Jody Watley

Jody Watley, singer/songwriter/producer/businesswoman, is one of the architects of 21st-century pop. From her groundbreaking marriage of rap & R&B (1987’s “Friends,” a collaboration with hip-hop legends Eric B. & Rakim) to her vision-forward marriage of high fashion, street fashion, and music in the ‘80s (long before it became the norm), to her fusion of jazz and underground club culture with keen pop instincts, and the ease with which she crossed and still crosses genre, Jody Watley forged the template that is now everybody’s playbook.

Winner of the Best New Artist Grammy in 1987, Watley’s entire career has been about looking forward, drawing inspiration from personal heroes and iconoclasts who were and are always ten steps ahead of the pack. The Chicago native’s eclectic repertoire - R&B, hip-hop, House, jazz, pop, drum & bass, ambient, spoken word - is built on a positive vision and a strong taste for artistic and aesthetic risk.