Terri Walker
Encyclopedia
Terri Walker is an English
R&B
and soul
singer–songwriter
. Walker has released three albums in the United Kingdom, Untitled, L.O.V.E
, and I Am. She also provided the majority of the vocals for Shanks & Bigfoot's
debut album Swings & Roundabouts. Walker's fourth studio album Walk with Me is due for release in 2011.
district of London
, England, to Jamaican parents, moved to Regensburg
, Bavaria
, Germany, when she was four. She speaks fluent German
. In a 2007 interview with Soul Culture, Walker stated that "I love Deutschland, it’s moulded me into what I am. I love here [London] too and I came back to go to boarding-school in London when I was 11. The thing is I still lived in Germany and didn’t actually come back proper till I was 17″. At the age of seventeen, Walker moved back to the UK permanently to study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
in London, which is a performing arts
centre of excellence. Here, she she began to study and sing opera
. Walker stated that "I started to study opera when I was about 15 and I started to sing it professionally from about 18. It was always a life-long ambition of mine. I think classical training is the best kinda training you can get."
Walker began working on music independently providing vocals for garage artists such as 187 Lockdown and TNT. Walker also provided vocals on the Shanks & Bigfoot
album Swings and Roundabouts, most notably on the UK top 20
hit "Sing-A-Long".
During this time she was introduced to producers James Yarde, Sammy Jay and Amber Rene of Xosa entertainment. Walker traveled to LA
to record some demo tracks and after returned to the UK, continuing her attempts at landing a deal. Receiving her demos from L.A, months later, Walker's UK management sent the recordings to labels in the U.S.
, who requested to see her. However, due to 9/11, this was delayed. Def Jam were one of the labels to which they had sent Walker's demos and her management contacted their UK offices who signed her to Def Soul UK.
, Denise Boyd stated that "In Ms Walker we have an artist who can bravely take on the US diva and who may even come out unscathed on the other side. Terri Walker and Untitled can't be pigeon holed. This is not just urban, this is not just R&B, this is music for the soul." The album received further acclaim when it was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize alongside Walker's nominations for Best R&B Act, UK Act of the Year, Best Album and Best Newcomer at the 2003 MOBO Awards
.
Walker's debut single and the first single from Untitled was "Guess You Didn't Love Me", a collaboration with Mos Def
, which was released on 17 February 2003. The single debuted and peaked at number 60 on the UK Singles Chart
and remains one of Walker's biggest hits to date. Although a collaboration with Mos Def, he did not appear in the song's music video. The second single from the album was "Ching Ching (Lovin' You Still)", which became her biggest hit single to date on the UK Singles Chart
, reaching the top 40. Promotion included an appearance on Jools Holland, performing both "Ching Ching" and the album's third single "Drawing Board". Walker states that the album was called Untitled as "It’s like when you go to an art gallery and see a piece of work called 'Untitled'. That’s how I want people to see my work. I want them to judge for themselves and make up their own minds."
Despite critical acclaim, the album was not a commercial success when it was released on 3 March 2003, peaking at number 118 on the UK albums chart
, leading Walker's record label to push her into a more commercial direction for second album "L.O.V.E."
Walker was also the guest vocalist on the single version of Jaimeson's
"Common Ground", the fourth single taken from his album Think on Your Feet. It was released on 24 May 2004. Walker also provided vocals on Lemon Jelly's
single "Make Things Right", which peaked at number 33 on the UK singles chart.
(an acronym for "Love Overcomes Virtually Everything") two years after the release of Untitled on 28 March 2005. During the promotion of Untitled, Walker spoke on her second album, stating "I’m gonna be doing my new album soon. The next one will be a bit more serious. I've grown up since writing some of my original material and I've seen a lot of things that I would like to write and sing about." Upon the release of the album, Walker explained the more commercial direction by stating, "A lot of people didn't really know where to put me, I was 23 but everybody thought I was about 90 the way they were going on!". Producers that worked with Walker on the album included Soulpower and Copenhaniacs.
