As seen throughout her career, it’s as if Ciara can flip a switch between vivacious and velvety vocals. Meanwhile, her collaborations cemented her status as a go-to for all things vibrant-she even manages to up the electricity on a Missy Elliott single, “Lose Control,” with her swaggering half-rapped, half-sung cameo. The subsequent Goodies album, and coolly booming songs like “One, Two Step” saw Ciara pushing the smooth sounds shaped by superstars like Usher to new energetic heights. The tastemaking producer laced her 2004 debut single, “Goodies,” with elastic 808s and sparse, synthesized instrumentation, but it was the singer’s hushed coo and reedy falsetto that rang out.
Ciara Princess Harris, born in 1985 in Austin, Texas, was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and given her nickname by none other than local Dirty South deity Lil Jon. With a style that perfectly bridges hip-hop's boisterous side to R&B's organic fluidity, Ciara instantly became, and remains, the First Lady of Crunk&B.
