"So when Justin Timberlake does the beat box and sings with Al Green, suddenly he has street cred? Disney must have stock in hip-hop because the Mouseketeers got hard all of a sudden... Please don't be puzzled by my concern, after all, music is in a state of emergency. I'm not saying I'm here to save black music, just don't tell me I'm not black enough if I pick up a banjo." Kim Hill

She's the angel who wears her halo as a belt. On her upcoming highly anticipated album, Pharaoh's Daughter, Kim provides her listeners with a taste of lyrical boldness, both fearless and vulnerable leaving no stone unturned. She effortlessly manifests an eclectic and harmonious vibe and transports her fans to what she refers to as a throw back. "Just think Diana Ross in Mahogany with Grace Jones's fearlessness mixed with the ancient Pharaoh's Daughter. Bring it up to date with what's going on socially, globally and in hip-hop and you'll find me standing there adjusting my A Cup bra waiting to hit the mike." She embodies the standard of the singers from yesteryears through invigorating vocals with thought induced messages that silhouette charismatic, rhythmically charged production.

"Don't call it a comeback! I've been here for years," is what LL Cool J told the world in the early 90's. This exclamation seems appropriately fitting for a woman who has been on the scene since 1995. Kim's music created its own trademark and her live performances created their own audience, boasts Access Hollywood in a recent interview from her studio in Los Angeles. She has shared the stage with a spectrum of artists including the late Biggie Smalls, Outkast, The Black Eyed Peas, The Pharcyde, Cody Chestnutt, Slum Village, Raphael Saadiq, De La Soul, NoDoubt, Common, A Tribe Called Quest and Aaliyah to name a few. She co-wrote on Tupac's "Mamas just a Little Girl," an ode to young single mothers from his 2x's multi platinum album, Better Dayz and recorded with Jane's Addiction. However, it was the chance meeting in 1995 at a BMI Showcase with the then unknown multicultural alternative hip-hop group, The Black Eyed Peas that sent Kim on a whirlwind adventure that would ultimately change her career.

They embraced her sound and brought her into the studio with them where she co-wrote several songs on their groundbreaking album, Behind the Front including the hit, "The Way You Make Me Feel." Kim became known as the Peas stand out vocalist and quickly assimilated into the roots of their progressive family tree, contributing to numerous tracks on both Behind the Front and Bridging the Gap. Hill's writing style and concepts gave birth to songs such as "On My Own", which featured Les Nubians and Mos Def, as well as the irrepressible "Hot." Even the members of Cypress Hill agreed, "The Peas give an entertaining show with having the live band and dancing all over the place, but their singer Kim Hill is dope! "The youngest of three children born in Syracuse, New York, Kim learned to play the violin and piano at the tender young age of six and which continues to influence her writing style. While attending the dance program at the prestigious University of The Arts in Philadelphia, Hill was guided by professors including the legendary Judith Jamieson (Alvin Ailey), and had colleagues such as ?uestlove from the Grammy nominated hip-hop group, The Roots.

During her tenure with the Peas, Kim began to grow artistically as a producer and writer, which captured the attention of executives at Interscope Records with whom she was signed to in 1998 off of a five song, four track demo she produced in her apartment. But it was no surprise to Kim when she was dropped by Interscope in 1999 out of fear that her, "music wasn't black enough." The release from Interscope was a God send and provided the ammunition for Kim's first independent solo release, Surrender to Her Sunflower in 2000. The LA Weekly praised the debut by saying, "Hill's Surrender to Her Sunflower is a testament to her marvelous vocal and song writing talent... the album features the singer's dexterous soprano gliding across a song expanse of laid-back, sensuous soul." The video for "Sunshine" featured appearances from Les Nubians and appeared in regular rotation on MTV Europe and BET which Kim produced and co-directed. Before she knew it, the young girl who traveled to Los Angeles with $36 in her pocket was rocking packed houses, such as SOB's in New York and the Viper Room in Los Angeles.

On Hill's second CD masterpiece, Suga Hill, the scribe and soloist was nominated by the LA Weekly for Best Contemporary Blues/R&B Artist in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. This ultimately created an illustrious following from LA to London, generating a buzz and reputation as a do it yourself independent machine. It became obvious Hill was not interested in being labeled, nor being signed to one. Critics sang Hills praises from around the world as she released vinyl in Japan and Europe and started to license her music in films and television. Everyone from Access Hollywood to Billboard magazine have sung her praises. "It's called bringing the mountain to Mohammad", Hill says of her tireless strategy of marketing her music. "By the time you reach the end of this L.A. dame's self distributed full-length debut, one thought constantly plays over and over in your head: Many of Hill's honey dripping melodies are covered with mid tempo, bounce heavy grooves that give the album a fanciful, retro charge. If this were 1986, Hill would so be the shit!", raved the Philadelphia Weekly. Kim's third cd, "Pharaoh's Daughter", is anticipated to be one of the best independent releases of the year on her own label, One Brave Indian. "I want to show artists they can have their four acres and a mule with out the minstrel show. Own the master, don't do a soft shoe for him", Hill says with a roar of support from her audience at a live show in Los Angeles. Look for the album in 2011 with songs like, "Disney", "Hollywood" and "Mockingbird" by the UK's Bugz in the Attic crew. Dionne Warwick told Vibe magazine, "I hope she makes it, her songs have an ethereal sound..." Maybe the halo will make its way back onto Hill's head. Either way, she'll deliver the goods and continue to raise the bar of integrity in music.

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