b. New York City, New York, USA. This rising star of swingbeat spent several years recording demos while holding down a day job for the local housing authority. He performed cameo roles on records by Al B. Sure!, Christopher Williams and Jodeci, among others, before launching his solo career proper in 1996. His self-titled debut album was composed of romantic R&B with hip-hop grooves, though the high sexual quotient normally associated with swingbeat was largely absent. Having grown up listening to Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, he confirmed to Billboard magazine that he focuses ‘heavily on the melody of a song’. The album’s attendant single, ‘Touch Me, Tease Me’, was written in collaboration with Mary J. Blige, and featured Foxy Brown on backing vocals. It was included on the soundtrack to The Nutty Professor, the multi-million-dollar-grossing Eddie Murphy movie. In a tribute to Case’s hip-hop roots, the single featured a sample of Schoolly D’s ‘PSK’, one of the first gangsta rap narratives. Blige also collaborated on the second single release, ‘I Gotcha’. The singer returned in 1999 with another strong collection, Personal Conversation, which featured the US hit singles ‘Faded Pictures’ and ‘Happily Ever After’.
