Biography

Vocalist, electric guitarist, songwriter...and very likely Philadelphia's most uniquely and genuinely talented rock artist today.

At least once every generation, an iconoclastic artist bursts upon the music world in defiance of gender or race stereotypes. In the white dominated rock scene of the 60's, there was Jimi Hendrix; later, in a male dominated punk rock world, came Chrissy Hind and Joan Jett. In the late 80's, a strictly white rock scene saw the spectacular emergence of Vernon Ried's Living Color; and in the late 90's, a predominantly black gangsta rap genre witnessed the unprecedented success and fame of Eminem.

The daughter of an R&B/rock guitarist, born in a tough working class neighborhood in North Philadelphia called Logan, Naeemah Maddox grew up listening to music from an era when radio was color-blind. The music heroes who influenced her played the electric guitar, and so she did too. That choice destined her to be a different kind of artist than young black girls from North Philly are normally expected to be. But more important: It destined her to be a different kind of rock artist than anybody could ever imagine.

Over the past few years, Naeemah has been tearing up the Philly music scene with performances at venues such as Fergie's Pub, Abilene, World Cafe Live, Tritone, Club 218, the Grape Street Philadelphia and the Five Spot, where she has wowed audiences and developed a large and loyal following of fans who often sing along with her original songs word for word. In mid 2005 Naeemah teamed up with award-winning composer/producer Eric Vincent to record her 12-song debut "Hard Time," which is currently available in stores and on the internet at CD Baby.com.

Naeemah's songs merge the groove of soul with the excitement of rock music to create her own unique style. Combining the ferocity of Alanis Morrisette with the funkyness of Alicia Keys, Naeemah's songs explode with energetic pop vitality, with memorable hooks and melodies that reach out to an audience all her own.

In an era when radio has subdivided us and our music along every gender and ethnicity barrier it could possibly confine us all with, Naeemah comes to us as an unstoppable force of unity and inclusiveness. There is a world of people out there - women and men, black, white, Asian, latino - who all love this glorious means of expression called Rock & Roll. But what are their choices today, if they turn on the radio to listen to rock music? In a rock world of increasingly repetitive, cookie-cutter rock singers and bands, Naeemah is about as different as different gets. And that is precisely why the world needs to hear her.