Jaguar Wright
Encyclopedia
Jaguar Wright is a soul
/R&B
vocalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. She is part of the Okayplayer
collective. She has performed along rap acts such as The Roots
, Jay-Z
, and Blackalicious
.
in 2001, which eventually led to her going to tour with them. She later appeared as a back up singer for Jay-Z in 2001, and appeared in a Coca-Cola advert as part of the brand's 'Nu Soul' campaign.
She has released two solo albums to date - 'Denials, Delusions & Decisions' in 2002, and 'Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul' in 2005. Wright also recorded an album titled '...And Your Point Is?' which was due for release in 2003 on MCA Records (who also distributed her debut), before the label folded. However, many of the tracks recorded for that album later appeared on 'Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul.'
In 2007, two new songs appeared on her MySpace profile. One was a live version of new song 'Sometimes', the other a cover of 'Let's Do It Again'. A further two new songs surfaced in 2009; "Beautiful" and "Surely Shawty", although neither saw an official release.
She has toured every year since her debut album was released. In March 2008, she toured Europe with Bahamadia and Hezekiah for the 'Philly Sounds' tour. Wright did not perform any new material on the tour, but did live cover versions of Cherrelle's 'Saturday Love' and Crystal Waters' 'Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless).' During the tour, she announced that she was in the process of writing a novel, and working on a third album. No release dates have been confirmed for either as yet.
In 2008, she supplied backing vocals for Al Green's album 'Lay It Down.'
In January 2011, Jaguar Wright toured Europe with Lady Alma on the 'Philly Sounds 2011' tour. She revealed that she's working on a third album, due out in the summer of 2011. The lead single from the new album will be called "Switch".
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
vocalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. She is part of the Okayplayer
Okayplayer
Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...
collective. She has performed along rap acts such as The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, and Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
.
Career
She was brought to the attention of hip-hop group The RootsThe Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
in 2001, which eventually led to her going to tour with them. She later appeared as a back up singer for Jay-Z in 2001, and appeared in a Coca-Cola advert as part of the brand's 'Nu Soul' campaign.
She has released two solo albums to date - 'Denials, Delusions & Decisions' in 2002, and 'Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul' in 2005. Wright also recorded an album titled '...And Your Point Is?' which was due for release in 2003 on MCA Records (who also distributed her debut), before the label folded. However, many of the tracks recorded for that album later appeared on 'Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul.'
In 2007, two new songs appeared on her MySpace profile. One was a live version of new song 'Sometimes', the other a cover of 'Let's Do It Again'. A further two new songs surfaced in 2009; "Beautiful" and "Surely Shawty", although neither saw an official release.
She has toured every year since her debut album was released. In March 2008, she toured Europe with Bahamadia and Hezekiah for the 'Philly Sounds' tour. Wright did not perform any new material on the tour, but did live cover versions of Cherrelle's 'Saturday Love' and Crystal Waters' 'Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless).' During the tour, she announced that she was in the process of writing a novel, and working on a third album. No release dates have been confirmed for either as yet.
In 2008, she supplied backing vocals for Al Green's album 'Lay It Down.'
In January 2011, Jaguar Wright toured Europe with Lady Alma on the 'Philly Sounds 2011' tour. She revealed that she's working on a third album, due out in the summer of 2011. The lead single from the new album will be called "Switch".
Personal life
Wright has two children, and is married. She has been involved in a long-running feud with her mother-in-law, who she publicly criticized in the Thank Yous of her debut album. She later went on to state in an interview with Blues&Soul magazine that her mother-in-law was "f**king nuts. Seriously, I think she's a paranoid, delusional schizophrenic."Albums
| Year | Title | Label | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Denials Delusions and Decisions | MCA MCA Records MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003... |
||
| 2005 | Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul | Artemis | ||
Singles
| Year | Song | US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "The What If's" | — | 106 | Denials Delusions and Decisions |
| 2005 | "Free" | — | — | Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul |
| "Flower" | — | — | ||