Reviews for L.O.V.E were also positive with the Daily Mirror stating that "The opening track confidently predicts that This Is My Time and, with a voice that knocks competitors into the underachieving box and songs a cut above her substandard debut, Ms T is in the ascendant. Pop soul sweetness." Contactmusic.com
gave the album 4/5 stars, explaining that "Terri’s second album, picks up from where her debut album left off, but there is a different a huge step up in the quality of production... The lyrics, production and vocal performance are all jaw dropping. If you are 29 or younger view this as the female Lemar if you are over 30 be prepared to be shocked and have your breath taken away cause this album is something special, very special.
The first single from the album was "Whoopsie Daisy", produced by Remee and Cutfather & Joe. The song missed the UK Top 40 by one place, peaking at number 41. The second single was "This Is My Time" which featured a sample of Dynasty's "Adventures in the Land of Music" but the song was not commercially released, even though a music video was produced for the song. Despite a more mainstream direction, L.O.V.E performed worse on the UK Albums Chart
than its predecessor, peaking at number 142. This lack of commercial success lead to Walker parting with Mercury Records
and recording her third studio album independently. Speaking on her departure from the label in an interview with Catch a Vibe, Walker explained "When I got dropped from Mercury I was really annoyed and pissed off because aside from getting dropped I wasn’t being 100% me. I had to play the game and do the whole weave thing because that’s what the label thought would sell but then obviously it didn’t. It was a double whammy because you’re getting dropped but you’re getting dropped with something that you did to compromise, to try and make things work. If I’d been dropped after the first album I’d have been like, ‘Oh well, I like the album. Moving on.” The second one left a bad taste in my mouth. But I got over it."
The album received positive reviews for Walker's return to her neo-soul roots. Matilda Egere-Cooper of the BBC
stated that "Its just as well that Terri Walker has returned to good form with her third LP, as the faux pas that was her sophomore album didn't do much for her cause... This is one heck of an album, putting Terri firmly back in the premier league of UK singers.". Matt Snow of The Guardian
gave the album three stars but stated that I Am "sounds good at an intimate, low volume but increasingly thin and flat the louder you hear it. Walker sings beautifully throughout; she may yet make a classic."
Two singles were released from I Am but neither song received a music video. The first and only commercially released single from the album was "Alright with Me", produced by Sammy Jay and Sly. The song was released on 24 April 2006 and contained an unreleased song "If That Was You" as the b-side. The title-track, "I Am" served as the second promotional-only single with an impact date of 14 August 2006. "Alright with Me" and I Am did not chart in the UK
, leading to Walker's partnership with the label ending.
Walker toured the album across the UK in September and October 2006 playing in Bristol
, Norwich
, Rotterdam
, Cardiff
, Liverpool
, Manchester
, London
and Brighton
. Walker subsequently took a break from the music business after the I Am tour was completed.
on a side-project entitled Champagne Flutes. In 2008, the duo's song "Hey Baby" was featured on the Sex and the City, Vol. 2: More Music soundtrack. During her time away from the spotlight, Walker also provided backing vocals for Jennifer Hudson
and Fergie. She explained that "I wasn’t really thinking about coming back with another album because I thought, ‘You know what? I’m not really trying to do the artist thing anymore. I love to sing but let me just work alongside people." She explained her hiatus from the music industry by saying "If you’re an artist doing something else you feel like people aren’t really trying to buy into it because these artists have flooded the market so much. It just makes you wonder, ‘Why should I bother? No one’s going to be interested in what I’m trying to do. I was locked into that industry. When I got out I realized there was a shortage of the kind of music I was making, what the Jill Scott’s and Erykah Badu’s were making; so I think someone needs to come back and rectify that."
