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awarded the album three stars out of five, with critic Dave
Connolly commending Foster's "nice voice" and singling out "Sweet Valley" as a highlight. Connolly, however, voiced concern that Foster's voice was better suited to backing vocals than lead ones, and accused some of the musical arrangements
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In 1997, Hendrix
Records established a new imprint, Night Bird Records, for R&B artists. Songwriter and label president Troy E. Wright, upon hearing a cassette tape which Foster had recorded, signed Foster to the new imprint, making her its first signed artist. In late February 1998, her debut
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influences as well. Its lyrics have been described as describing "schoolgirl crushes and other loves", while Foster herself noted that much of the album focused on sex and romance. "Sweet Valley" was described as a stylistic departure for the album, with a more noticeably rock-inspired beat. The
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also praised the album, praising her "ability to avoid the 'sound-alike' trap that so many other young artists fall into", concluding that the record's sole shortcoming is its backing tracks, which the publication deemed "monotonous" and not "always complementary to Foster's excellent vocals".
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In 1993, shortly after the release of her debut solo recordings, Foster joined the
Sacramento-based hip-hop girl group Nuttin' Nyce, becoming their lead singer following the departure of a former member. The group attained some success on music charts in the United States as well as the United
147:, to the latter of which her family had moved when she was young. She cut her first demo recordings at the age of nine, and at the age of fourteen released her first solo recordings.
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and sampled in the song "Truly" by
Sovereign and Cisko, while "Crazy for You" was sampled in the 1999 recording "Crazy (The Original 99 Lick)" by Seven Wonders.
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solo single, "Crazy for You", was released to R&B radio stations, and commercially released in April. The single, which sampled James Brown's 1973 song "
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To promote her debut album, Foster performed as the opening act on tour for artists such as Brian McKnight (above) and K-Ci & JoJo
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chart. A second single, "Everything You Do", did not enter the R&B or pop singles charts, but managed to peak at number 50 on the
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singer. Born in
Sacramento, California, she became best known for her work as the lead singer of the '90s R&B group
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chart, on which it spent four months and ultimately peaked at number 32 in late May. It also reached number one on the
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album also features a guest spot by rapper Sean Don. The song "Everything You Do" would go on to be remixed by
489:"Everything You Do" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; however, it peaked at number 50 on the
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143:, California, and at a young age began singing in local talent show competitions, both in her hometown and in
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Also in 1995, Foster provided guest vocals on the songs "Heavy in the Game" and “Can U Get Away” by
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that she "never really saw (her)self in a group", feeling that she "always sang by (her)self".
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Her label aimed to promote the album to the 12-24 demographic, with guest appearances on
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Upon its release, the album elicited a generally favorable response from contemporary
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record drew favorable reviews and spawned a second single, "Everything You Do".
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Kingdom, with their debut single, "In My Nature", placing at number 89 on the
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chart, an extension of the Hot 100, and peaked within the top 40 of the
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on the track “Ratha Be Ni**a”, but was mistakenly credited as “Ebony”.
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shows, as well as plans to place her music in popular sitcoms such as
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gave the group a second Hot 100 entry, as well as receiving play on
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in late August 1993. They also notched three top 100 entries on the
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873:"Eboni Foster Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales"
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681:. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. 62
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in 1998. Foster went on to release her debut studio album,
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233:. The song also gave Foster her first solo entry on the
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792:"Eboni Foster Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs"
971:. Vol. 110, no. 18. May 2, 1998. p. 21
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820:"Eboni Foster Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100"
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chart. The group released their debut studio album,
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Hip Hop, Inc.: Success
Strategies of the Rap Moguls
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1037:American contemporary R&B singers
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250:Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales
519:"Artist Biography: Eboni Foster"
706:. Paris: Hachette. p. 15.
1042:American women hip hop singers
936:"Releases: Just What You Want"
465:“Ratha Be Ya Ni**a” (from the
451:"Heavy in the Game" (from the
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127:, the same year. The R&B/
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246:Adult R&B Airplay
458:Me Against the World
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603:. August 14, 1993
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73:Years active
23:Eboni Foster
942:. RhythmOne
916:. RhythmOne
655:. RhythmOne
525:. RhythmOne
342:Discography
301:Nickelodeon
286:Mark Ronson
227:The Payback
1016:Categories
768:WhoSampled
501:References
473:”) (1996)
176:UK Singles
141:Sacramento
135:Early life
88:Night Bird
64:Occupation
37:California
33:Sacramento
969:Billboard
877:Billboard
852:Billboard
824:Billboard
796:Billboard
739:Billboard
679:Billboard
601:Billboard
575:Billboard
491:Billboard
335:Billboard
321:on tour.
267:and as a
235:Billboard
193:Billboard
169:Billboard
1007:Allmusic
940:Allmusic
914:Allmusic
719:March 6,
653:Allmusic
523:Allmusic
461:) (1995)
330:Allmusic
269:cassette
975:May 11,
946:May 11,
920:May 11,
882:May 11,
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529:May 11,
469:album “
360:Singles
310:Friends
231:The Box
172:Hot 100
113:R&B
91:Hendrix
50:R&B
710:
455:album
376:Album
367:Title
355:(1998)
279:, and
277:gospel
217:1998:
151:Career
82:Labels
67:singer
43:Genres
477:Notes
430:1998
408:1997
370:Year
998:IMDb
977:2021
948:2021
922:2021
884:2021
859:2021
831:2021
803:2021
775:2021
747:2021
721:2022
708:ISBN
687:2021
661:2021
635:2021
609:2021
583:2021
531:2021
467:2Pac
453:2Pac
317:and
303:and
281:jazz
273:rock
29:Born
1005:at
996:at
417:38
411:101
395:US
387:US
305:MTV
188:BET
129:pop
95:MCA
55:pop
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.