Aloe Blacc

Known for his velvety-smooth voice, Aloe Blacc was an American singer and songwriter whose songs blended elements of soul, jazz, hip-hop and funk. Born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III in Orange County, CA, Blacc's first exposure to music came when he started taking trumpet lessons in the third grade. The following year, with his trumpet lessons going well, Blacc heard rapper LL Cool J for the first time, which made him even more certain that music was his calling. Blacc continued to hone his craft over the ensuing years, but after graduating from the University of Southern California in 2001, he decided to take on a stable career in the corporate sector. That brush with the "real world" did not last long, and by the early 2000s Blacc had quit his cushy corporate job to make music with the hip hop producer Exile. Blacc and Exile performed under the name Emanon, and released three hip-hop albums together: 2001's Steps Through Time, 2002's Imaginary Friends, and 2005's The Waiting Room. However, frustrated with the direction hip hop was headed, Blacc decided to go off on his own as a solo artist and release music that was more socially conscious. His debut album, 2006's Shine Through, was a critical hit, and immediately established Blacc as a young artist on the rise. Blacc followed that album up with 2010's Good Things, spawning the hit single "I Need a Dollar," which went on to become the theme to the HBO dramedy series "How To Make It in America" (HBO 2010-11). In 2013, Blacc achieved international success as the co-writer of the single "Wake Me Up." The song, which he co-wrote with Swedish DJ Avicii, reached Number 1 in nearly two dozen countries, raising Blacc's mainstream profile even more. 2013 was also the year Blacc released his third studio album, Lift Your Spirit, which spawned the popular single "The Man." In addition to his recording career, in 2014 Blacc served as a mentor on Season 6 of NBC's "The Voice" (NBC 2011-).