Bilal (American singer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bilal
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Bilal at Central Park SummerStage in New York, 2015
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bilal Sayeed Oliver |
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| Born | August 23, 1979 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
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Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born August 23, 1979), known as Bilal, is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer. He is an independent artist. He is famous for his wide vocal range, working in many different music styles, and exciting live performances.
Bilal started his career with a big record company. His popular R&B song "Soul Sista" came out in 2000. Later, he began performing jazz and making more experimental soul music. He has released several successful albums. His second album, Love for Sale, was never officially released but became very popular after it was leaked online.
Bilal was part of a music group called the Soulquarians. This group made experimental music from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. He is well-known both in the U.S. and around the world. He has worked with many famous artists like Kendrick Lamar, Common, Erykah Badu, Solange Knowles, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Kimbra, J Dilla, Robert Glasper, and The Roots.
In August 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Bilal created his first EP, Voyage-19. He wrote and recorded it in just three days. He worked with many musicians in remote sessions. These sessions were shown live on YouTube. The three-song EP was released digitally the next month. Money from its sales and donations went to the artists who helped. Many of them needed financial help because of the pandemic.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Bilal Sayeed Oliver was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a family with different religious backgrounds. His mother was Christian, and his father was Muslim.
When he was 11, he became the choir director at his mother's church. At 14, he started a music group and performed at the Blue Moon Cafe in Philadelphia. He says his father taking him to jazz clubs was a very important experience. He remembers sitting in the back of the clubs, watching different bands. He saw famous musicians like Terence Blanchard and Kenny Kirkland. He decided then that he wanted to be involved in music.
Bilal graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Then, he went to The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. There, he met pianist Robert Glasper on his first day. With Glasper, he often visited jazz clubs in the city. He also went to the Wetlands Preserve nightclub. There, he met musicians from the Soulquarians group, including The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, and Mos Def.
Bilal also went to jam sessions held by his New School teachers and students. At one of these events, he met Aaron Comess from the band Spin Doctors. They started playing music together at Comess's home. They made a demo recording. This demo was later heard by Interscope Records, which then signed Bilal to a record deal.
Music Career Highlights
Starting Out with the Soulquarians and First Album
Bilal became familiar with the music scene in New York City. He met important artists like Common, The Roots, and Erykah Badu from the Soulquarians group. He was discovered by Aaron Comess of the Spin Doctors during a jam session. With Comess, Bilal recorded his demo, which led to his record deal with Interscope Records.
In 2001, Bilal released his first album, 1st Born Second. The album included help from the Soulquarians and famous producers like Dr. Dre and J Dilla. It reached number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The album sold 319,000 copies.
1st Born Second received great reviews from music critics. It scored 82 out of 100 on Metacritic. Publications like The Village Voice and USA Today praised it. Critics compared his music to artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Prince.
The album showed Bilal's wide range of music. It had emotional songs like "Soul Sista," which reached No. 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. It also had songs with political messages like "Fast Lane." Bilal gained many fans and had well-attended live shows. His peers admired his vocal range and unique singing style. People often called his music "neo-soul," but Bilal felt this term did not fully describe his expanding music style.
The Love for Sale Story and Airtight's Revenge
After his first album, Bilal continued to work on projects with other artists. He also recorded his next album, Love for Sale, for Interscope Records. This album featured live instruments and a new sound.
However, Interscope Records did not approve of Love for Sale. Bilal did not want to start over. Before the album was officially finished, it was leaked online. Interscope then decided not to release the album. This made Bilal very upset, and he thought about quitting music. But Love for Sale was downloaded over half a million times online. Bilal started touring, even without an official release. His concerts were known for being very powerful and amazing.
In 2008, Bilal began working on his next album. After nine years without a proper album release, Bilal returned on September 14, 2010. He released Airtight's Revenge with the independent record label Plug Research. Bilal described this album as a look back at his experiences and what he had learned. Airtight's Revenge was an experimental album. It mixed jazz, hip-hop, electronic, rock, soul, and blues music.
The album's single, "Little One," earned Bilal a nomination for a 2011 Grammy Award. This was in the category of Best Urban/Alternative Performance. That year, he also sang on The Roots' Grammy-nominated album Undun (2011). He also contributed to the Robert Glasper Experiment's Grammy-winning album Black Radio (2012).
More Independent Albums and Guest Projects
In 2012, Bilal announced plans for a new album with eOne Music. The new album, A Love Surreal, had a more acoustic sound. Bilal worked closely with his band.
To prepare for the album's release, he put out a mixtape called The Retrospection in December 2012. Six days later, he released the album's first single, "Back to Love." The music video for the song came out in January 2013. It told the story of a love doctor who used his own advice to help his relationship. Bilal said the song set the mood for the album, which was about "the whole process [of love]: meeting, the break-up, [and] the get-back-together." A Love Surreal was released on February 26, 2013.
