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Anthony Hamilton music biography continued...

Hamilton got his start singing in a church choir. In 1993, Hamilton moved to New York's Harlem neighborhood and began to make some contacts in the city's music scene. With the hard-edged R&B known as new jack swing on the rise, Hamilton was spotted by producer and fellow Charlotte native Mark Sparks and signed to the Uptown label, where Mary J. Blige and onetime Charlotte group Jodeci were the premier artists. By 1995 Hamilton had recorded more than enough music for a debut album, but Uptown went bankrupt, letting his debut album die on the vine. Hamilton wouldn't catch his next break until 2003, when he contributed the chorus vocal to the Nappy Roots hit "Po' Folks," which won a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Hamilton performed at an industry pre-Grammy brunch with such stars as Alicia Keys and Prince in attendance, and made connections which led to an audition for an executive at Atlanta's hot So So Def label. This, in turn, led to a recording contract and 2003's Comin' from Where I'm From, which sold 1.2 million copies and spawned the single, Charlene," a classic romantic soul ballad that earned Hamilton three Grammy nominations, and the recognition he had sought for over a decade.



In 2005, some of the songs Hamilton had recorded previously with the Soulife label were dusted off and polished up for release as Soulife. A new album, Ain't Nobody Worryin' followed later in the year, becoming Hamilton's third consecutive Top Ten R&B album. The album contained several songs, including "Preacher's Daughter" and the title track, which looked back to the social commentary of 1970s vocalist Marvin Gaye. The album also contained a generous sampling of love songs as well as "Sista Big Bones," a good-natured ode to well-built women. People magazine called the album the best R&B release of the year. 2007's Southern Comfort was another set of previously unreleased recordings; The Point of It All, a new release, was issued near the close of 2008, and contained the hit single, "Cool," which very much describes Anthony Hamilton.