Solo career Res released her debut album,
How I Do, in 2001 along with its first single "Golden Boys." Despite heavy rotation on
VH1, the song did not catch on in radio play. "Ice King" (Remixed by
Nas) emerged as the second single later that year but also failed to break through with radio audiences and no video was filmed. In early 2002, Res released the third single from
How I Do, "
They-Say Vision." The song and accompanying video were breakthrough hits and reached #1 on the
Billboard Dance chart and #37 on the
Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. With the chart success of the single, the album entered the
Billboard 200 for the first time. A fourth single, "Sittin' Back," was also released but did not enjoy the same success as "They-Say Vision." Meanwhile, in 2002, Res appeared on a track with
Tony Allen,
Ray Lema,
Baaba Maal,
Positive Black Soul and
Archie Shepp for the
Red Hot Organization's compilation album
Red Hot and Riot, a tribute to Nigerian musician
Fela Kuti. Res also performed a cover of
Jefferson Starship song, "Miracles" for the
Jennifer Lopez movie
Maid in Manhattan. In 2003, her record label,
MCA Records, was phased out by
MCA Inc. and absorbed by
Geffen Records. Res was later released from her contract at her request after the label refused to release any further work despite paying her contracted label salary. After parting ways with Geffen, Res was called upon to model for
Marc Ecko's "Ecko Red" clothing line and appeared in print advertising. In 2006, Res recorded "To Empower" for the soundtrack of the drama film
Akeelah and the Bee. She joined
Gnarls Barkley's
St. Elsewhere tour providing supporting vocals while writing and recording material for her second album. In 2009, Res released her second album
Black.Girls.Rock! through digital media available on iTunes. The album features tracks originally recorded for her shelved Geffen album.
Black.Girls.Rock! is described by Res as "more of a singer/songwriters album than my debut. Great, classic songs!" Res funded a limited production run of vinyl pressings. On February 14, 2011, Res released a compilation of unreleased demos and remixed songs titled
A Box of Chocolates after the
Forrest Gump quote. The digital-only album is mixed by DJ NI** Sky (Nicole Albino of
Nina Sky) and features a blend of music from multiple genres of music. The album was intended as a
Valentine's Day gift to her fans as they awaited a proper release of
Black.Girls.Rock!. In 2013, Res signed with Javotti Media/EOne Records and her third studio album, 'Reset', was scheduled to be released on September 15, 2016. As of June 2018, the album had not been released, but an Indigogo campaign for the album had raised $39,000.
Idle Warship In 2009, Res joined long-time collaborator and
emcee Talib Kweli to form a
hip-hop/
electro duo known as
Idle Warship. They released a few teaser tracks online including a song named "Steady", that borrows from "
Sunglasses At Night" by
Corey Hart. In June 2009, Idle Warship completed their first headlining tour through Europe. They performed to sold-out crowds in Switzerland, Norway, France and Germany. Idle Warship has produced a mixtape called
Party Robots made available for download in October 2010 on Res' official site. Their debut album,
Habits of the Heart, was released on November 1, 2011. The first single from this debut, "Laser Beams", was produced by
DJ Khalil and The New Royales. == Musical style ==