B Angie B

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B Angie B is an African American female R&B vocalist and dancer who came onto the music scene in the early 1990s.

[edit] Career

B Angie B was born Angela Boyd in 1968 in the small rural town of Morton, MS. She grew up singing and honing her gritty, soulful vocals in a local church. She graduated from Morton High School in 1984. It wasn't until a few years later that she and her best friend made a decision to move to out west to pursue a singing/music career together. The friend ended up getting pregnant and Boyd relocating to California alone.

It was not long after this relocation, that Boyd was discovered by members of MC Hammer's entourage of dancers and brought to Hammer's attention. Becoming a member of his mob of slick, hip hop dancers in 1988, Hammer soon discovered that Boyd was also a vocalist. Hammer is also the one credited with giving Boyd her stage name B Angie B (which stands for Beautiful Angela Boyd). She sang on Pump It Up (Here's the News) on his Let's Get It Started album (the version re-released on Capitol Records in 1988) and she became a back up singer during his tours.

Her next opportunity came in 1989 with Hammer's all female rap group Oaktown's 3.5.7. She added her vocals to the rap hit Juicy Gotcha Krazy and appeared in the video along with Oaktown 357. She continued to tour and produce background vocals for Hammer during his successful Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em album in 1990.

In 1991, Hammer signed B Angie B to his Capitol-distributed Bust It imprint. That year, Bust It/Capitol released her self-titled debut album, which Hammer produced with his Northern California colleague Felton Pilate (formerly of the popular 1970s/'80s funk band Con-Funk-Shun). Combining a strong appreciation of classic soul with a high-tech hip-hop production style, the album was the essence of neo-soul. Bust It/Capitol released a few songs from B Angie B's album as singles, including "So Much Love" and remakes of two 1970s soul hits: Rufus & Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing" and the Emotions' "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love". The latter single became a minor hit, but Angie's sales didn't quite satisfy Capitol--and she was dropped from the label a little over a year later. B Angie B is also credited in small circles with being one of the first female artists to sing R&B vocals over strong hip-hop/rap tracks and bring that sound to the listening public.

Her last known recording was on the 1992 soundtrack to the Kid 'n Play farce Class Act in which she sang the title track "I am a Class Act(Work That Body)". The title track was also released as a video from the movie in which she appeared.

Update: B Angie B release a second album in 1995 under the Bust It label (with independent distribution). She dropped the first "B" and was now known as "Angie B." The album didn't make an impact at radio or retail, however, leaving few who may have known about its release.

As of the turn of 2000, B Angie B resides back in Mississippi and has a pre-teen aged child. Her 1991 solo debut "B Angie B" on Capitol records was reissued in mid 2005 with a bonus DVD.