Jaguar Wright
Jacquelyn Suzette Wright-Johnson (born May 17, 1977), better known by her stage name, Jaguar Wright, is an American R&B and neo soul singer, songwriter and narrator. She is part of the Okayplayer collective. Wright has performed and collaborated alongside rap acts such as The Roots, Jay-Z, and Blackalicious. Jaguar Wright wasn't born in Philadelphia Pa. She was born and raised in New Jersey until about 12 and then she came to Philadelphia Pa.
Jaguar Wright | |
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Wright performing in January 2008 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Jacquelyn Suzette Wright |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | May 17, 1977
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1995–present |
Associated acts |
Career
Wright was brought to the attention of hip-hop group The Roots in 1998, which eventually led to her going to tour with them. She later appeared as a back-up singer for Jay-Z in 2001,[1] and appeared in a Coca-Cola advert as part of the brand's "Nu Soul" campaign.[2]
She has released two solo albums to date: Denials, Delusions & Decisions in 2002, and Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul in 2005.[3] Wright also recorded an album entitled ...And Your Point Is? which was due for release in 2003 on MCA Records (who also distributed her debut), before the label folded. However, many of the tracks recorded for that album later appeared on Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul.
In 2007, two new songs appeared on her MySpace profile. One was a live version of new song "Sometimes", the other a cover of "Let's Do It Again". A further two new songs surfaced in 2009, "Beautiful" and "Surely Shawty", although neither saw an official release.
She has toured every year since her debut album was released.[4] In March 2008, she toured Europe with Bahamadia and Hezekiah for the "Philly Sounds" tour. Wright did not perform any new material on the tour, but did live cover versions of Cherrelle's "Saturday Love" and Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)". During the tour, Wright announced that she was in the process of writing a novel, and working on a third album. No release dates have been confirmed for either as yet.
In 2008, she supplied backing vocals for Al Green's album Lay It Down.
In January 2011, Jaguar Wright toured Europe with Lady Alma on the "Philly Sounds 2011" tour. She revealed that she was working on a third album, due out in the summer of 2011, the lead single from the new album to be called "Switch".
In the summer of 2012, she assembled a "rock & soul band" of seasoned Philadelphia musicians called The W.E. ft. Jaguar Wright. The W.E. (an acronym for "The Wright Experience") had its debut performance in October 2012.
In 2019, Wright released the 5-song EP entitled "Lost" on Bandcamp.[5]
In 2020, Wright made headlines via social media regarding issues such as the trajectory of her music career, her fallout with several members of the Roots, as well as her grievances with artists such as Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Mary J. Blige as well as the startling allegation that her then boyfriend Common sexually assaulted her after performing a concert in the mid-2000s.[6][7] Jaguar Wright also was the subject of a recent documentary from YouTube blogger Tasha K entitled Gone Girl: Surviving Jaguar Wright. This documentary featured her ex husband, her son and various relatives who spoke against her allegations.
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US [8] |
US R&B /HH [9] |
US Indie [10] | ||
Denials Delusions and Decisions |
|
56 | 16 | — |
Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul |
|
— | 53 | 35 |
Unreleased albums
Title | Album details |
---|---|
...And Your Point Is? |
|
Singles
- as lead artist
Title[18] | Year | Chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
US Adult R&B [19] | |||
"Ain't Nobody Playin'" (featuring Black Thought) |
2001 | — | Denials Delusions and Decisions |
"I Can't Wait" (featuring Bilal) |
— | ||
"The What If's" | 2002 | 24 | |
"Free" | 2005 | — | Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul |
"Beautiful"[20] | 2011 | — | Non-album single |
"Switch (Make Change)"[21] | — | Non-album single | |
"YDKM"[22] (Rokbottom, Tone Trump, Jaguar Wright & JJ Demon) |
2012 | — | Non-album single |
"My Choice (It's You)"[23] | 2014 | — | Non-album single |
- as featured artist
Title[18] | Year | Chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US R&B /HH [24] |
US Adult R&B [19] |
US Rap [25] | |||
"What You Want" (The Roots featuring Jaguar Wright) |
1999 | 82 | 24 | 32 | Denials Delusions and Decisions |
"Do You Know" (Mike Watts featuring Jaguar Wright) |
2002 | — | — | — | Vol. 1 |
"Ghetto Love Story"[26] (Deucez Wyled featuring Jaguar Wright) |
2016 | — | — | — | Non-album single |
"All In My Head"[27] (The Boom Room Church Music featuring Jaguar Wright) |
— | — | — | Non-album single | |
Album appearances
Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"What You Want"[28] | 1999 | The Roots (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
The Roots Come Alive |
"We Got You"[28] | |||
"The Lesson, Pt. 3 (It's Over Now)"[28] | |||
"Raw Sex"[29] | 2000 | Dice Raw | Reclaiming The Dead |
"You Not The One"[29] | |||
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"[30][31] | 2001 | Jay-Z | MTV Unplugged |
"Takeover"[30][31] | |||
"Girls, Girls, Girls"[30][31] | |||
"Jigga What, Jigga Who"[30][31] | |||
"Big Pimpin'"[30][31] | |||
"Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)"[30][31] | |||
"Can I Get A ..."[30][31] | |||
"Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)"[30][31] | |||
"Ain't No"[30][31] | |||
"Can't Knock The Hustle / Family Affair"[30][31] | Jay-Z (featuring Mary J Blige) | ||
"Song Cry"[30][31] | Jay-Z | ||
"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me)"[30][31] | Jay-Z (featuring Pharrell) | ||
"Jigga That N****"[30][31] | Jay-Z | ||