In May 2010, four years after her third album I Am, Walker announced that she was working on her fourth studio album. She confirmed to Soul Culture that she had been working with producer Ski Beatz, that it would be released on Damon Dash's
BluRoc imprint and distributed via Roc-A-Fella Records
. Speaking on the album Walker stated, "I have no release date confirmed yet but I can tell you the theme: seeing as I am working with Hip Hop legends, I have decided to have a Hip Hop theme on this album. I want to have a lot of up and coming features on this album – US and UK – and whoever fits what I’m doing. So far it has all fit into place. I’m going to be distributed through Roc-A-Fella which means more freedom for me." The interview also unveiled a clip of the first new material from the album and the original first single choice "Understanding". It was then previewed in full on 7 June 2010. On 6 December, Walker announced on her Twitter page that the album's first single would be titled "So Hard" and that she had seen the first draft of the song's video, her first video since "This Is My Time" in 2005.
On 5 January 2011, Walker posted a fourteen minute video on YouTube
of her talking about the album and introducing album snippets. It was also announced via Soul Culture that the title of the album would be Mz Walker. "So Hard" premiered on Ronnie Herel's
BBC 1Xtra show on 18 January. On Herel's show, it was announced that the "So Hard" single release date would be 22 February, with the Mz Walker album following on 3 May. "So Hard" was subsequently released on 5 April 2011 and Walker announced on her blog
one day previous, that the album name had been changed to Walk with Me.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer–songwriter
Singer–songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Walker has released three albums in the United Kingdom, Untitled, L.O.V.E
L.O.V.E (album)
"L.O.V.E" is the title of the second album from UK R&B / Soul singer Terri Walker. The album was released in 2004 by Mercury Records and spawned 2 singles, "Whoopsie Daisy", which just missed out on a UK top 40 chart placing and "This Is My Time", which was cancelled just before the release...
, and I Am. She also provided the majority of the vocals for Shanks & Bigfoot's
Shanks & Bigfoot
Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of dance music/UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, best known for their hit single "Sweet Like Chocolate". They were originally known as Doolally, recording the pirate anthem "Straight from the Heart" under this name in 1998. It was the first...
debut album Swings & Roundabouts. Walker's fourth studio album Walk with Me is due for release in 2011.
Early life and career
Walker, born in the WimbledonWimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
district of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, to Jamaican parents, moved to Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany, when she was four. She speaks fluent German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In a 2007 interview with Soul Culture, Walker stated that "I love Deutschland, it’s moulded me into what I am. I love here [London] too and I came back to go to boarding-school in London when I was 11. The thing is I still lived in Germany and didn’t actually come back proper till I was 17″. At the age of seventeen, Walker moved back to the UK permanently to study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Italia Conti Academy
The Italia Conti Academy is a theatre arts training school based in London. It was founded in 1911 by actress Italia Conti...
in London, which is a performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
centre of excellence. Here, she she began to study and sing opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. Walker stated that "I started to study opera when I was about 15 and I started to sing it professionally from about 18. It was always a life-long ambition of mine. I think classical training is the best kinda training you can get."
Walker began working on music independently providing vocals for garage artists such as 187 Lockdown and TNT. Walker also provided vocals on the Shanks & Bigfoot
Shanks & Bigfoot
Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of dance music/UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, best known for their hit single "Sweet Like Chocolate". They were originally known as Doolally, recording the pirate anthem "Straight from the Heart" under this name in 1998. It was the first...
album Swings and Roundabouts, most notably on the UK top 20
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
hit "Sing-A-Long".
During this time she was introduced to producers James Yarde, Sammy Jay and Amber Rene of Xosa entertainment. Walker traveled to LA
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to record some demo tracks and after returned to the UK, continuing her attempts at landing a deal. Receiving her demos from L.A, months later, Walker's UK management sent the recordings to labels in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who requested to see her. However, due to 9/11, this was delayed. Def Jam were one of the labels to which they had sent Walker's demos and her management contacted their UK offices who signed her to Def Soul UK.
