THE launch of BLU*3's latest album, Burrn, which takes place on July 21, will feature a special guest star: Montell Jordan, who will perform alongside the trio and perhaps sing a song together with them. Those familiar with 1990s music will most probably remember him as the artiste behind the hit This is How We Do It among others.

But just who is Montell Jordan? Montell Jordan began singing in his hometown of Los Angeles in talent shows, church choirs, and later nightclubs. After graduating from University, he spent seven years looking for a record deal, till he was signed to Def Jam.

Through a friend, John Singleton, the director of the film Boyz 'N the Hood, Jordan was brought to Def Jam label boss Russell Simmons, who was impressed by Jordan's approach to music. As Jordan told the Los Angeles Times: "I wrote rap lyrics, and instead of rapping I sang the lyrics."

"Simmons was also impressed by the image of South Central that came through in Jordan's music: the friendly party-oriented and romantic lyrics of his songs stood out in sharp contrast to the gunfire-riddled harshness of Jordan's West Coast rap contemporaries," says answers.com.

Jordan debuted with a huge charttopper, the 1995 hit This Is How We Do It . The song remained on top of the Billboard R&B Charts for two months and even crossed over to the more pop Hot 100 charts. No other Def Jam artiste had ever done that before in the decades since the label's inception. That song won him the 1995 Grammy for Best Male Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance.

Following the success of his breakthrough hit, Jordan scored with Somethin' 4 Da Honeyz, Let's Ride (featuring Master P) and Get It on Tonite, which came in 1999.

Jordan also earned success in the movie world. He contributed the song I Like to the soundtrack to Eddie Murphy's hit movie movie The Nutty Professor, and has also acted in some great Hollywood films himself. He appeared in The Fighting Temptations.

However, his biggest hit, This Is How We Do It remains the song he is most remembered for: "Meet me when I'm 60 in Vegas, and I'll be singing this same damn song every night," answers.com quotes him as having once told a St. Louis crowd after a performance.

Jordan left Def Jam in 2003 and released the album Life After Def on Koch Records.

Born in 1968 in Los Angeles, Jordan's followed a unique path to R&B stardom. He attended college and managed to get a degree in organisation and communication from Pepperdine University in the Malibu Hills. He then got a job at an advertising agency and even thought about going to Law school.

He told the Los Angeles Times: "A lot of people don't think you can work your way out of the 'hood, let alone go to a college. That's the kind of thinking that keeps black people buried in the ghetto. But nobody was going to bury me."

The father of one child, Jordan is now a Missionary Baptist and appears on TBN, a Christian TV network.

Besides crafting his own material, Jordan has written and produced for a number of artistes, including Christina Milian, 98 Degrees, Sisqó (the number-one 2000 hit Incomplete) and Deborah Cox.

New Vision (Kampala)

Tweet

Rating (Votes: 0)

Comments (0)

Tell friend

Print

---