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Bilal Information
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'Bilal' (born 'Bilal Sayeed Oliver' on August 23 1979, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is a neo soul musician and member of the musical collective known as Soul Aquarians. In 2001, his debut album — 1st Born Second — was released on the Interscope record label.
Background
Bilal's classical training at the Mannes Music Conservatory in New York was instrumental to his conversance with Jazz, voice, and big band arrangements. It has also been reported that he is capable of performing opera in seven languages and writes both music and lyrics.
In 1995, Bilal encountered Faulu Mtume, and his brother, Damu Mtume (sons to James Mtume and founders of Moyo Entertainment) at a barber's shop in Philadelphia. His plans to produce film scores was shelved after he handed the brothers a demo recording; they were so impressed that they successfully convinced him to record commercially.
Collaborations
In addition to performing a duet with Jill Scott on his professional recording debut, he has collaborated with several notable acts, including:
* Common, on the Like Water For Chocolate LP
* Guru, on the Jazzmatazz Street Soul LP
* Erykah Badu, on the Mama's Gun LP
His sophomore full-length recording, Love for Sale has been shelved after being leaked on the internet.
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