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| Res > Albums & Lyrics |
Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, RES (né–‘ Shareese Renee Ballard) listened to her parents?Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Teddy Pendergrass albums at home. She also developed an appreciation for groups like the Eurythmics and Pearl Jam while attending the Academy of Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic college prep school. Now a classically-trained 23-year-old, Res remembers finding her lifelong passion for music at the tender age of seven, when she was first enrolled in voice lessons.
She began singing Italian arias from operas at age 14, and continued for several years. In her second year at Temple University, Res rang up Santi White, an old family friend from Philly who was working as an A&R assistant at Epic Records in New York. "Santi asked me to sing for her over the phone, then she invited me to her house in New York because she had just started writing songs at the same time. So I went up to New York, we started working on songs together, and she hooked me up with my manager," Res explained. After rejecting Epic's offer to join Groove Theory because "that wasn't what I was looking for at the time," Res shopped her demo at various labels and ultimately signed with MCA in August 1999.
She started her major label career by participating in two critically-acclaimed projects: singing the hook on the title track from labelmate GZA's sophomore solo album, 1999's Beneath the Surface, and contributing guest vocals on "Too Late," a trippy, atmospheric cut on Talib Kweli & Hi Tek's Reflection Eternal. Res found Minneapolis-bred beat-maker Doc, the missing link to her sound, after a friend turned her onto Esthero's Breath From Another--another Doc project. Months later, Res relocated to Manhattan, and she and Doc entered the studio to begin work on How I Do. Res' solo debut album is a cohesive collection of original songs that incorporate elements of soul, hip-hop, alternative rock, roots reggae, acid jazz, folk, drum 'n' bass and psychedelic influences.
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