Adina Howard

Adina Howard (born November 14, 1974 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a R&B/Pop/Hip-Hop singer-songwriter. Her debut album Do You Wanna Ride?, with the hit single "Freak Like Me", was released in 1995 and achieved high sales figures. The song "Freak Like Me", as well as Howard's image, can be described as hyper-sexual. It can be said that she opened the door for female rap artists to incorporate sexually explicit material into their works in the future. A second album, Welcome to Fantasy Island garnered a couple critical raves, but was shelved by Elektra Records in 1997, due to their decision that the album 'did not contain any other singles'. In 2003, news of her third album hit with various album title changes throughout the year from "Ride Again: 7/2" to "Two Can Play That Game". During this year, she also filmed an independent film called Casanova's Demise co-starring Greg Horos. By 2004, Howard officially released her third album (now called The Second Coming) under Rufftown Records. With the distribution label and the record label in conflict, the album suffered without any publicity and a video "Nasty Grind" played on BET during early morning hours. Even with the lack of publicity, it gathered over 40,000 units on store shelves. 2005, was to be the release of The Second Coming: Remixed but that project was shelved to make way for a new full-length album, Private Show. Along with a new album, Howard worked with Walid Azami to bring documentaries for her fansite. This is an attempt to explain her side of the story and show the fans how the album was made. The promo single "Phone Sex", (a #1 Ringtone) was released in September 2006. After delays, the album "Private Show" was issued on June 27, 2007 with the proper lead single, "L.O.V.A." It managed to peak #17 on iTunes R&B music sales chart. However, the album "Private Show" missed the Billboard 200 and R&B Albums chart altogether. The sold a few thousand copies. Shortly thereafter, her and Arsenal Records parted ways. On September 25, 2009, an independent compilation, "Independent Soul Divas 2" was issued on Lola Waxx Records. This compilation features "What Do I Do", a song recorded by Howard in 2008. The version included on the compilation is different from the version originally featured on her Official MySpace profile. Visit http://www.myspace.com/adinahoward Adina's Official Myspace.