Lumidee
Encyclopedia
Lumidee Cedeño is an American
singer-songwriter
and rapper
. Cedeño was born in Spanish Harlem where she was raised by her grandparents. She quickly rose to fame in 2003 with the release of her song "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
", which reached the top ten in over ten countries and number one in various European countries.
and rapping
at the age of twelve. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
at the age of fourteen, after she was misdiagnosed with lupus
.
After graduating high school
, she collaborated with a local neighborhood producer
named DJ Tedsmooth to record her debut single, "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
" for an independent record label
called Straight Face. Lumidee cites Lauryn Hill
, Missy Elliot, MC Lyte
and Mary J. Blige
as her major influences.
, where she released her debut album
called Almost Famous on June 23, 2003. Her single peaked at number 3 in the U.S.
and number 2 in the UK
, but it was her only hit until the 2007 release of "She's Like The Wind." According to Nielsen SoundScan
, Almost Famous sold 276,000 copies in the U.S.
For the next few years, Lumidee was not in the mainstream music industry in the US, instead veering more towards reggaeton and dancehall music. After her hit single "Never Leave You" faded, Lumidee went overseas to continue her musical career in Belgium, Germany
, France and the Netherlands. She released "Grimey Streets" in 2004, which was a mixtape consisting of new material, freestyles and tracks from Almost Famous. Lumidee was also featured on several tracks in this era, having moderate success in Europe. However, due to her debut single being her only big hit to date, she was placed in the one-hit wonder
category.
In 2006, Lumidee released a song for the FIFA World Cup
album soundtrack entitled "Dance!
". It featured a sample
of the Whitney Houston
track, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The song was a club hit in the most of Europe, successfully entering the charts in the countries where it was officially released.
’s arthritis walk in 2007. On April 17, she released her second album called Unexpected, which was released under TVT Records
. In an interview with Vibe, Lumidee spoke about signing with TVT Records stating, "TVT Records is the perfect way for me to come back and again I'm coming out of left field, just like with Never Leave You. Nobody ever thought of me coming back on a street credible label like TVT ... Actually, nobody ever thought of me really even coming back, period." The U.S. single, "She's Like the Wind", peaked at 43, but it was not released in Europe
. There, the label released the single "Crazy" featuring Pitbull
which had moderate chart success in Germany, Austria and the UK. Lumidee made an appearance on MTV Cribs
, showing her New Jersey home, which aired on August 6, 2007.
from her label, Logy Music Entertainment. In late 2009, Lumidee worked on another mixtape entitled Luminadee, which was released exclusively on Coast2CoastMixtapes.com in early January 2010. Lumidee was working on an album which was set to be released sometime in 2010, but did not materialize. In 2011, she appeared in a re-work of Remady’s dance hit No Superstar.
and in 2011 she released the how sick is this song featuring K.R.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
. Cedeño was born in Spanish Harlem where she was raised by her grandparents. She quickly rose to fame in 2003 with the release of her song "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
-Official versions:# "Never Leave You " [Original Mix] - 3:06# "Never Leave You " / [Main] - 3:33# "Never Leave You " [Anthony Acid & DJ Skribble Remix ] - 3:44-Personnel:...
", which reached the top ten in over ten countries and number one in various European countries.
Early life
Cedeño's father died in 1995, and she and her four siblings were raised by her grandparents. She began singingSinging
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
at the age of twelve. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
at the age of fourteen, after she was misdiagnosed with lupus
Lupus
Lupus most commonly refers to the disease systemic lupus erythematosus.Lupus may also refer to:-Medicine:* Lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease with several different forms...
.
After graduating high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, she collaborated with a local neighborhood producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
named DJ Tedsmooth to record her debut single, "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)
-Official versions:# "Never Leave You " [Original Mix] - 3:06# "Never Leave You " / [Main] - 3:33# "Never Leave You " [Anthony Acid & DJ Skribble Remix ] - 3:44-Personnel:...
" for an independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
called Straight Face. Lumidee cites Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
, Missy Elliot, MC Lyte
MC Lyte
MC Lyte is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late-1980s becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock.-Early life:...
and Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
as her major influences.
