by Nadirah Simmons
A quick Google search on the relationship between Hip-Hop and R&B will affirm that it is a tight one, from the inception of new genres like New Jack Swing and Hip-Hop Soul to the increased presence of Hip-Hop and R&B collaborations. And anyone who is a fan of Hip-Hop knows the right collaboration can take a song from good to great. Enter Los Angeles-based songstress LaToiya Williams, whose unique voice and work with heavyweights like Snoop Dogg, JAY-Z and Busta Rhymes cements her as a Hip-Hop staple.
Originally a Gospel singer, LaToiya found herself singing background for Gladys Knight and Yolanda Adams before meeting Snoop Dogg. She appeared on his 2002 compilation album ‘Doggy Style Allstars Vol. 1,’ an offering that included the standout track “Fallen Star.” On it LaToiya lamented the broken promises of a lover.
“You promised me Saturn, Venus and Mars/But all I got was bullshit and a fallen star (Fallen Star)/Out of this world, galaxy so far (So far)/Constellation tells me it's not from the heart,” sang LaToiya over a G-funk beat. In combination with lyrics rooted in Soul and R&B tradition, Williams masterfully delivered a ballad on love and heartbreak that encouraged a two-step and self-reflection at the same time. The accompanying video-just one of two shot for the album-paid homage to the 70s and Soul music of the past with a set reminiscent of Soul Train.
She would go on to lend her vocals to JAY-Z’s “All Around The World” from ‘The Blueprint 2,’ Anthony Hamilton’s “My First Love,” Young Buck’s “U Ain’t Goin Nowhere,” and the soundtracks for movies like “Baby Boy” and “Soul Plane.” In 2018 Williams released her first full full-length album ‘Blue Rose,’ a project she described as therapeutic:
“[It] starts off as we’re a happy couple. We’re doing well and then in the middle of the CD, it changes. I find out that he has a wife somewhere. I find out that he has a family. That’s where the Blue Rose comes in. That’s where the sadness the color blue comes from, that pain of me finding out the guy that I’m with is actually married to someone. Every single last song is true to life and it’s true to my life. Literally, this ‘Blue Rose’ album is a book about me and my feelings and what I been through in the last 10 years without being signed to Snoop Dogg and the stuff I’ve gone through with my man. So, it’s all true.”
The truth, honesty and authenticity in LaToiya’s voice guarantees that any song she is on will hit you right in your soul. So whenever we talk about Hip-Hop and R&B collaborations, LaToiya must be in the conversation. Her voice was the glue that pieced together cuts by the biggest rappers in music.