Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart are the funky divas behind the neo-soul duo Floetry. Ambrosius and Stewart emerged in the mid-'90s as songwriters in demand. They're behind some of the new millennium's biggest hits, too. The pair has written tracks for Michael Jackson, Jill Scott, Glenn Lewis, and Bilal. While they're highly respected behind the scenes, Floetry is their way of moving up front.
Ambrosius is the songstress to Stewart's spoken word impresario or "floacist" role. The two met due to their love of basketball. Stewart, who hails from London, was a superstar on her court, while Ambrosius wowed fans in her local English neighborhood. They were competitive, but not rivals, so a friendship was formed. Music was also a passion. Ambrosius relished in her reggae roots while Stewart found herself grooving to funk and soul. While attending Brits Performing Arts School, Ambrosius studied business and finance, but made room for courses in voice, performance technique, and recording. Stewart split her time between acting and directing. Later, Ambrosius and Stewart headed to college.
Ambrosius planned to attend Georgia Tech University on a basketball scholarship, but injury forced her to bow out. Stewart headed for Middlesex University, eventually transferring to North London University. Still, they two kept in touch and raved about music. It wouldn't be until Stewart's girl group, 3 Plus 1, disbanded that Floetry would actually give music a serious shot.
In 1997, Ambrosius and Stewart began writing songs and playing shows in and around London. Three years later, they moved to America in search of something bigger. A brief stint in Atlanta didn't pan out, but their time spent in Philadelphia proved golden. Ambrosius and Stewart befriended Julius Erving III, basketball great Julius Erving's son, in mid-2000. Floetry and Erving clicked instantly. Erving signed on as their manager and hooked the ladies up with Jeff Townes, aka DJ Jazzy Jeff, for some recording. That's when the deals started trickling in -- Floetry were official and living out a dream. In 2002, they inked a deal with DreamWorks and touched up their own work for a debut album. Floetic appeared in October 2002, and its follow-up, Flo'Ology, reached the Top Ten upon release three years later.
MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
Group Members:
Amanda Diva
Natalie Stewart
Marsha Ambrosius
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From Wikipedia:Floetry was an English R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius ("the Songstress") and Natalie Stewart ("the Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 800,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1997, Ambrosius and Stewart began writing songs and playing shows in and around London.
In 2002, the duo released their first album entitled, Floetic. The album sold over 788,000 copies in the United States. The album spawned the singles "Floetic", the top ten song "Say Yes", and "Getting Late". Following their success, Floetry released their live album Floacism, featuring the single Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong).
In 2005, Floetry released their second album Flo'Ology. From the album was release of two singles "SupaStar" and "Lay Down". Later in 2007, Natalie Stewart ("the Floacist") left the duo and was later replaced by femcee and MTV2 personality Amanda Diva.