2003–2006: Almost Famous
She signed with Universal RecordsUniversal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
, where she released her debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
called Almost Famous on June 23, 2003. Her single peaked at number 3 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and number 2 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but it was her only hit until the 2007 release of "She's Like The Wind." According to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
, Almost Famous sold 276,000 copies in the U.S.
For the next few years, Lumidee was not in the mainstream music industry in the US, instead veering more towards reggaeton and dancehall music. After her hit single "Never Leave You" faded, Lumidee went overseas to continue her musical career in Belgium, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France and the Netherlands. She released "Grimey Streets" in 2004, which was a mixtape consisting of new material, freestyles and tracks from Almost Famous. Lumidee was also featured on several tracks in this era, having moderate success in Europe. However, due to her debut single being her only big hit to date, she was placed in the one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
category.
In 2006, Lumidee released a song for the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
album soundtrack entitled "Dance!
Dance!
"Dance!" is a song included on the album FIFA World Cup 2006 Soundtrack. It features R&B artist Lumidee and Fatman Scoop and it samples the chorus from Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody".-Track listing:Single CD-Maxi#Dance! - 3:37...
". It featured a sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of the Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
track, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The song was a club hit in the most of Europe, successfully entering the charts in the countries where it was officially released.
2007: Unexpected
For the New York branch, Cedeño was named youth ambassador of the Arthritis FoundationArthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is the largest national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to the prevention, control and cure of arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States....
’s arthritis walk in 2007. On April 17, she released her second album called Unexpected, which was released under TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
. In an interview with Vibe, Lumidee spoke about signing with TVT Records stating, "TVT Records is the perfect way for me to come back and again I'm coming out of left field, just like with Never Leave You. Nobody ever thought of me coming back on a street credible label like TVT ... Actually, nobody ever thought of me really even coming back, period." The U.S. single, "She's Like the Wind", peaked at 43, but it was not released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. There, the label released the single "Crazy" featuring Pitbull
Pitbull (rapper)
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
which had moderate chart success in Germany, Austria and the UK. Lumidee made an appearance on MTV Cribs
MTV Cribs
MTV Cribs and CMT Cribs, depending on which channel it airs, is a franchise reality television program that originated on the MTV Networks' MTV. It later aired on its CMT channel that features tours of the houses and mansions of celebrities. The first show aired September 2000...
, showing her New Jersey home, which aired on August 6, 2007.
2009–present
On May 13, 2009, Lumidee released a mixtape called I'm Up, Vol. 1I'm Up, Vol. 1
I'm Up, Vol. 1 is a mixtape by American recording artist Lumidee, released by Logy Music Entertainment on May 13, 2009. It features remixes, freestyles and tracks from Unexpected.-Tracklisting:...
from her label, Logy Music Entertainment. In late 2009, Lumidee worked on another mixtape entitled Luminadee, which was released exclusively on Coast2CoastMixtapes.com in early January 2010. Lumidee was working on an album which was set to be released sometime in 2010, but did not materialize. In 2011, she appeared in a re-work of Remady’s dance hit No Superstar.
and in 2011 she released the how sick is this song featuring K.R.
Discography
- Almost FamousAlmost Famous (Lumidee album)Almost Famous is the debut album by American R&B recording artist Lumidee, released by Universal Records on June 24, 2003.It peaked at number twenty-two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and number eleven on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums...
(2003) - UnexpectedUnexpected (Lumidee album)Unexpected is the second studio album by American Hip-Hop and R&B recording artist Lumidee, released by TVT Records on April 17, 2007 in the United States and on June 21, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced primarily by J. Marty with contributions made by Scott Storch, T.C...
(2007) - I'm Up, Vol. 1I'm Up, Vol. 1I'm Up, Vol. 1 is a mixtape by American recording artist Lumidee, released by Logy Music Entertainment on May 13, 2009. It features remixes, freestyles and tracks from Unexpected.-Tracklisting:...
(2009) - Coast 2 Coast Exclusive, Vol. 2Coast 2 Coast Exclusive, Vol. 2Coast 2 Coast Exclusive, Vol. 2 is a mixtape by American recording artist Lumidee, released by Logy Music Entertainment on August 29, 2009.-Track listing:...
(2009)