Debut album Untitled (2003-2004)
Terri Walker released her debut album Untitled in 2003 to critical acclaim. In one review from the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Denise Boyd stated that "In Ms Walker we have an artist who can bravely take on the US diva and who may even come out unscathed on the other side. Terri Walker and Untitled can't be pigeon holed. This is not just urban, this is not just R&B, this is music for the soul." The album received further acclaim when it was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize alongside Walker's nominations for Best R&B Act, UK Act of the Year, Best Album and Best Newcomer at the 2003 MOBO Awards
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
.
Walker's debut single and the first single from Untitled was "Guess You Didn't Love Me", a collaboration with Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, which was released on 17 February 2003. The single debuted and peaked at number 60 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and remains one of Walker's biggest hits to date. Although a collaboration with Mos Def, he did not appear in the song's music video. The second single from the album was "Ching Ching (Lovin' You Still)", which became her biggest hit single to date on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, reaching the top 40. Promotion included an appearance on Jools Holland, performing both "Ching Ching" and the album's third single "Drawing Board". Walker states that the album was called Untitled as "It’s like when you go to an art gallery and see a piece of work called 'Untitled'. That’s how I want people to see my work. I want them to judge for themselves and make up their own minds."
Despite critical acclaim, the album was not a commercial success when it was released on 3 March 2003, peaking at number 118 on the UK albums chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, leading Walker's record label to push her into a more commercial direction for second album "L.O.V.E."
Walker was also the guest vocalist on the single version of Jaimeson's
Jaimeson
Jaimeson, real name Jamie Williams, is a drum and bass and garage producer and MC best known for a string of hits in 2003 and 2004. Jaimeson emerged in the underground music scene, breaking through in January 2003 with the release of "True", a dance track featuring vocalist Angel Blu and a rap by...
"Common Ground", the fourth single taken from his album Think on Your Feet. It was released on 24 May 2004. Walker also provided vocals on Lemon Jelly's
Lemon Jelly
Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and BRIT Awards....
single "Make Things Right", which peaked at number 33 on the UK singles chart.
Second album L.O.V.E (2005)
Following the critical success of her debut album, Walker released her second studio album L.O.V.EL.O.V.E (album)
"L.O.V.E" is the title of the second album from UK R&B / Soul singer Terri Walker. The album was released in 2004 by Mercury Records and spawned 2 singles, "Whoopsie Daisy", which just missed out on a UK top 40 chart placing and "This Is My Time", which was cancelled just before the release...
(an acronym for "Love Overcomes Virtually Everything") two years after the release of Untitled on 28 March 2005. During the promotion of Untitled, Walker spoke on her second album, stating "I’m gonna be doing my new album soon. The next one will be a bit more serious. I've grown up since writing some of my original material and I've seen a lot of things that I would like to write and sing about." Upon the release of the album, Walker explained the more commercial direction by stating, "A lot of people didn't really know where to put me, I was 23 but everybody thought I was about 90 the way they were going on!". Producers that worked with Walker on the album included Soulpower and Copenhaniacs.
Reviews for L.O.V.E were also positive with the Daily Mirror stating that "The opening track confidently predicts that This Is My Time and, with a voice that knocks competitors into the underachieving box and songs a cut above her substandard debut, Ms T is in the ascendant. Pop soul sweetness." Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com is a Leeds UK based entertainment magazine/webzine. The site was launched in April 2000 by a small team and has now expanded to 12 fulltime staff and many freelance contributors from across the globe...
gave the album 4/5 stars, explaining that "Terri’s second album, picks up from where her debut album left off, but there is a different a huge step up in the quality of production... The lyrics, production and vocal performance are all jaw dropping. If you are 29 or younger view this as the female Lemar if you are over 30 be prepared to be shocked and have your breath taken away cause this album is something special, very special.
