Kendra Foster
Kendra Marie Foster is an American singer-songwriter, session singer and backup vocalist. A two-time Grammy Award-winner, she has performed with artists including George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, D'Angelo and The Vanguard.
Early life
A woman of African American descent and a natural redhead, as a young girl in Tallahassee, Florida Foster began singing at her local Baptist church. She developed an interest in jazz in high school, and learned jazz standards performed by singers including Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald. She attended Florida A&M University, where she became a member of Orchesis Contemporary Dance Theatre and took part in the Urban Bush Women Institute.Career
While in college Foster met George Clinton through a mutual friend who was working as an engineer at Clinton's recording studio. Foster recorded at the studio; after a year, Clinton noticed her and signed her to a production deal. She later toured as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic.Foster released her debut album, Myriadmorphonicbiocorpomelodicrealityshapeshifter, in 2003 via a production deal with Clinton. Her self-titled second album, Kendra Foster, was released in 2016. Her songs "Step into the Light" and "Promise To Stay Here" were featured on BET’s Being Mary Jane and STARZ’s Hightown series respectively.
In 2014, in addition to singing, she co-wrote eight out of 12 songs on D'Angelo's critically-acclaimed album, [Black Messiah (album)|Black Messiah].
Collaborations
A credited songwriter on "A Warning for the Heart" on Sunshine Anderson's The Sun Shines Again and on Snoop Dogg's album Coolaid , Foster sang on Clinton's How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent? album.. She is featured on the song "Questions" by Domo Genesis on his self-titled debut studio album.Discography and contributions
With 'Bootsy CollinsWith Parliament
- ''Betta Days''