Kandi

Vocalist and songwriter Kandi Burruss drew early notice from audiences at the age of 15 through her debut on the BET program Teen Summit Showcase. That exposure served mainly as an initial platform, however, leading in 1990 to her joining the R&B ensemble Xscape. The group collected multiple gold and platinum certifications and received the Soul Train Music Awards’ Album of the Year trophy in 1996. Burruss supplied two of Xscape’s early standout tracks, “Feel So Good” and “Can't Hang.”

Her first major outside credit came with co-writing TLC’s “No Scrubs,” followed by “Bills, Bills, Bills” for Destiny’s Child, which reached the summit of the Billboard Hot 100. Those accomplishments earned her the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers’ Rhythm & Soul Music Award for Songwriter of the Year, making her the first woman to claim the prize. Additional material flowed to Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, *NSYNC, Da Brat, and MC Lyte before she issued her own debut album, Hey Kandi..., in 2000; it climbed only to number 32 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.

She kept contributing songs alongside artists such as Alicia Keys and Blu Cantrell, yet her recording efforts remained quiet until her appearance on the second season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta revived interest. That resurgence produced the December 2010 release of her second solo project, Kandi Koated.