The first single from the album was "Whoopsie Daisy", produced by Remee and Cutfather & Joe. The song missed the UK Top 40 by one place, peaking at number 41. The second single was "This Is My Time" which featured a sample of Dynasty's "Adventures in the Land of Music" but the song was not commercially released, even though a music video was produced for the song. Despite a more mainstream direction, L.O.V.E performed worse on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
than its predecessor, peaking at number 142. This lack of commercial success lead to Walker parting with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
and recording her third studio album independently. Speaking on her departure from the label in an interview with Catch a Vibe, Walker explained "When I got dropped from Mercury I was really annoyed and pissed off because aside from getting dropped I wasn’t being 100% me. I had to play the game and do the whole weave thing because that’s what the label thought would sell but then obviously it didn’t. It was a double whammy because you’re getting dropped but you’re getting dropped with something that you did to compromise, to try and make things work. If I’d been dropped after the first album I’d have been like, ‘Oh well, I like the album. Moving on.” The second one left a bad taste in my mouth. But I got over it."
Third album I Am and hiatus from music (2006)
Walker released her third studio album in 2006, only one year after leaving her major label home. It was released via independent label Dekkor Records. Walker stated that "Dekkor gives creative control and freedom of expression, much better than being on a major label where you have to watch what you say." and that it's a "progression from the last two albums. Live instruments, songs about life, love and friendships, with the neo-soul vibe still in tact". Walker co-wrote eight of the ten tracks on the album and also co-produced the album track "I Don't Care". The album predomenantly featured production by Sammy Jay and James Yarde (who featured on debut album Untitled).The album received positive reviews for Walker's return to her neo-soul roots. Matilda Egere-Cooper of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
stated that "Its just as well that Terri Walker has returned to good form with her third LP, as the faux pas that was her sophomore album didn't do much for her cause... This is one heck of an album, putting Terri firmly back in the premier league of UK singers.". Matt Snow of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the album three stars but stated that I Am "sounds good at an intimate, low volume but increasingly thin and flat the louder you hear it. Walker sings beautifully throughout; she may yet make a classic."
Two singles were released from I Am but neither song received a music video. The first and only commercially released single from the album was "Alright with Me", produced by Sammy Jay and Sly. The song was released on 24 April 2006 and contained an unreleased song "If That Was You" as the b-side. The title-track, "I Am" served as the second promotional-only single with an impact date of 14 August 2006. "Alright with Me" and I Am did not chart in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, leading to Walker's partnership with the label ending.
Walker toured the album across the UK in September and October 2006 playing in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Walker subsequently took a break from the music business after the I Am tour was completed.
Return to music and fourth album Walk with Me (2008-present)
Prior to the announcement of her fourth album, Walker had been working with producer Salaam RemiSalaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, and his reggae-tinged approach to production...
on a side-project entitled Champagne Flutes. In 2008, the duo's song "Hey Baby" was featured on the Sex and the City, Vol. 2: More Music soundtrack. During her time away from the spotlight, Walker also provided backing vocals for Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
and Fergie. She explained that "I wasn’t really thinking about coming back with another album because I thought, ‘You know what? I’m not really trying to do the artist thing anymore. I love to sing but let me just work alongside people." She explained her hiatus from the music industry by saying "If you’re an artist doing something else you feel like people aren’t really trying to buy into it because these artists have flooded the market so much. It just makes you wonder, ‘Why should I bother? No one’s going to be interested in what I’m trying to do. I was locked into that industry. When I got out I realized there was a shortage of the kind of music I was making, what the Jill Scott’s and Erykah Badu’s were making; so I think someone needs to come back and rectify that."
In May 2010, four years after her third album I Am, Walker announced that she was working on her fourth studio album. She confirmed to Soul Culture that she had been working with producer Ski Beatz, that it would be released on Damon Dash's
Damon Dash
__NOINDEX__...
BluRoc imprint and distributed via Roc-A-Fella Records
Roc-A-Fella Records
Roc-A-Fella Records is a record label founded by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Island Def Jam Motown Music Group.-Formation and Early Years:...
