Latrelle facts for kids

Andrea Latrelle Simmons (born April 15, 1981) is an American singer. She is known by her stage names Latrelle and later MzMunchie.

Latrelle's Music Journey

Starting Young

Latrelle began singing in church when she was a little kid. She loved music and wanted to be a singer. With her mom, Aleese Simmons, who was also an R&B singer and her manager, Latrelle started recording her own songs at age sixteen.

She showed her talent at Montana studios in New York City. Many record labels, like Motown and Def Jam, were interested in her. She then met Tracey and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. They were famous music producers. They helped Latrelle and her mom get a music publishing deal. They were so impressed that they introduced Latrelle to L.A. Reid. He was a big name at Arista Records. They helped Latrelle get signed to Arista.

Writing Songs for Stars

When Latrelle was a teenager, she wrote songs for many popular artists. These included groups like Destiny's Child and Mary Mary. She also wrote for singers like Monica.

First Album and Hit Songs

L.A. Reid was very impressed when he met Latrelle. He offered her a contract on the very same day. By the time she was 19, Latrelle had recorded her first album. It was called Dirty Girl, Wrong Girl, Bad Girl. This album was planned to come out in October 2001, but it was never officially released.

Latrelle's first song, "House Party," was produced by The Neptunes. They also produced other songs on her album. Latrelle has worked with them many times since then. Other famous producers like Babyface also worked on her album. Latrelle and her mom, Aleese Simmons, wrote most of the songs. The album also featured other artists like Kelis and Pusha T. Some songs from her album were later recorded by other famous singers. For example, "Nothin' Else" was recorded by Justin Timberlake in 2002. "Long Time" was recorded by Shakira in 2009.

Releasing Singles

The first song released from her album was "Dirty Girl." A new version of the song was made with T.I.. Another version featured Left Eye from the group TLC. While "Dirty Girl" was not a big radio hit, it was very popular in clubs. It also appeared on many mixtapes. In December 2001, "House Party" was released as her next song. It became a small hit on the Hip-Hop/R&B music charts.

Later Career and MzMunchie

After leaving Arista Records, Latrelle started her own music label called AMI Music Group. She recorded a new album for this label. She also worked with famous rapper and producer P. Diddy. The first song from this project, "We Got Music," came out in April.

More recently, Latrelle has been performing and recording music under the name MzMunchie. In 2011, her song "We Got Music" became a minor hit. It appeared on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

Working with Other Artists

Throughout her career, Latrelle has toured with many well-known artists. These include Lauryn Hill, The Fugees, Alicia Keys, P Diddy, and Rihanna. She has also performed, recorded, or written songs with many producers and artists. Some of these include Rodney Jerkins, Whitney Houston, Mary Mary, Pharrell, Ludacris, and Left Eye of TLC.

Latrelle's Albums

Latrelle has released a few music projects. Here are some of them: