Carl Thomas

A gifted vocalist in the R&B field whose measured yet fervent delivery aligns well with his adaptable range, Carl Thomas entered the world in Aurora, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, on June 15, 1972. Following high-school graduation he headed to Chicago itself in search of musical opportunities, spending time as a member of the vocal group the Fourmula, which achieved modest success in 1994 via the single “Pass It Over.” By the middle of the decade he had shifted to Brooklyn, New York, where he performed regularly at open-mike nights and showcase events while attempting to establish himself independently. In 1997 Sean “Puffy” Combs, also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy, noticed him during one of those appearances, signed him to Bad Boy Entertainment, and initially featured him on R&B-styled backing vocals for tracks by the Notorious B.I.G., the LOX, LL Cool J, N.O.R.E., and Puff Daddy. Only in 2000 did Thomas issue his debut album, Emotional; propelled by the hit singles “I Wish” and “Summer Rain,” the project moved more than a million copies. Four years of extensive touring and additional guest appearances elapsed before his next release appeared. The 2004 album Let’s Talk About It arrived under difficult circumstances, as Thomas’s brother had been killed in a drive-by shooting shortly beforehand; the singer chose to forgo touring while processing the loss, an absence that hindered the record’s marketing push. Eventually parting ways with Bad Boy, he entered a short-lived arrangement with Interscope and supplied vocals for the track “Dumpin’” on the posthumous 2Pac album Pac’s Life, which surfaced in 2006. That same year he collaborated with Yolanda Adams, Chaka Khan, and Gerald Levert on the song “Everyday (Family Reunion),” recorded for the film Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion and honored with a Grammy nomination. In 2007 the independent Umbrella label issued his third album, So Much Better. Early in 2011 he reached a new agreement with Verve Music, resulting in the December release of his fourth album, Conquer.