Biography
The daughter of strict Baptist ministers in Dallas, Texas - only two kinds of music were allowed in N’dambi’s house – gospel and country. Church was the center of the family‟s life in every way and there was no middle ground. Secular music was forbidden, but its irresistible allure eventually trickled into her life and began impacting the maturing young singer. Blessed with a deep contralto, N’dambi became especially enamored with the male singers from the „70s and „80s she‟d heard and identified with while hanging out with cousins and friends. The funky soul of Bar-Kays‟ Larry Dodson, the sophisticated syncopation of Earth, Wind & Fire‟s Maurice White and the notorious abandon of the
Ohio Players‟ Sugafoot influenced her heavily. Later, the mysterious, uninhibited imagination of Nina Simone and Mahalia Jackson also became musical and cultural touchstones.