Dawnn Lewis and Jasmine Guy

[Karma]

People who should have been recording artists....or they tried their hand at it and were talented by criminally "slept on" by the public and not properly promoted.

The first two people that come to mind for me:

Dawnn Lewis and Jasmine Guy

Both women are multi talented actresses who got major career boosts from Spike Lee and Debbie Allen, They've worked together on shows like the fabulous "A Different World".

But Dawnn Lewis is so much MORE than an actress...that woman can SING! She co-wrote the theme song for A Different World (which was sung at different points in its run by Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin & Boyz II Men)

She held her ground with EnVogue on the opening theme song for "Hangin' with mr. cooper"...and I always wondered why didnt she ever do an album or a single or SOMETHING.


Jasmine Guy is another multi talented actress. Appearing in such films as "School Days" as well as the star of "A Different World", she also made one HELL of a splash as a special guest star on "Melrose Place"

But Jasmine had a budding music career as well with several dance tracks in the 90's like "Try Me" and "Don't Want Money". She couldve blown up and had a nice run in the 90's when the dance craze was hot and the disco/techno sound was finally coming back.


But she, like Dawnn didnt ever seem to get that spark that ignited the music career either one of them couldve had.

Anyone else here a fan of these two multi talented women?

 

[Rampage]

Very much so. Jasmin Guy is actually my sorority sister (Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.) and I remember spinning "Try Me" back in the day. Dawnn Lewis was also very much appreciated by me. I am not surprised though, that they didn't make it in music.

Unfortunately, the music industry is not always a merit situation, and I am of the opinion that the 90s were especially exploitative for women. Think of the few women to come out and be successful in that decade. Mariah Carey (who was married to Mottola), Sade (who was international), and WHO?! Everyone else I can think of did not survive the decade or was exploited in some way by someone in the business.

 

[Karma]

well, EnVogue is definately a prime example of how women were exploited in the music industry of the 90's...but to counter that, there was TLC on the otherside. Mariah had good company from Janet and Madonna but they were women who largely controlled their careers where many other solo artists were still not even writing or producing their own music by then. Probaly the WORST example of female exploitation in music in the 90's is Martha Wash. What Blackbox did to her remains one of the most sympathy inducing stories in the music industry.

Jasmine should have had a better chance though, she was friends with Madonna AND Tupac (and the rampant rumours were...that ALL THREE were ..."entangled" behind closed doors more than once and that WOULD explain why Madonna AND Jasmine were the FIRST to offer to post bail for Tupac in 1994 when he was arrested for sexual assault) She had the right connections, she certainly the right voice and coming off the success of A Different World and Melrose Place, she still had the visibility.

She's your sorrority sister? wow thats fantastic! I always wanted to meet her :nod: She does alot of speaking engagements now and is a strong ally of the L.G.B.T community

Dawnn, most recently provided the voice for STORM on the X-men Legends games but it's really a shame that she couldnt parlay her obvious vocal and music writing talents into a couple of mainstream hits.