Christopher Williams (singer)
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| Christopher Williams | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Troy Christopher Williams |
| Born | August 22, 1967 |
| Origin |  The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | R&B New Jack Swing |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, Actor |
| Years active | 1989–2001 |
| Label(s) | Geffen (1989-1992) Uptown (1992-1995) Renegade (2001) |
Christopher Williams (born Troy Christopher Williams on August 22, 1967, in The Bronx, New York, U.S.) is an American R&B singer and actor.
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[edit] Music career
Williams, who emerged during the late 1980s as a recording artist for Geffen Records, has scored many hit singles, notably "Promises, Promises" (1989), "Talk to Myself" (1989) and "Every Little Thing U Do" (1993). The single "I'm Dreamin'" (1991), from the New Jack City soundtrack, became a #1 single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts. After a six-year hiatus from recording music, he returned to the music scene with Real Men Do on the indie label, Renegade, in 2001. It received a glowing, flattering review in Ebony Magazine that summer. In between solo pursuits, he has been a contributor to Alex Bugnon's "As Promised" with a jazzed up version of Mary J. Blige's "All That I Can Say", featured on "In Your World" with Twista & The Speedknot Mobstas, a very up-tempo track on the soundtrack of " Doctor Dolittle", and on the Cafe Soul All-Stars CD with a single titled "Used To Be". Although he has been considered "out of the game" by some, there are numerous artists from several genres who give full credit to him for writing lyrics, performing, producing, editing, collaborating, and simply "doing a favor for a friend".
In 2005 it was reported that Williams died of an unknown illness, but this ended up just an Internet hoax.
[edit] Acting career
Williams appeared in the successful motion picture film, New Jack City in 1991. He portrayed the role of Kareem Akbar, one of Nino Brown's assistants. He also had a cameo appearance in the 1990s police drama, New York Undercover as "the singer", performing "Stranger In My Life", in the episode entitled, "The Shooter". He had another cameo in Gunmen starring Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles, again doing what he does best - singing! He has also starred or co-starred in several successful off Broadway theatre productions during the 2000s, including A Good Man is Hard to Find, A House is Not a Home, and The Man He Used To Be. Recently, Williams played a main character in the stage play Men Cry In The Dark written by Michael Baisden and played alongside actors Allen Payne and Richard Roundtree. As well as plays titled Guilty Until Proven Innocent staring K-Ci and JoJo and The Man of Her Dreams staring Shirley Murdock and Musiq Soul Child.
He also played the role of "Ned" in the Reuben Rox 2002 B movie comedy/horror/thriller film "Revenge of the Unhappy Campers" (bootleg alternate title "Night of the Unhappy Campers"). Tagline: "Tonight they get EVEN". Unfortunately, this particular work has not been released to DVD for sale, though it can be rented in some larger markets.
[edit] Personal
Williams reportedly has a son with actress Stacey Dash but this has never been confirmed. He is also the nephew of legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. In the late 80's or early 90's, Christopher Williams was the boyfriend of Oscar winning actress Halle Berry. Actor Wesley Snipes was exposed by Williams as the abusive ex-lover of Halle Berry, who struck the actress so hard, she lost most of the hearing in her right ear. Williams made the startling accusation against the star after getting upset with the number of people who assumed it was him who damaged the screen beauty's hearing. He told Eurweb, the entertainment news website, "The stuff they wrote about me and Halle was totally false. It's been said I busted her eardrum, and I'm tired of it. I never said it before but I'm so tired of people thinking I'm the guy who did it. Wesley busted her eardrum, not me." Williams also said that the twice married star (Berry) may have personality problems which have contributed to her broken marriages and relationships. He stated, "I have men come up to me like, 'How could you just leave Halle Berry?' I'm like, how could you just leave the last relationship you was in?" And further, "They would probably crucify Jesus again just to get with her. It's funny because the stars that get all of the good write-ups, you go and meet them and they are total assholes." She is just a woman, but because her name is in lights, people are damned near ready to bare their souls. While Williams protests that many people believe he is responsible for permanently damaging Halle Berry's eardrum, Halle Berry is on record denying that Wesley Snipes ever hit her. Stacey Dash is similarly tight-lipped about her dealings with Williams.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1989: Adventures in Paradise 1989Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums #23,
- 1992: Changes 1992 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums #12, The Billboard 200 #63
- 1995: Not a Perfect Man 1995 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums #13, The Billboard 200 #104
- 2001: Real Men Do 2001 Renegade
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Album | US (R&B) | US (Pop) | US (Dance) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Talk To Myself"/Sweet Memories | Adventures in Paradise A | 4 | 49 | 18 |
| 1989 | "Promises, Promises"/Lover Come Back | Adventures in Paradise A | 7 | - | - |
| 1990 | "One Girl"/Lover Come Back | Adventures in Paradise A | 31 | - | - |
| 1991 | "I'm Dreamin'" | New Jack City soundtrack | 1 | 89 | 16 |
| 1991 | "I Wanna B Ure Lover" | F.S. Effect featuring Christopher Williams | 52 | - | - |
| 1992 | "All I See" | Changes | 19 | - | 46 |
| 1993 | "Every Little Thing U Do" | Changes | 7 | 75 | - |
| 1993 | "Come Go with Me" | Changes | 74 | - | - |
| 1995 | "Dance 4 Me" | Not a Perfect Man | 25 | - | - |
| 1995 | "If You Say" | Not a Perfect Man | 91 | - | - |
