Shakura S'Aida - Brown Sugar

Shakura S'Aida � pronounce her name Shack-oora Sigh-ee-da� began performing at a young age. Her first steps into music began with a Toronto community band called Mystique, which found her belting out tunes alongside Deborah Cox, and then became the lead singer in the 13-piece world music band, Kaleefah, that would later be nominated for a Juno Award. She quickly learned how to own the stage and perform, a skill she has since carried to the musical stage with roles in such productions as Ain't Misbehavin and Momma, I Want to Sing, and to the theatre as an actress. She's carried off supporting roles in film with Sudz Sutherland's Doomstown (2006) and in Frances Anne Solomon's A Winter Tale been featured in an installment of Flashpoint a major CTV television series that's also aired in the U.S.As a solo artist, Shakura's career has spanned genres and countries and taken her to some of the most noted stages in the jazz world. She has performed at the Apollo Theatre in New York and has been nominated for numerous Maple Blues Awards over the last four years. She's at home with the repertoires of Ray Charsles, Nina Simone and the basic blues catalogue � but always wins audiences over with her own emotionally powerful songs.