Mashonda Karima Dean (née Tifrere; born January 9, 1978) is an American R&B singer from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. In 2004, she married record producer

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

and signed with his record label Full Surface Records, an imprint of

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...

to release her debut studio album, '' January Joy'' (2005). In 2011, Dean joined the first season of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's reality show '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''.

Musical career

In 1998, Mashonda signed a publishing deal with Warner Chapel Music. She subsequently wrote for singer Monifah and worked with Full Force. The following year, she signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. In 1999, she was featured on American rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

's single " Girl's Best Friend", for the soundtrack to the film '' Blue Streak''. The song, produced by

, was also included as a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

on Jay-Z's fourth studio album '' Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter'' (1999). Mashonda's vocals also featured on American rapper

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

's song "Gotta Man", produced by Beatz, from her debut studio album '' Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady'' (1999). Mashonda went on to make

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s on American rapper Cassidy's "Get No Better", produced by Beatz, from his album '' Split Personality'' (2004), American rapper

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

's Beatz-produced song "Listen Baby", from his 2005 album '' All or Nothing'' and guest appeared on Triple Seis' debut studio album Only Time'll Tell, featuring on the song "Skully". Mashonda's debut album '' January Joy'', produced by Beatz,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, and

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...

, was released in November 2005 in Japan. The album was supported by two singles, co-written by Beatz: " Back of da Club", featuring Beatz, and "Blackout" featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. In March 2009, she released a

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

titled ''The Renovation Series''.. Mashonda took time off from her music career to raise her son.

Other ventures

Mashonda was the author of a column, "Pandora's Box", on '' Vibe Vixen''. Mashonda authored a book on co-parenting, titled ''Blend: The Secret to Co-Parenting and Creating a Balanced Family'' (2018), with contributions from co-parents Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.

Personal life

Mashonda began dating the

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Kasseem Dean, known as

, in 1998. She became pregnant, but suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

in 2000. She was the stepmother to Dean's son from a previous relationship, Prince Nasir; he was born during her pregnancy and she named him. Mashonda and Dean married in 2004. Their son, Kasseem Dean, Jr., was born in 2006. In 2008, the couple announced their break up. According to Dean, they had already been separated for nine or ten months by June of that year. The divorce was finalized in May 2010, with the couple citing

irreconcilable differences The concept of irreconcilable differences provides possible grounds for divorce in the United States of America and Australia, among other jurisdictions. Australia Australian family law uses a no-fault divorce approach, and irreconcilable differe ...

Discography

Studio albums

*'' January Joy'' (2005) *''Note To Self'' (2022)

Mixtapes

*''The Renovation Series'' (2009) *''Love, Mashonda'' (2012)

Singles

;As lead artist *2005: Back Of Da Club *2006: Black Out (feat. Snoop Dogg) *2006: Used To (Promo Only) *2009: Dirty Laundry (feat. Eve) *2009: No Panties (Buzz Single) *2011: Intrigued (Buzz Single) *2011: Juicy Fruit *2012: Touch Me *2012: Mystery (feat. Lil Mo) *2020: King *2021: Honey, I See You *2022: Forbidden Fruit *2022: Positive Distraction *2022: Complicated

Guest appearances

Filmography

References

{{Authority control Living people 1978 births 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers Participants in American reality television series 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers African-American women writers