After the 2007 split of R&B duo
Floetry, spoken word artist and whisper-voiced vocalist
Natalie Stewart -- aka
the Floacist -- made a handful of guest appearances on recordings by other musicians, including
Brian Culbertson's
XII. She signed as a solo artist to the Shanachie label, which released her debut album,
Floetic Soul, in November 2010. Dominated by seductive ballads featuring
Stewart’s trademark breathy whispers, she benefited from collaborations with
Musiq Soulchild,
Raheem DeVaughn, and
Lalah Hathaway, along with production input from
J.R. Hutson, Know-I, and
Chris "Big Dog" Davis. It scraped the Billboard 200 with a debut at number 195 and reached the Top 20 of the R&B albums chart. Almost exactly two years later, she released
Floetry Re:Birth -- produced by her husband,
Nolan Weekes -- for the same label. It topped out at number 51, R&B. Supported once again by
Davis, among others,
Stewart returned with
Rise of the Phoenix Mermaid in March 2014. ~ Andy Kellman