Neo-soul singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius has performed in ºüÀêÊÓƵ before and says bad weather seems to follow her.
This year though, as the headliner for Frizz Fest natural beauty festival on Sept. 21 in Tower Grove Park, that won’t be a problem. Her afro will be extra frizzy in case of rain when she hits the festival stage, she says.
“You can expect just a high energy, beautiful band, live music, and we’re going to have a good time,†Ambrosius says. “I’m excited.â€
Leslie Hughes started Frizz Fest in 2017 to celebrate the natural beauty of Black women and inspire confidence. The festival added a live music component in 2018 and had its first mainstream headliner last year with a performance from singer Mya.
Ambrosius will perform at 5:30 p.m. following performances from local musicians like Alexia Simone, Golliday, Be.Be the Neo Soul and more.
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Hughes says Ambrosius was the perfect addition to this year’s event.
“She embodies queen, and we are all about uplifting Black women and embracing the beauty that we all are,†Hughes says.
Originally from Liverpool, England, Ambrosius rose to fame in the early 2000s as one half of the neo-soul music duo Floetry. The group gained immense popularity in 2002 following the release of its debut album “Floetic,†which included songs like “Say Yes†and “Getting Late.â€
In March 2011, Ambrosius began her journey as a solo artist by releasing her album “Late Nights and Early Mornings.â€
While American music lovers didn’t know Ambrosius until she joined Floetry, the singer-songwriter’s love for music began not too long after she was born.
Growing up in the U.K., Ambrosius’ father played the bass guitar, and her mother collected vinyl. Her parents would intentionally leave instruments out for her to explore, instilling an early love for music and sound.
Ambrosius fell in love with the English group Weather Report, and her father would tell stories of how he’d catch her harmonizing with bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius’ chords as early as 3 years old.
“I remember hearing Earth, Wind and Fire for the first time,†she says. “I remember hearing Michael Jackson’s ‘I Can’t Help It,’ and it resonated with me so deeply that it moved me to tears just by the chord changes alone.â€
Despite being praised by critics and listeners for her exemplary vocals, Ambrosius says she had become content with just writing songs and producing in the background for other artists after releasing her 2018 album “Nyla.â€
That all changed when super producer and rapper Dr. Dre approached her in 2021 to help produce her most recent album “Casablanco.†At the time, both creatives were overcoming major health scares while navigating the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambrosius originally described the album as a eulogy, saying she recorded it as if it were her last.
“When I listen to it, I do feel like it’s my end credits at that time, until I did get over the hurdle,†she says.
Working with Dr. Dre gave Ambrosius a sense of freedom she’d never experienced while making music. She wanted the album to be a thank you to every musician who’d inspired her creatively throughout her life.
The song “Thrill Her†begins with a sample from Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.†She samples Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,†melodies from Duke Ellington and a Marcus Miller bass line.
The result, which came out in June 2024, is 11 jazz, soul and hip-hop infused tracks co-produced by Ambrosius and Dr. Dre that teleport listeners to old-Hollywood where anything is possible. Ambrosius says Dr. Dre told her “Nothing was off the table†when it came to creating “Casablanco.â€
“When you press play on the album, you can hear the work put into it,†she says. “But you can also hear the joy, the knowledge, the meticulous melodies and symphonies put in the correct place in such a bizarre and new, but very nostalgic way.â€
Ambrosius says Dr. Dre treated her as a creative equal. He often would remind her of how she worked with Michael Jackson while co-writing his song “Butterflies†with Andre Harris. For her, “Casablanco†represented who she and Dr. Dre were, not only as artists, but as human beings. She felt the same way about working with Jackson and says she still holds on to keepsakes and memories from the time she spent with the international pop star.
“To be one of only a very few handful of people on planet Earth that can even have that with someone of that magnitude is just an absolute blessing,†she says.
Since her solo debut in 2011, Ambrosius says she has grown up.
She married Dez Billups in 2017. They’d had their first child, Nyla, the year prior. She can feel a new sense of urgency and deeper meaning when she sings her songs because she’s telling a different story.
“I don’t think anything changes the art if the art is always from a pure place,†she says. “I think the growth in it is just the experience, just moving through life and having different feelings, emotions and moods ... experiences that I’ve had that can now drive a different storyline.â€