Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1968 in Severn, Maryland) is a six-time Grammy Award winning African American R&B singer. She is most notable for her dark, deep, thick contralto vocals, which are low even by contralto standards. On April 21, 2001, Braxton married Mint Condition keyboardist Keri Lewis. That same year, she had her first child, a son named Denim Cole Braxton-Lewis. Braxton's second son, Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis, was born in 2003. Braxton is the oldest of six children. She attended elementary school at Richard Henry Lee elementary, and middle school at Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Her father was a clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household. Braxton's first performing experience was singing with a church choir. She attended Bowie State University to obtain a teaching degree but decided to pursue a musical career. She and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda and Tamar) performing as The Braxtons, released their first single "The Good Life" in 1990. This single attracted the attention of producer Antonio "L.A." Reid which led to Braxton recording demos of songs written for Anita Baker for a new Eddie Murphy film, Boomerang. Pregnant, Baker passed and suggested the "girl in the demos". That was the break Braxton needed, and her songs "Give U My Heart" and "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" ended up on the soundtrack to Boomerang in 1992. |
