Early career In the early 1990s, Tweet joined the female trio Sugah, leaving her daughter with her parents in
Panama City, Florida. Sugah was composed of Tweet, Susan Weems, and Rolita White; the group was a part of
Devante Swing's
Swing Mob collective. While there, she met
Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, with whom she formed a close friendship. Around 1999, Tweet returned to her parents' home in Panama City. In 2001, Tweet was featured on Missy Elliott's platinum-selling third album,
Miss E... So Addictive, with her featuring on one track and providing background vocals to another four. She also contributed background vocals to
Ja Rule's
Pain Is Love,
Bubba Sparxxx's
Dark Days, Bright Nights, Timbaland and Magoo's
Indecent Proposal, and
Petey Pablo's
Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry.
2002–04: Southern Hummingbird In March 2002, Tweet released her debut solo single, "
Oops (Oh My)". The song was produced by Timbaland and features guest vocals by Missy Elliott. The single hit number one on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number seven on the
Billboard Hot 100. In April 2002, Tweet released her debut album
Southern Hummingbird. The album featured production by Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart, guitarist John "Jubu" Smith, Timbaland, and Tweet herself. The album includes features from Elliott,
Bilal, and
Ms. Jade. The album debuted at number three on the
Billboard 200 chart. The album spawned two follow-up singles: the Timbaland-produced "
Call Me" and "
Smoking Cigarettes". In 2002, Tweet appeared as a guest vocalist on
Trina's second single "No Panties" her album
Diamond Princess. Tweet also appeared as a background vocalist on
Meshell Ndegeocello's
Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape,
Karen Clark Sheard's
2nd Chance, Ms. Jade's
Girl Interrupted, Whitney Houston's
Just Whitney... and Elliott's
Under Construction. For the latter, Tweet appeared on four of the tracks and made cameo performances in two videos released from the album, "Work It" and "Gossip Folks". Among others, Tweet appeared in the music video for
Aaliyah's posthumous hit single, "Miss You". Tweet was nominated for a
Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best New Artist but lost to Ashanti. That year Tweet was awarded the
Key to the City for
Rochester, New York. In 2003, Tweet appeared as a background vocalist on the following releases:
Madonna's
American Life The Remixes Single,
Monica's
After the Storm,
Mark Ronson's
Here Comes the Fuzz, and
Angie Stone's
Stone Love on the 2004
Grammy Award-nominated song "U-Haul". In 2003, Tweet had a cameo appearance in the film
Honey and contributed the song "Thugman" for its soundtrack.
2005–07: ''It's Me Again'' During 2003 and 2004, Tweet began recording songs for her follow-up to
Southern Hummingbird. The album was supposed to be released in early 2004, but was pushed back when Tweet moved from Elektra Entertainment Group to
Atlantic Records in 2004. In late 2004, Tweet released the single "
Turn da Lights Off. The song was produced by Missy Elliott and
Kwamé, featured vocals from Elliott and contained a sample of
Marvin Gaye's "If This World Were Mine" and
Nat King Cole's "Lost April". To promote the single, Tweet joined
Cee-Lo Green and
Teedra Moses on the 2004 Seagram's Gin Live Tour. The same year, Tweet appeared in Elliott's music video "I'm Really Hot". Tweet also appeared on the posthumous unreleased Elliott-produced Aaliyah track "
Where Could He Be". On March 22, 2005, Tweet released her second album ''
It's Me Again''. The album featured production from Missy Elliott on several of the tracks. The album featured vocals from Tweet's 15-year-old daughter, Tashawna, on "Two of Us",
Rell and Missy Elliott were also featured. "When I Need a Man" (theme song from the USA network original series,
Kojak) was included as a hidden track. The album peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard albums chart. Tweet then broke away from her manager, Mona Scott, and Violator Management, and signed with
Mathew Knowles of
Music World. Tweet appeared on Elliott's sixth album release,
The Cookbook, contributing vocals to three tracks, including the single "Teary Eyed".
2007–16: Simply Tweet and Charlene In 2007, Tweet performed with
Timbaland,
Eve,
Keyshia Cole,
Nelly Furtado,
Fat Man Scoop and
Ciara at the 4th annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors, honoring the work of
Missy Elliott which aired on October 8. The same year, she departed from
Missy Elliott's
Goldmind Inc. camp and signed to
Jheryl Busby and
Mike City's record label, Umbrella Recordings. There, she began recording material for her third album along with producers
Nisan Stewart,
Warryn Campbell and Novel. The release of lead single "Anymore" failed to materialize however. In late 2011, Tweet signed to
MC Lyte's record label DuBose Music Group. In June 2012, she began posting previously unreleased material from the ''
It's Me Again and Love, Tweet
recording sessions on her new website as a part of her weekly SoundCloud-hosted special, Tweet Tuesdays
. In February 2013, DuBose released her Simply Tweet EP. Recorded live with a full band, the five-track set was preceded by the single "Enough". The digital extended play reached the top thirty on both the US Billboard''
Independent Albums and the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In July 2015, Tweet confirmed that she had signed with the independent
eOne Music label. Her third regular studio album
Charlene, featuring production from
Missy Elliott, is expected to be released on January 22, 2016, in the United States, with its lead single to be released on September 21, 2015.
2025-present: Memoirs of the Southern Hummingbird In July 2025, Tweet signed a new record deal with SRG-ILS Group, announcing she will release her fourth studio album,
Memoirs of The Southern Hummingbird in fall 2025. Ahead of the album's release the singer will drop a reimagined version of her 2010 track "Love Again" on September 11, 2025 (though this didn't happen); on September 26, 2025, Tweet released the official lead single, "Toot-Toot." ==Awards and nominations==