Biography
Nadirah Shakoor launched her professional path during the opening years of the 1990s as a vocalist inside the Grammy-winning alternative rap collective Arrested Development. She later pursued an intermittent solo path while maintaining a long-running role as a touring member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. Born in San Antonio, Texas, she relocated to Los Angeles when she turned seven. Between 1992 and 1995 she belonged to Arrested Development, the Atlanta-based alternative rap outfit whose three Top Ten singles of 1992—“Tennessee,” “Everyday People,” and “Mr Wendal”—brought widespread attention. Shakoor appeared on the three Arrested Development releases that preceded the group’s 1995 dissolution: 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of… (1992), Unplugged (1993), and Zingalamaduni (1994). She subsequently became a regular performer with Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, joining the ensemble for repeated annual tours. Her first full-length solo album, Soul Power (1999), was produced by former Arrested Development colleague Speech and issued solely in Japan. In subsequent years she worked repeatedly with house-music producer Osunlade on Yoruba Records singles that included “Tree of Life” (2002), “Touched My Soul” (2003), “Simple Pleasures” (2005), “Just a Breath Away” (2005), and “Love Song” (2006). Additional solo projects followed: the independently released Nadirahsongs (2005) and Obsessed with Peace, Vol. 1 (2006), along with Nod to the Storyteller (2008), which appeared on Buffett’s Mailboat Records imprint.
Singles
