Jody Watley is a GRAMMY award winning multi-platinum singer/songwriter/producer/independent label owner; recognized as a style icon and one of the architects of 21st century Pop/R&B/Dance music.
The Chicago native’s eclectic repertoire spanning decades includes– R&B, hip-hop, house-music, jazz, pop, adult contemporary, chill, smooth jazz– and built on a positive vision and a strong taste for artistic and aesthetic risk. Watley’s repertoire includes 6 Hot 100 Singles, 15 Top 40 Singles, 13 #1 Dance Singles, 2 #1 R&B Singles, Smooth Jazz Top 10; and as original member of Shalamar 1 Top Ten Hot 100 Single (U.S.), 3 Top 10 R&B Singles.
From her groundbreaking marriage of rap & R&B (1987’s “Friends,” a collaboration with hip-hop legends Eric B. & Rakim) to her vision-forward marriage of high fashion, street fashion and music in the ‘80s (long before it became the norm), to her fusion of jazz and underground club culture with keen pop instincts, and the ease with which she crossed and still crosses genre, Watley forged the template that is now everybody’s playbook.
