Crystal Waters

Born in Deptford Township, New Jersey, Waters is the daughter of jazz musician Junior Waters and his wife Betty. Her great-aunt, Ethel Waters, Her family moved to New Jersey for a while but they again moved to Washington, D.C. At age eleven she began writing poetry and took her writing seriously enough to be inducted into the Poetry Society of America when she was 14, the youngest person ever to receive that honor. She studied business and computer science at Howard University, but her creative work as a musician dropped off as she found less time for it. After earning her college degree in 1989, Waters secured a job as a probation officer with the Washington, D.C. parole board, making a living that would support her two daughters. One of her daughters, Ella Nicole, is a singer-songwriter who was discovered in 2014 and managed by Samonee K. founder of Argo Vibes. ==Music career==

Waters' first job in the music world was as a backup singer at a local recording studio. She realized she wanted the creative control of writing her own music. Meeting the Basement Boys at a D.C. conference, they agreed to collaborate. Waters' self-described style was jazz and the Basement Boys was house. The first two songs she wrote for the 'Boys were "Makin' Happy" and "Gypsy Woman". With her 1994 follow-up album, Storyteller, Feminist scholar and social activist bell hooks described Waters as "fierce and politically on the job" because of the singer's socially conscious lyrics. In 1996, Waters participated in the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio, which was produced by the Red Hot Organization, performing the song "The Boy from Ipanema". In 2007, the mega European hit "Destination Calabria" by Alex Gaudino, featuring vocals by Crystal Waters, went to No. 1 on the European Pop Chart in over 30 countries. The track is a mashup, taking the instrumental from Rune's "Calabria" and the vocals from Alex Gaudino's and Crystal Waters' "Destination Unknown", both originally released in 2003. It was produced with the help of Maurizio Nari and Ronnie Milani (Nari & Milani), matching the saxophone hook/riff from "Calabria" to Crystal Waters' voice. "Destination Calabria" was released as a 12-inch single by the Italian label Rise Records, and as a CD single on March 19, 2007 by British label Data Records. It originally charted in Australia in February 2004, peaking at No. 98 under the title "Destination Unknown" before being re-released as "Destination Calabria" and reaching No. 2 in 2007. In 2012, "Le Bump" with Yolanda Be Cool gave Waters another No. 1 on the Beatport House Chart. With DJ Chris Cox in 2013, the No. 1 Billboard Dance Club Songs hit "Mama Hey", was listed as one of Billboard "Top 50 Dance Songs of 2013". In November 2015, Waters released "Synergy", and in October 2016 she released "Believe". Both songs quickly rose to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Dance Club Songs. Her 2017 single "Testify" with Hifi Sean was released on Defected Records and went straight to the A-List on BBC Radio and garnered another No. 1 spot on the Billboard Dance Club Songs. Her third collaboration with Sted-E & Hybrid Heights, titled "I Am House", reached No. 1 in the club charts in Spring 2018, giving Waters a total of twelve No. 1 singles in the US Billboard Dance Club Songs. In February 2020, she began a monthly radio/podcast show called "I Am House". ==Discography==

Studio albums Compilation albums Singles ==Awards and nominations==