Juanita Stokes
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Juanita Stokes (aka Smooth and "The Female Mack") is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is the daughter of actress Irene Stokes and younger sister of music executive Chris Stokes. Christened 'Smooth' because of her skillful raps and jazz-tinged, mezzo soprano, she is best known for her hits: "You Been Played," "Mind Blowin'" and "Strawberries." She has one child, and currently performs under the name Needa S.
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[edit] Early life
Her year of birth is contentious, with her former record label listing her as being born in 1979, although some say it's actually 1973.[weasel words] Juanita grew up with huge aspirations toward the entertainment business. As a child, she sang in the church choir and was influenced by Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, as well as pioneering female rap artists such as Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte.
[edit] Music Career
[edit] You Been Played
She was first known as MC Smooth, releasing an album produced by Chris Stokes called, Smooth & Legit in 1990. This album released two singles which did not do well on the charts. Attention was then given to Immature, which went on to be very successful. After having established the then pre-teen R&B trio Immature in the early 1990s — Chris, now a fledgling music executive, focused his attention on producing Juanita's second album under just Smooth. Using the moniker Smooth, her first single, 1993s "You Been Played," was featured on the soundtrack to Menace II Society. Her album of the same title was released the same year on TNT/Jive Records. Although Juanita trailed in the wake of Queen Latifah and TLC in combining rapping and singing abilities, she and fellow R&B teen sensation Aaliyah were pioneers in the use of jailbait gimmicking, that is, performing grown-up explicit material while underage. In spite of receiving minor attention and airplay, You Been Played failed to reach a wide commercial audience.
[edit] Smooth
Smooth's eponymous second album was released in 1995. A sleeker-produced, raunchier-themed set, the album features a cameo appearance by her then TNT-labelmate, 2Pac. Its lead-off single, the sexually-charged "Mind Blowin'", was well received by radio, while the video garnered spins on MTV and BET. The song ultimately peaked at #7 on Billboard's Rap Singles Chart. Though the album fared slightly better than its predecessor, thanks to "Mind Blowin'", its sales were also underwhelming. The same year, however, she performed a rap cameo in Immature's top 10 pop single, "We Got It." Shortly thereafter she left TNT and Jive Records, signing a new deal with Perspective/A&M Records.
[edit] Reality
Smooth's junior album, Reality, was released in March 1998. Working with a wide array of producers including: Chris Stokes, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and Brion James — unlike her first two albums, Reality tempers Smooth's hip-hop influences with urban soul, and the result is a seductive collection of songs that's equally funky and stylish. While the songwriting isn't always compelling, a rich instrumental backdrop was given that allowed her to emphasize her charisma, and the result is arguably her best release to date.
Although critics were kind, and many noted that she had grown as an artist, Smooth's unlucky sales streak continued with this album. Although the first single, "Strawberries" (which featured a sample loop of "Where There Is Love," a song by Patrice Rushen), charted in the upper half of the Hot 100 Singles Chart, album sales were not as high as with her previous album. The second single "He Thinks She Don't Know" went virtually unnoticed. More trouble lay ahead when Perspective Records was folded into its A&M parent, which did not opt to keep Smooth on the roster.
[edit] Controversy
Although her 1995 single "Mind Blowin'" was well received, Smooth faced criticism due to the raunchy nature of the song. Clips of the video appeared on an episode of The Maury Povich Show, where he decried teenagers growing up too fast. Some Christians[who?] were harsher, declaring her an example of children growing up without strong parenting, despite an official declaration to this accord.
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | |||
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | ||
| 1993 | "You Been Played" | - | #54 | - |
| 1995 | "Mind Blowin'" | #75 | #31 | #7 |
| 1996 | "Love & Happiness" | - | #66 | - |
| 1998 | "Strawberries" | #49 | #17 | - |
