Simone Taylor “I think it’s my job as an artist to inspire people. I am documenting my life and my experiences right now, through my music. I want people to put on my music twenty years from now, and still find relevancy in it. That’s art, and I love it!” -Simone Taylor
In an industry that strives for individuality, Simone Taylor is an individual soul without bounds.
Perhaps it stems from her up-bringing in Oakland, California. “As a kid I never wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted my own style and personality. Thankfully my parents allowed me to figure out who I was on my own. So if you want to stand out in my family, you have to be pretty spectacular at something.”
This poised chanteuse gives ‘music-heads’ what they’ve been yearning for- an uplifting, empowering, voice fresh from the soul. L.A. Weekly says that “Simone Taylor is an intriguing new prospective to r & b/pop music. She’s a funky sista with a big voice and an unapologetic sound.” While Jermaine Dupri protégé, B. Cox, mentions “Simone has got something that doesn’t come around very often in music. Her voice has got such a beautiful tone; it makes the hairs on your neck stand up. She doesn’t sound like your typical African-American r & b chick, but she also doesn’t sound like some manufactured rock stuff either. She’s something real cool in-between.”
Collaborating with well-known music producers Justin Gray (Joss Stone, Faith Hill, Pussycat Dolls), David Jones (Babyface), Chuckey Charles (Usher, Sole, Montell Jordan, Kindred the Family Soul), and Brian Cox (Destiny’s Child, Bow Wow, Britney Spears), Simone has successfully blended a new type of Soul Music. She wrote or co-wrote every song on her debut release entitled, “Under the Knife.” “I’m not one of those inside the box type of artists. I don’t think you can categorize my music with one word. I delve into a number of different music genres, so I try not to stay confined to just one.” True artistry, tenacity, and hard work have allowed Simone to appear in a number of venues across the country. From Bimbo’s 365 Club to The Knitting Factory, she has won over audiences and received phenomenal reviews.
During this stage in her career, the glamorous beauty who is influenced by greats like Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, and Prince, would like to develop more as an artist and musician. As a child growing up in a family as the youngest and only girl, Simone developed her voice and stage presence like every other little girl- by watching her mother get ready in the mirror, belting out Motown classics. At the age of five, Simone sung a powerful version of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’ for family guests, and her parents knew she was destined for the stage. A year later, Simone started playing and writing music. By her teens, Simone was one of the top
young classical musicians in California, and had appeared in over twenty plays and commercials. After being offered various music scholarships from some of the top performing art schools in the world, Simone decided to concentrate on her acting chops, and record her own music. “I was so young when I decided that I had something to say in music. I’d always just played another person’s feelings, not my own. I was booking a lot of commercials at the time, doing plays in San Francisco and at ACT (American Conservatory Theatre), and I really felt like I needed to do my own thing. I also wanted to go to college and study more than art and music. Ironically, I ended up getting a degree in theatre, so I didn’t stray too far from my original path. At the end of the day, I’m happy with the journey I’ve taken.”
Written and recorded in Oakland, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Toronto, Under the Knife is the blood and inspiration of Simone. When she’s not performing on stage, or in front of the camera, Simone can usually be found hanging out with family and friends contemplating her next step in life. “Simone Taylor’s honesty is refreshing and deliberate. It’s so unlike the mundane music of today. She hits it every time, and it never sounds old,” says The Oakland Tribune. When she steps on the stage she commands an audience. She holds you in her grasp, and lets you go before your ready for the party to end. She is PROGRESS.