"Fight To Win"[32] | Fela Anikulapo Kuti (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Fight to Win | |
"Aural Pleasure"[33] | 2002 | Blackalicious (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Blazing Arrow |
"Nothin'"[34] | 2003 | Larry Gold (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Presents Don Cello and Friends |
"Let's Do It Again"[35][36] | Gerald Veasley (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Velvet | |
"Talk To Me"[37] | 2005 | Guru (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures |
"Do U Know?"[38] | 2006 | Mike Watts (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Pandora's Box |
"I see yaw"[39] | 2007 | Hezekiah (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
I predict a riot |
"Lila"[40] | 2008 | Curse (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Freiheit |
"How Ya Doing?"[41] | 2010 | Ground Up (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Girls Who Smoke Cigarettes |
"Skit 2"[42] | 2013 | Sizzle Pop and Jaguar Wright | Full Circle - Return of the Underground |
"One More Drink - Neal Conway Re-Werk"[43] | Jaguar Wright | Neal Conway Classics Revisited, Vol. 2 | |
"So Good (Amazing)"[44] | 2015 | Terri Lyne Carrington (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul |
"Inspired"[45] | ill Clinton (featuring Jaguar Wright and Moses West) |
Presents: Vol. 2 | |
"All Night Long"[46] | David P Stevens (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
Mr. Guitar | |
"Switch (Make Change)"[47] | 2017 | Jaguar Wright (featuring Peedi Crakk) |
Volume 1 |
"KOS"[48] | 2019 | Rakim Al-Jabbaar (featuring Rikki Blu and Jaguar Wright) |
Underground GOD |
"Trill God"[48] | Rakim Al-Jabbaar (featuring Jaguar Wright) |
References
- Mar, Pollo Del; social, ContributorDrag queen on the SF; political; editorial; Scene, Fundraising (2015-03-13). "Neo Soul Singer Jaguar Wright: Homophobia Was Shaken Out of Me When I Was 12". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- Ollison, Rashod. "Ain't Nobody Playing: Jaguar Wright Stalks Her Prey". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- "Jaguar Wright". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- Writer, Bobbi Booker Tribune Staff. "Website alerts fans of Jaguar Wright's arrest, plight". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- "Lost EP, by Jaguar Wright". Jaguar Wright. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- "Jaguar Wright Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- Neal, Mark Anthony (28 January 2002). "Jaguar Wright: Denials, Delusions, and Decisions". PopMatters. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Denials Delusions and Decisions - Jaguar Wright". Allmusic. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright – Denials Delusions And Decisions". Discogs. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul - Jaguar Wright". Allmusic. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright – Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul". Discogs. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "WBSS Media-Jaguar Wright". WBSS Media. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright – ...And Your Point Is?". Discogs. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright Discography at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright Chart History (Adult R&B)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Beautiful". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Switch (Make Change) - single". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "YDKM - YDKM - Single (feat. Tone Trump, Jaguar Wright, JJ Demon) on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — My Choice (It's You)". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright Chart History (R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Jaguar Wright Chart History (R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Ghetto Love Story". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — All In My Head". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "The Roots Come Alive (Live) by The Roots on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Dice Raw – Reclaiming The Dead (CD, 2002)". Discogs. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "MTV Unplugged: Jay-Z ((Live)) by JAY-Z on iTunes". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- Reid, Shaheem (30 January 2002). "Jaguar Wright Not Just Jay-Z's Backup Singer - MTV". MTV. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Fight To Win". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Presents Don Cello and Friends". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- Tuss, Lucy (July 1, 2003). "Gerald Veasley: Velvet - JazzTimes". JazzTimes. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- Bottomley, Maurice (11 November 2003). "Gerald Veasley: Velvet - PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "GURU Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures by Guru on TIDAL". TIDAL. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Pandora's Box". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — I predict a riot". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Freiheit". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Girls Who Smoke Cigarettes". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Full Circle - Return of the Underground (feat. Sofadek Ali, Young Josh, Pyramid, Willy Bombazy, Chloe, Imposs, Radical, Donte, Chloë, Arkayn, Dyce, Jaguar Wright, Billy Nova & Miss Drée) [2]". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Neal Conway Classics Revisited, Vol. 2". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Presents: Vol. 2". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Mr. Guitar". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Volume 1". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- "Spotify — Underground GOD". Spotify. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
External links
- Jaguar Wright discography at Discogs
- Jaguar Wright's channel on YouTube
- Jaguar Wright at Okayplayer