Most Underrated Black Female Singers

6. Rhonda ClarkPint-size powerhouse Rhonda Clark – born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Detroit, Michigan – was a latter-day signee to Black Music industry godfather Clarence Avant’s Tabu Records. Her 1989 debut, Between Friends, was launched with a song custom produced for her by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis entitled “State of Attraction” which peaked at #6 Billboard R&B, was given several club mixes but no music video – a gamble to persuade the industry to listen to her first.Underrated Black Female SingersNo matter. The second single, the steamy ballad “Stay Here, Stay Near,” received one of the sexiest video treatments of the decade, helping it become a Quiet Storm burner. This was a strong setup for better things to come. Unfortunately, Tabu made a switch from Sony to A&M Records for distribution, delaying the release of Clark’s crucial sophomore project which drastically cut into her momentum. After a thoroughly satisfying cover of Luther Ingram’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” failed to ignite at radio plus had a run of the mill video, Tabu threw her into the New Jack Swing frying pan with the upbeat “Must Be Real Love” (penned by producers Christopher Troy & Zak Harmon with singer Marva King) that, again, had
slammin’ remixes but no video to show off how well Rhonda – a young woman – could dance and perform. There were plenty of other songs that could have given her a final shot at success on that album – from the ballad “When the Next Teardrop Falls” and a smokin’ version of Aretha’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” to three songs custom made for her by the late, great Gerald Levert. Overall, Clark also wanted to write her own material but that did not happen at Tabu. Currently working in the field of psychology (which she had been diligently studying all along), Ms. Clark is planning to take another shot at music in 2020 with a long overdue third album.