Bilal (musician)

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Bilal
Bilal appearing in the video for "Fast Lane".
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Years active	1995- present
Genres	neo soul
Labels	Interscope Records
Website(s)	www.bilal-the-man.com

Bilal (born Bilal Sayeed Oliver on August 23, 1979, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is a neo soul musician and member of the musical collective known as Soulquarians. In 2001, his debut album — 1st Born Second — was released on the Interscope record label.

Contents 1 Background 2 Collaborations 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 4 External links

[edit] Background

Bilal Oliver attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative & Performing Arts as a vocal major in the class of 1997. Bilal's classical training at the Mannes Music Conservatory in New York was instrumental to his conversance with Jazz, voice, and big band arrangements. It has also been reported that he is capable of performing opera in seven languages and writes both music and lyrics.

In 1995, Bilal encountered Faulu Mtume, and his brother, Damu Mtume (sons to James Mtume and founders of Moyo Entertainment) at a barber's shop in Philadelphia. His plans to produce film scores was shelved after he handed the brothers a demo recording; they were so impressed that they successfully convinced him to record commercially.

Bilal has also frequently collaborated and performed with several neo-soul and alternative hip hop artists, including Common, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and The Roots, as well as appearing as backing singer for D'Angelo. He also covered Radiohead's "High & Dry" for the 2006 Radiohead tribute, Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads. Bilal appears in Dave Chappelle's Block Party.

His 2005 sophomore full-length recording, Love for Sale was shelved due to excessive downloading. Being as though Bilal is not a top source of income for Interscope, the label cancelled the release.

Bilal can be found on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/bilaloliver

[edit] Collaborations

In addition to performing a duet with Jill Scott on his professional recording debut, he has collaborated with several notable acts, including:

• Common and Jill Scott, on "Funky For You" from Like Water for Chocolate
• Common on "Nag Champa (Afrodesiac For The World)" from Like Water For Chocolate
• Common and John Legend, on "Faithful" from Be
• Common, on "The 6th Sense" from Like Water For Chocolate
• Guru and Jay Dee, on "Certified" from Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul
• Erykah Badu, on Mama's Gun
• Jadakiss and Dr. Dre, on the single "Fast Lane"
• Mary J. Blige
• Cee-Lo
• Clipse and Pharell Williams, on "Nightmares" from Hell Hath No Fury
• He had a duet with Beyoncé named "Everything I Do", a soundtrack of The Fighting Temptations.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• 2001 - 1st Born Second (Interscope Records); # 31 US
• 2006 - Love for Sale (Unreleased)

[edit] Singles

• "Fast Lane"; # 41 R&B, # 27 R&R-Urban, # 7 Germany Black Singles
• "Love It"; # 61 R&B
• "Soul Sista"; # 71 US, # 18 R&B

[edit] External links

• Bilal Online Official site
• Bilal at All Music Guide

v • d • e Soulquarians
Groups
Black Star | Reflection Eternal | Slum Village | The Roots
Members
?uestlove | Bilal | Common | D'Angelo | Erykah Badu | J Dilla | James Poyser | Mos Def | Q-Tip | Talib Kweli
See also
Native Tongues Posse | The Ummah