A Love Surreal quickly became a commercial success. It debuted at No. 1 on iTunes' R&B Chart. On Billboard, it reached No. 17 on the Independent Albums Chart and No. 19 on the R&B Albums Chart. It also ranked higher than Airtight's Revenge on the Billboard 200. The album received many positive reviews, including high scores from SPIN magazine and Allmusic.
Between albums, Bilal appeared on recordings by many artists. These included Kimbra, Otis Brown III, and Slum Village. His contributions to Kendrick Lamar's album To ... a Butterfly (2015) created excitement for Bilal's fifth album. This album, In Another Life, was released in 2015 and was also praised by critics.
In 2019, Bilal sang on Philip Bailey's single "We're a Winner." This was a new version of the Impressions' 1967 song. Bailey said Bilal uses his voice like an instrument and explores his vocal range. He felt their voices, both having falsettos, would sound good together.
Live-Streamed EP During the Pandemic
In August 2020, Bilal live-streamed the creation of an experimental three-song EP. This happened over a three-day weekend for HighBreedMusic. He wrote, recorded, and produced one song each day, totaling 54 hours. He worked with producer Tariq Khan and 30 other musicians. These included Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, and Keyon Harrold. Each person worked remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The live stream also showed the EP's artwork being made by visual artists.
The EP could be pre-ordered during the live stream weekend. Sales and donations went to the artists who participated. Many of them were facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic. On September 6, the EP was released on Bandcamp as a digital download called Voyage-19. The profits were also shared among the participants.
Recent Works: Live at Glasshaus and Adjust Brightness
In December 2023, Bilal performed a concert for 100 fans at Glasshaus in Brooklyn, New York. This concert was later released as an album called Live at Glasshaus. Questlove, Common, Robert Glasper, and Burniss Travis joined Bilal on stage. They performed 11 songs from Bilal’s career, including music from 1st Born Second, Love For Sale, and Airtight's Revenge. They also played a new song called Humility. The album is seen as a look back at Bilal’s twenty-three years in music.
The concert was live-streamed twice, once in December 2023 and again in June 2024. The album was released on June 14, 2024, during Black Music Month.
In August 2024, Bilal announced his sixth studio album, Adjust Brightness. This eleven-track album was released by himself on September 30, 2024. The first song from the album was Sunshine, released on August 16. A North American tour for the album started on October 7, 2024, and finished on October 26.
On November 20, 2024, Bilal's concert documentary, Bilal: Live at Glasshaus, was released. The 65-minute film was directed by Jarrett Wetherell and premiered on YouTube. It shows intimate performance footage and interviews with Bilal, Questlove, Common, and Robert Glasper. The film was announced by The Hollywood Reporter. Essence magazine described it as "raw and electrifying."
In January 2025, Bilal performed on NPR's Tiny Desk series.
Bilal's Music Albums
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Studio Albums
Live Albums
EPs
Mixtapes
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Singles
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Notable Collaborations
Bilal has worked with many artists throughout his career. Here are some of his notable song appearances:
- 1999: Grenique on "Let Go"
- 2000: Guru and J Dilla on "Certified" from Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul
- 2001: Jermaine Dupri on "Supafly"
- 2002: Talib Kweli on "Waitin' for the DJ"
- 2003: Beyoncé on "Everything I Do" from The Fighting Temptations soundtrack
- 2004: Robert Glasper on "Maiden Voyage" from Mood
- 2006: Clipse and Pharrell Williams on "Nightmares" from Hell Hath No Fury
- 2007: Jay-Z on "Fallin'" from American Gangster
- 2008: Erykah Badu on "The Healer" and "Master Teacher" from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
- 2008: Solange on "Cosmic Journey" from Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
- 2009: Robert Glasper on "All Matter" from Double-Booked
- 2011: The Roots on "The OtherSide" from Undun
- 2012: Robert Glasper on "Always Shine" from Black Radio
- 2015: Kendrick Lamar on "Institutionalized" and "These Walls" from To ... A Butterfly
- 2016: J Dilla on "The Ex" from The Diary
- 2016: Mac Miller on "Congratulations" from The Divine Feminine
- 2017: The Roots on "It Ain't Fair" from the Detroit (film) soundtrack
- 2020: Salaam Remi on "Comin' Outta The Rain"
He has also frequently collaborated with Common on many songs, including:
- "Funky For You" from Like Water for Chocolate
- "Heaven Somewhere" from Electric Circus
- "Faithful" from Be
- "U, Black Maybe" from Finding Forever
- "Joy and Peace" from Black America Again
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Awards | Category | Work | Outcome |
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| 2010 | Grammy Awards | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | "All Matter" | Nominated |
| 2011 | "Little One" | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Album of the Year | To ... a Butterfly | Nominated | |
| Best Rap/Sung Performance | "These Walls" | Won |
Tours
- Little One Tour (2011)
See also
In Spanish: Bilal para niños
