After beginning her career in the early '90s as a member of the Grammy-winning alternative rap group
Arrested Development, neo-soul vocalist
Nadirah Shakoor embarked on a sporadic solo career and toured for years with
Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. Born in San Antonio, TX, she moved to Los Angeles at the age of seven. From 1992-1995 she was a member of
Arrested Development, an alternative rap group from Atlanta, GA, who scored three Top Ten hits in 1992 with "Tennessee," "Everyday People," and "Mr Wendal."
Shakoor performed on the three
Arrested Development albums released before the group's 1995 breakup:
3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... (1992),
Unplugged (1993), and
Zingalamaduni (1994). She subsequently joined
Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and toured with the band year after year. As a solo artist,
Shakoor made her full-length album debut with Soul Power (1999), which was produced by former
Arrested Development group member
Speech and released exclusively in Japan. In later years she collaborated with house music producer
Osunlade for a series of singles on Yoruba Records: "Tree of Life" (2002), "Touched My Soul" (2003), "Simple Pleasures" (2005), "Just a Breath Away" (2005), and "Love Song" (2006). She also released additional solo albums, including
Nadirahsongs (2005) and
Obsessed with Peace, Vol. 1 (2006) -- both of which were released independently -- as well as
Nod to the Storyteller (2008), which was released on
Jimmy Buffett's label Mailboat Records. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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