Had it not been for that psychology course she took her first semester in college, Cole Antoinette Williams could easily have been filling her days as a therapist instead of working on her new project, Out of the Basement (out June 2011). After hearing said project, chances are you will be sending Professor Whatshisname a thank you note. Clearly, Williams has found her calling. Having been immersed in music since the wizened old age of 4 – when she learned to play the piano (she was 6 when she began singing) – Williams tried going the traditional route by enrolling in college and contemplating a career in social services. On that fateful day, however, as she sat, staring out the window and letting the words of her professor wash over her in ignorant bliss, she realized that she was paying to learn about something that she just simply didn't find interesting. Music. Singing. Creating. Now, those she found interesting. Logic won out and she dropped those psych classes after that semester.
Working on her own material, she drew inspiration from some of her favorite artists, such as Donny Hathaway ("I have an affection for the space he was in while creating and making music. You listen to him and feel everything he was going through [while making a particular song] and you believe it!"), Lauryn Hill ("She has a great dynamic of raw emotion and polished vocals."), Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, Sam Cooke, Bob Marley and The Beatles. "I think I find the positive pieces of each artist I look up to and aspire to the vision and clarity in which they work; but I also examine the negative aspects of the industry in their life and put myself in their shoes. how, if possible, can I do it differently."
Raised in the East Flatbush (aka the Little West Indies) section of Brooklyn, as the only child of a Jamaican mother and Bed Stuy-native father, Cole Williams was immediately inducted into a melting pot of food, music and attitudes. The neighborhood was rough, but the influences remained. Combine those with the records Cole listened to every Sunday in the family's living room – Richard Smallwood, Andre Crouch, Yolanda Adams, Bob Marley, the Mighty Sparrow, the Jackson 5, Motown, Dancehall Reggae – and you get an eclectic mix of genres that continued to dance around in her head. She has spent a lifetime learning, admiring, making music.
Now, a run-down of the facts: In 2005, Williams released her first EP, The Basement Sessions EP. One of the singles "Anything," was also released on two compilation CDs: Paris to Brooklyn and France's Soul R&B Magazine (alongside Kayne West and R. Kelly). In 2006, she earned a Swedish Grammy nomination for Best Live Performance (with Glenn Wish and The New Memphis Orchestra. Then, in 2009, Williams served as the voice of Suave Professionals Shampoo for their "C'mon Ya'll" jingle. Interspersed throughout all of this came gigs with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Kaissa, Somi, Noel Gourdin, Big Brooklyn Red, Dana Fuchs, Honey LaRochelle Maya Azucena and Brother Joscephus and The Love Revolution Orchestra; recording back ground vocals for Melinda Doolittle, Diane Birch and Joss Stone; writing/producing jingles for a whole slew of companies, including Salme Dahlstrom and Hidden Tiger Music, among many others. Additionally, she performed background vocals on The Today Show, The Conan O'Brien Show, The Craig Ferguson Show, 90210 and the UK's The Jools Holland Show alongside S-Curve recording artist Little Jackie.
While putting the finishing touches on her sophomore project Out of the Basement, Williams is currently performing with two bands: That'sMyCole (soul/reggae/alternative) and People's Champs (an afro beat/rock/soul hybrid). Her new single, "Because" (co-written by Little Jackie's Imani Coppola), is available for free download online.
