- Taral Hicks
Taral Hicks (born
September 21 ,1974 inThe Bronx ,New York ) is an Americanmusician ,singer ,writer ,songwriter andactress , and sister of singerD'Atra Hicks .Background
Hicks graduated in 1993 from
Grace Dodge Vocational High School inBronx, New York . [Beckerman, Jim. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-30986533.html "WHERE STARS ARE BORN"] , "The Record (Bergen County) ",August 19 ,2000 . AccessedJuly 3 ,2007 . "When Shanell Jones graduated from Teaneck High School in June, she already had a deal with Def Jam, a major recording label. But as former Motown Records artist Taral Hicks (Grace Dodge, Class of 1993) and Alligator recording artist Shemekia Copeland (Teaneck, Class of 1997) could tell her, that's no big deal in this neck of the woods."]Hicks began her career with a role alongside
Robert De Niro in the 1993 film "A Bronx Tale ". Her subsequent film roles were small, 1995's "Just Cause" withSean Connery andLaurence Fishburne , 1996's "Educating Matt Waters" and "The Preacher's Wife " withWhitney Houston . It wasn't until 1997 in "Sax Cantor Riff"Showtime original film "Subway Stories " that audiences began to take notice. As the "Woman with Flowers", singing to her mother on the payphone, her performance was widely deemed to be one of the best in the film. In 1998, she was also involved in theHype Williams -directed gangster film "Belly", which also featured hip hop starsNas , DMX, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins andMethod Man . She was also the co-star in the video "Put That Woman First" byJaheim as his girlfriend.Hicks signed a deal with
Motown Records (then-headed byAndre Harrell ) and released a single solo album "This Time". Her first song, "Ooh, Ooh Baby", produced, written and featuringMissy Elliott charted on the BillboardR&B singles chart. However, the lead single intended to debut her singing career was "Distant Lover"; an uptempo track produced by Teddy Riley. The album didn't take off until the second single, "Silly", a remake of the classicR&B hit byDeniece Williams was released. Featuring a black-and-white video directed by Hype Williams, the single became successful.With collaboration on the video "Silly",
Hype Williams cast Hicks in his directorial film debut, 1998's Belly as "Kisha", DMX's abused girlfriend. The video for "Silly" appeared in one of the film's scenes. It wasn't until 2000 that Hicks appeared again on screen in the short film "Are You Cinderella?" with actorWood Harris . Two television guest roles followed: 2002's "100 Centre Street" in the episode titled "Fathers", and in a 2003 episode of "" titled "The New Math".Upcoming projects for Hicks include 2005's "
The Salon " withVivica A. Fox ,Terrance Howard andDarren DeWitt Henson , and "Forbidden Fruits" withElla Joyce ,Fredro Starr andR&B singerKeith Sweat .Taral Hicks will be appearing in the
Soul Kittens Cabaret , which also includes ex-Brownstone singer Nicci Gilbert,R&B singerMonifah , TonDalaya Gallant. Sara Stokes andDemetria McKinney . The musical journey of the Soul Kittens Cabaret begins in Harlem during the 1920s; then moves through the Motown era, making stops in the '70s and '80s. It concludes with original hits from the upcoming theSoul Kittens Cabaret soundtrack. She is currently married to Loren Dawson, whom she has a son with.Chart Positions
Albums
ingles
References
External links
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