Bilal ("Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful And Living it") Sayeed Oliver made quite an impression with his 2001 debut album
1st Born Second. The neo soul singer and songwriter from Philadelphia presented nice, refined sensual music strongly rooted in the past, but at the same time influenced by contemporary r&b, hip-hop and soul. He wrote music for Erykah Badu’s CD
Mama’s Gun and he sang backing vocals with D’Angelo. He has also contributed to the albums of Common and Guru. Initially the singer, a huge jazz fan, had other plans than a career in pop music. As a student at the conservatory at the jazz and big band department, he saw himself more as an arranger or a jazz singer. After all, jazz is ‘the original booty shake’, according to Bilal. With names like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and Mos Def, the singer is part of the Soul Aquarians collective. The young jazz pianist Robert Glasper, who will also perform at the festival, has been playing in Bilal’s band for years.
