Biography
Hitco, the imprint established by L.A. Reid, placed the Bonfyre among its earliest signings. Her introduction to recorded music arrived via the six-song EP Ready to Love, issued in August 2018. The project offered polished, melodic contemporary R&B that nodded to early-'80s crossover successes whose stylistic traits later resurfaced in numerous '90s hits.
Behind the Bonfyre stood Chelsey LaRue, who first shared her voice through cover recordings posted on YouTube. One such clip reached a club proprietor, who booked her for a set at his Harlem room and then introduced her to producer Yancey Richardson. Richardson, in turn, connected LaRue with Raphael Saadiq; after she moved from Chicopee, Massachusetts, to Atlanta, Georgia, Saadiq expressed strong interest in shaping her development over an extended period. A SoundCloud rendering of Refugee Camp All-Stars' "The Sweetest Thing" secured her contract with Hitco, where she collaborated with Harmony Samuels, Keyz, Ayo the Producer, and additional writers and producers while Saadiq continued to advise.
The resulting EP wove in sonic echoes of early-'80s recordings by Evelyn "Champagne" King, Mary Jane Girls, Keni Burke, and DeBarge—elements that had themselves been reinterpreted in the following decade by LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet, and Groove Theory. The project featured the single "Automatic," which reached the Top 30 of the Billboard Adult R&B Chart. In September 2019 she joined 6lack for the duet "U Say."
Behind the Bonfyre stood Chelsey LaRue, who first shared her voice through cover recordings posted on YouTube. One such clip reached a club proprietor, who booked her for a set at his Harlem room and then introduced her to producer Yancey Richardson. Richardson, in turn, connected LaRue with Raphael Saadiq; after she moved from Chicopee, Massachusetts, to Atlanta, Georgia, Saadiq expressed strong interest in shaping her development over an extended period. A SoundCloud rendering of Refugee Camp All-Stars' "The Sweetest Thing" secured her contract with Hitco, where she collaborated with Harmony Samuels, Keyz, Ayo the Producer, and additional writers and producers while Saadiq continued to advise.
The resulting EP wove in sonic echoes of early-'80s recordings by Evelyn "Champagne" King, Mary Jane Girls, Keni Burke, and DeBarge—elements that had themselves been reinterpreted in the following decade by LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet, and Groove Theory. The project featured the single "Automatic," which reached the Top 30 of the Billboard Adult R&B Chart. In September 2019 she joined 6lack for the duet "U Say."
Albums
Singles
