Omarion

Omarion first rose to prominence as the standout member of the youthful R&B ensemble B2K before establishing himself among the leading solo R&B performers of his generation. Gold-certified singles including “O” and “Ice Box” helped drive his initial solo releases, O (2005) and 21 (2006), both of which reached the summit of the Billboard 200 and R&B/hip-hop charts while also earning the singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor a Grammy nomination. An association with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group later fueled further mainstream success, most notably through the multi-platinum 2014 single “Post to Be,” his fourth Top 40 pop crossover. Subsequent years brought a short-lived B2K reunion along with the unequivocally modern yet stylistically adventurous R&B projects The Kinection (2020) and Full Circle: Sonic Book 1 and 2 (2023).

Born Omari Ishmael Grandberry in Inglewood, California, he began working in entertainment through commercial roles and as a background dancer for Before Dark. Between 1999 and 2004 he served as frontman for the pop-R&B outfit B2K, whose two official studio albums cracked the Top Ten and whose “Bump, Bump, Bump” topped the pop chart. Following the group’s dissolution after the 2004 box-office hit You Got Served, Omarion appeared in the live-action Fat Albert film toward the close of that year.

His major-label debut arrived the next February on Epic with the album O. Contributions from the Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins, the Underdogs, and Tank supported the Top 40 slow jam title track that propelled the set to number one on both the Billboard 200 and R&B/hip-hop lists, after which it received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The follow-up, 21, entered the same charts at the top in December 2006; its lead single, the Timbaland and Keri Hilson collaboration “Ice Box,” peaked at number 12 on the Hot 100. Next came the joint project Face Off with Bow Wow. Marketed via a BET special titled The Road to Platinum and capitalizing on the earlier success of Bow Wow’s Omarion-assisted “Let Me Hold You,” the album landed just outside the Billboard 200’s Top Ten and earned gold certification from the RIAA.

After parting ways with Epic’s parent company Sony, Omarion briefly linked with Young Money Entertainment before moving to EMI for the January 2010 release Ollusion. That project bowed at number 19 on the Billboard 200 and number seven on R&B/hip-hop, featuring the Tank collaboration “I Get It In” with a guest verse from Gucci Mane plus several tracks involving Marques Houston. He later served as a judge during the fifth season of America’s Best Dance Crew. Subsequent affiliations included joining Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group roster, signing a management deal with Roc Nation, and appearing on Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood. After multiple mixtapes, EPs, and guest spots on MMG’s Self Made series, he returned in December 2014 with Sex Playlist, which opened at number five on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Guests included Ross, Jeremih, Jhené Aiko, and Chris Brown, whose contribution to “Post to Be” helped the track reach number 13 on the pop chart and achieve multi-platinum status.

A pair of standalone singles surfaced in 2015. Further tracks emerged in 2017 as intended previews for the ultimately shelved fifth solo album Reasons, prompting Omarion to upload a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire’s similarly titled classic on the planned release date. Now independent, he closed the year with the fourth installment of his Care Package EP series. Following a 2019 B2K reunion tour, he issued the solo single “Can You Hear Me?” featuring T-Pain and then delivered the full-length The Kinection in 2020. Alongside the T-Pain track, the set included the Wale collaboration “Mutual” and revived the 2016 Ghostface Killah-assisted recording “I Ain’t Even Done.” He further demonstrated lasting appeal in 2021 when Summer Walker featured him on her chart-topping album Still Over It.

Singles from 2021 and 2022, together with the publication of his first book, Unbothered: The Power of Choosing Joy, sustained interest until the arrival of his next studio effort. Full Circle: Sonic Book 1 surfaced in May 2023, blending funk-infused slow jams with trap-styled ballads, and was followed by its sequel, Book 2, in December.