Floetry

All Music Guide:

Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart are the funky divas behind the neo-soul duo Floetry. Ambrosius and Stewart emerged in the mid-'90s as songwriters in demand. They're behind some of the new millennium's biggest hits, too. The pair has written tracks for Michael Jackson, Jill Scott, Glenn Lewis, and Bilal. While they're highly respected behind the scenes, Floetry is their way of moving up front.

Ambrosius is the songstress to Stewart's spoken word impresario or "floacist" role. The two met due to their love of basketball. Stewart, who hails from London, was a superstar on her court, while Ambrosius wowed fans in her local English neighborhood. They were competitive, but not rivals, so a friendship was formed. Music was also a passion. Ambrosius relished in her reggae roots while Stewart found herself grooving to funk and soul. While attending Brits Performing Arts School, Ambrosius studied business and finance, but made room for courses in voice, performance technique, and recording. Stewart split her time between acting and directing. Later, Ambrosius and Stewart headed to college.

Ambrosius planned to attend Georgia Tech University on a basketball scholarship, but injury forced her to bow out. Stewart headed for Middlesex University, eventually transferring to North London University. Still, they two kept in touch and raved about music. It wouldn't be until Stewart's girl group, 3 Plus 1, disbanded that Floetry would actually give music a serious shot.

In 1997, Ambrosius and Stewart began writing songs and playing shows in and around London. Three years later, they moved to America in search of something bigger. A brief stint in Atlanta didn't pan out, but their time spent in Philadelphia proved golden. Ambrosius and Stewart befriended Julius Erving III, basketball great Julius Erving's son, in mid-2000. Floetry and Erving clicked instantly. Erving signed on as their manager and hooked the ladies up with Jeff Townes, aka DJ Jazzy Jeff, for some recording. That's when the deals started trickling in -- Floetry were official and living out a dream. In 2002, they inked a deal with DreamWorks and touched up their own work for a debut album. Floetic appeared in October 2002, and its follow-up, Flo'Ology, reached the Top Ten upon release three years later.

Wikipedia:

Floetry were a British R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius ("the Songstress") and Natalie Stewart ("the Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1999, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage.

In 2002, the duo released their first album entitled, Floetic. The album sold over 864,000 copies in the United States. The album spawned the singles "Floetic", the top ten song "Say Yes", and "Getting Late". Following their success, Floetry released their live album Floacism, featuring the single Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong).

In 2005, Floetry released their second album Flo'Ology. Two singles were released from this album, "SupaStar" and "Lay Down". Marsha left the group in 2007.

Early life

The two met due to their love of basketball. Stewart, who hails from London, was a superstar on her court, while Ambrosius from Liverpool wowed fans in her local English neighborhood. They were competitive, but not rivals, so a friendship was formed. Music was also a passion. Stewart relished in her reggae roots while Ambrosius had been raised in the funk and soul tradition. While attending The Brits Performing Arts School, Ambrosius studied business and finance, but made room for courses in voice, performance technique, and recording. Stewart, who was voted 'Student of the Year' majored in Performance Arts and English. Later, Ambrosius and Stewart headed to college.

Ambrosius planned to attend Georgia Tech on a basketball scholarship, but injury forced her to bow out. Stewart headed for Middlesex University, eventually transferring to North London University before leaving university completely. Still, the two kept in touch and raved about music. It wouldn't be until Stewart's poetry group, 3 Plus 1, broke through on the spoken word scene in London that Stewart would invite Ambrosius onto the stage. In 1999, Ambrosius became an honorary member of 3+1 and joined them on the performance poetry circuit in and around London. It was on these stages that Floetry was born. A year later, they were invited to Atlanta. A trip that led to a traveling to Philadelphia where the Neo Soul scene was thriving.

Musical career

Beginnings (1997-2002)

Since moving to the US in 2000, they have written for Jill Scott, Jazz of Dru Hill, Glenn Lewis (Marsha only), Bilal, and Michael Jackson, for whom Marsha penned the hit 2002 single "Butterflies".

Floetic and Floacism (2002-2003)

In 2002, they signed with DreamWorks Records and released their debut album Floetic, which featured the singles "Floetic", "Say Yes (released March 2003)", and "Getting Late". The album was also released in the UK with additional tracks, one of which features British singer/songwriter and producer Sebastian Rogers. Their song "Where's The Love" was featured in the film "Bringing Down the House".

Floetry released a live album titled Floacism in 2003. The two-disc set consisted of a CD and DVD and included the single "Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong)" featuring rapper Mos Def.

Flo'Ology (2005-2006)

Their third and final album Flo'Ology was released in November 2005. The album debuted at #7 on Billboard's Hot 200 and #2 on the Top R&B charts, and sold over 77,000 copies in its first week. The album included the single "Supastar" featuring rapper Common.

New Beginnings

Flo'Ology was the third and final album. During the promotion of Flo'Ology, the group separated. Marsha Ambrosius signed as a solo artist to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment in 2006.

Epilogue

In November 2010, Stewart released her first solo CD, "Floetic Soul", on the Shanachie Record Label.

As of 2010, Marsha has been recording her first solo studio album Late Nights & Early Mornings which was released March 1, 2011 on J Records.

Awards