Jody Watley, singer/songwriter/producer/businesswoman and Grammy winner is one of the architects of 21st century pop. From her groundbreaking marriage of rap and R&B (1987's "Friends", ground-breaking collaboration with hip hop legends Eric B. & Rakim) to her vision forward-marriage of high fashion, street fashion and music in the 80's (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, Jody Watley forged the template that is now everybody's playbook. Since her days as an original member of the trio Shalamar, Watley's entire career is about looking forward, drawing inspiration from personal heroes and iconoclasts who were and are always ten steps ahead of the pack. The Chicago native's eclectic hits-filled repertoire - Contemporary R&B, hip-hop, house, jazz, pop, drum & bass, ambient, spoken-word, disco, soul, modern funk - spans decades and is built on a positive vision and a strong sense for artistic and aesthetic risk. ~ Ernest Hardy