. Speaking on the album Walker stated, "I have no release date confirmed yet but I can tell you the theme: seeing as I am working with Hip Hop legends, I have decided to have a Hip Hop theme on this album. I want to have a lot of up and coming features on this album – US and UK – and whoever fits what I’m doing. So far it has all fit into place. I’m going to be distributed through Roc-A-Fella which means more freedom for me." The interview also unveiled a clip of the first new material from the album and the original first single choice "Understanding". It was then previewed in full on 7 June 2010. On 6 December, Walker announced on her Twitter page that the album's first single would be titled "So Hard" and that she had seen the first draft of the song's video, her first video since "This Is My Time" in 2005.
On 5 January 2011, Walker posted a fourteen minute video on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
of her talking about the album and introducing album snippets. It was also announced via Soul Culture that the title of the album would be Mz Walker. "So Hard" premiered on Ronnie Herel's
Ronnie Herel
Ronnie Herel is a disc jockey and radio presenter on BBC radio 1Xtra, the BBC's digital station for new black music, presenting the flagship 1xtra R&B show on Monday nights from 10pm til 1am....
BBC 1Xtra show on 18 January. On Herel's show, it was announced that the "So Hard" single release date would be 22 February, with the Mz Walker album following on 3 May. "So Hard" was subsequently released on 5 April 2011 and Walker announced on her blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
one day previous, that the album name had been changed to Walk with Me.
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| 2003 | Untitled
|
118 |
| 2005 | L.O.V.E L.O.V.E (album) "L.O.V.E" is the title of the second album from UK R&B / Soul singer Terri Walker. The album was released in 2004 by Mercury Records and spawned 2 singles, "Whoopsie Daisy", which just missed out on a UK top 40 chart placing and "This Is My Time", which was cancelled just before the release... Mercury Records Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal... Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
142 |
| 2006 | I Am
Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
— |
| 2011 | Walk with Me
Damon Dash __NOINDEX__... Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
TBR |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 2003 | "Guess You Didn't Love Me" (featuring Mos Def Mos Def Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which... ) |
60 | Untitled |
| "Ching Ching (Lovin' You Still)" | 38 | ||
| "Drawing Board" (promo only) | — | ||
| 2005 | "Whoopsie Daisy" | 41 | L.O.V.E |
| "This is My Time" (promo only) | — | ||
| 2006 | "Alright with Me" | — | I Am |
| "I Am" (promo only) | — | ||
| 2011 | "So Hard" | — | Walk with Me |
| "One Day Longer" | — | ||
Single appearances
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 2000 | "Sing Along" (Shanks & Bigfoot Shanks & Bigfoot Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of dance music/UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, best known for their hit single "Sweet Like Chocolate". They were originally known as Doolally, recording the pirate anthem "Straight from the Heart" under this name in 1998. It was the first... featuring Terri Walker) |
12 | Swings & Roundabouts |
| 2004 | "Common Ground" (Jaimeson featuring Terri Walker) | 191 | Think on Your Feet |
| "Make Things Right" (Lemon Jelly Lemon Jelly Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and BRIT Awards.... featuring Terri Walker) |
33 | '64–'95 | |
| 2006 | "Flirtin'" (Emmanuel featuring Terri Walker and Rodney P Rodney P Rodney P is an English MC who entered the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. He started out as a member of the London Posse, one of the UK's first home grown hip hop acts who were highly influential in the development of the genre. Rodney P has had one of the longest and most respected careers in UK... ) |
— | D'Illusions of Grandeur |
| 2008 | "Love at First Sight" (Diamond featuring Terri Walker) | — | TBR |
| 2010 | "Be My Baby" (Haggstrom featuring Terri Walker) | — | Be My Baby EP |
| 2010 | "Heartbeat" (T.Williams featuring Terri Walker) | — | Heartbeat EP |