Kim Hill (soul musician)

Kim Allise Hill (born August 7, 1972) professionally known as Kim Hill is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with the hip hop band Black Eyed Peas. She left the band in 2000 and was later replaced by Fergie in 2002. Hill has since begun performing as a solo artist and acting in films.

Career

Black Eyed Peas

Hill had a chance meeting with will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo in 1995 at a BMI Showcase. This encounter led to her co-writing several songs on their album, Behind the Front, including "The Way You Make Me Feel". She also co-wrote "Mama's Just a Little Girl" with 2Pac for the album, Better Dayz and collaborated with Jane's Addiction on "Superhero" which was also the theme song for the HBO hit Entourage. Hill became a vocalist for the Peas and contributed to numerous tracks on Behind the Front and Bridging the Gap. Hill wrote other songs including "On My Own", which featured Les Nubians and Mos Def, as well as "Hot". She has appeared with The Notorious B.I.G., Outkast, The Pharcyde, Cody Chesnutt, Common, Slum Village, Raphael Saadiq, Jody Watley, De La Soul, No Doubt, A Tribe Called Quest and Aaliyah. During her tenure with the Black Eyed Peas, she signed a solo contract with Interscope Records in 1998. She was released from her contract in 1999, before releasing anything, because Interscope did not consider her music "black enough". Taboo described her position in the band in his autobiography, Fallin' Up: "Kim was never fully installed as a member of the Peas, even though there has been coverage in the past that she was the fourth member. It is more accurate to say that she featured with us, because she was still a singer-songwriter in her own right and still performed solo."

Solo career

Hill left the Black Eyed Peas in 2000 due to creative differences. Hill released her debut album, Surrender to Her Sunflower in 1997/1998. After her debut release, she released her second album, Suga Hill in 2001. She released her third album, Pharaoh's Daughter, in 2008. Hill continues to create independent music, deejay as DJ Kill Him.

In 2014, she starred in a feature film directed by Nefertite Nguvu called In the Morning shot by cinematographer Arthur Jafa. The same year, Hill created a TV series titled Mother…Hood, but it remains unreleased. She was also a contracted singer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Hill has been featured on Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and in Billboard and Vibe.

Personal life

She was born to Norman D. Hill (1940–2006) and Shirley A. Hill (b. 1940) in Syracuse, New York, Kim was the third child of their union. She has a brother, Brian K. Hill (born 1961) and a sister, Teretha M. Hill-Williams (born 1963). Hill studied violin, piano, and gymnastics as a child before enrolling at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia as a dance major. She moved to Los Angeles in 1993 after a year as a Philadelphia 76ers cheerleader, when she committed to music full-time..Today, Hill resides in Brooklyn, New York and has a son, Cassius Etienne Harrison Hill.

External links

• Kim Hill discography at Discogs