Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas'', ''Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars'' and ''Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Family Edition'') is an American reality television series which debuted on May 31, 2013, on W ...

. In 2013, Braxton began her solo career after signing with independent media conglomerate Entertainment One under

eOne Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

and Soul World Entertainment to release an album. The same year, she got her own radio show called The Traci Braxton show on the BLIS.F.M. radio.Traci Braxton show on soulbounce.com
/ref>Traci Braxton bio on lushradioonline.com
/ref>Traci Braxton show on alwayssalist.com
Her solo debut album, '' Crash & Burn'', was released on October 7, 2014. The album's lead single "Last Call" peaked at number 16 on the US R&B Adult.Traci Braxton Last Call Single Charts on Billboard.com
/ref> "Crash & Burn" debuted at No. 108 on the

Billboard Hot 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...

with sales of 4,000 in its first week. The album also reached No. 11 on the relaunched '' Billboard''

R&B Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart and at No. 1 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.Traci Braxton charts
/ref> A follow-up single "Perfect Time" was released in 2015.

2015–2022: The Braxtons reunion, films and ''On Earth''

On January 14, 2015, she joined the judging panel of Mrs. DC America 2015. In October 2015, ''

The Braxtons The Braxtons are an American musical quintet consisting of singer Toni Braxton and her younger sisters, Traci Braxton, Towanda Braxton, Trina Braxton, and Tamar Braxton. Despite being commercially unsuccessful, the group's first single, " Good ...

'' released their second album '' Braxton Family Christmas''. The album was released on October 30 and pre-ordered on October 16. ''Braxton Family Christmas'' debuted at number 27 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 10 on the

US R&B 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 12 on US Top Holiday Albums on November 21, 2015. The album charted at number 1 on the US Heatseekers Albums on December 12, 2015. On May 17, 2016, during a Facebook live video on the

page it was announced that Braxton was releasing a new single in 2016 titled "Body Shots" from her upcoming second studio album. On May 21, 2017, she starred on the stageplay ''There's a Stranger in My House''. On September 26, 2017, Braxton was featured on the Kokayi rapper title ''"Moonlight"''. On April 20, 2018, she released the single "Broken Things" featuring her sisters Toni, Towanda and Trina.Tamar Braxton release single Broken Things featuring her sisters on tracibraxton.com
/ref>Traci Braxton release the single Broken Things on thatgrapejuice.net
/ref> On August 3, 2018, Traci Braxton released "Lifeline" as the official lead single from her second album, ''

On Earth ''On Earth'' is the second and final studio album by American singer Traci Braxton. The album was released on August 24, 2018, through Soul World Entertainment. The album was preceded by the release of one single—"Lifeline" and one promotional ...

'', which was released on August 24, 2018. In the same time, she made her movie acting debut in the feature film '' Sinners Wanted''. On June 13, 2019, she acted in the film, ''All In'', starring

Lil Mama Niatia Jessica Kirkland (born October 4, 1989), better known by her stage name Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer, actress and television presenter from Brooklyn, New York and Harlem, New York. She experienced top 10 ''Billboard'' placemen ...

. On December 12, 2020, she starred in the film ''The Christmas Lottery''. On September 24, 2021, she was featured on the song "Stay with Me", performed by Candiace, taken from her album ''Deep Space''.

Death

Braxton died on March 12, 2022, at the age of 50. She had been suffering from esophageal cancer for at least one year before her death. In addition to her parents, sisters, and brother, she is survived by her husband, Kevin Surrat, their son, Kevin Surrat Jr. and his wife Olivia (née Barron), and her grandson, Kevin Surrat, III.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Appearances

Film *2018: ''Sinners Wanted'': Nana *2019: ''All In'': Foster Mom *2020: ''The Christmas Lottery'': Announcer Television * ''

'' (as herself, 2011–2020) * ''

'' (as herself, 2014) Radio * ''The Traci Braxton Show'' Theater * ''There's a Stranger in My House'' (2017)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braxton, Traci 1971 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Methodists from Maryland American contemporary R&B singers Deaths from esophageal cancer Place of death missing Musicians from Maryland People from Severn, Maryland The Braxtons members