Born in Houston, Texas, Solange is no stranger to music being the younger sister of Beyonce Knowles. Under the management of her father Matthew Knowles, Solange made her mark on the pop charts with her debut album Solo Star.

In 2007, Solange went back to the studio to record her sophomore effort Sol-Angel and The Hadley St. Dreams. The album will be released in late August.

Apart from her music career, Solange is also an accomplished actress and model. She can be seen modeling for her mother's clothing line, House of Dereon.

See the August issue of Snap Magazine, featuring Solange on the cover!

Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Michelle Williams started singing in her church's choir. After leaving Illinois State University, she became a backup singer on tour for R&B singer Monica. She met Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child in the lobby of an Atlanta hotel in 1998. Not long after the meeting, Destiny's Child saw several lineup changes and they were looking for a new member to join the group and in 2000, Michelle was officially part of Destiny's Child.

Being in a group did not curtail her solo album ambitions or career outside of Destiny's Child. She performed on Broadway in the plays Aida and The Color Purple. Michelle released two gospel albums. Heart To Yours in 2002 and Do You Know in 2004. Her third solo release Unexpected will be released in mid-August.

Everyone knows Terrence Howard the actor. It would be impossible not to know him. With standout roles in films like Mr. Holland's Opus, Ironman, Hustle & Flow, Crash and Ray just to name a few, he has certainly cemented his name within the ranks of noteworthy actors who are consistent.

However not many people know that Terrence is also a musician. With a style that he describes as Urban Country, his debut album Shine Through It will be released in September.

Aaron Parks isn't your typical Jazz Pianist. At the tender age of 14, Aaron enrolled in an early entrance college program; by 15 he was attending The University of Washington with a triple major in math, computer science and music. At 16, he transferred to the Manhattan School of Music; a school with notable alumni like Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, Harry Connick Jr. and Yusuf Lateef just to name a few. During his final year, he began touring with Terence Blanchard's band and recorded three albums with them including the grammy award winning A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). Recently signed to Blue Note Records. Parks will make his Blue Note album debut with Invisible Cinema which will be released in retail stores and online on August 19th.

At just 24 years old, jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding is already an accomplished musician. Spalding was very musical as a child, with the violin being her instrument of choice. At the age of 15 she picked up the acoustic bass and found her calling. A year later Spalding enrolled as an undergraduate at Portland State University and graduated with a B.A. in just three years. Right out of college, she got a job as an instructor at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Her second album, 2008's Esperanza, is a showcase of this prodigy's raw talent. Spalding sings (in English, Spanish, and Portuguese), plays the bass, and even acts as her own producer. There is a diverse mix of cultural influences, and Spalding's music covers many genres. With Spalding's fresh sound and musical talent, it's clear she has a promising career ahead of her.

See an interview with Esperanza in the August 2008 issue of Snap Magazine.

Formed in 1993 by Dave Samuels (formerly of Spyro Gyra), The Caribbean Jazz Project is a progressive Afro-Cuban jazz combo, known for mixing up many influences into their signature sound. Their latest release, Afro Bop Alliance, recasts nine CJP signature pieces in a fresh new light via full-bodied arrangements by the Maryland-based Afro Bop Alliance.

Over the course of eight acclaimed recordings, a GRAMMY® Award and two GRAMMY® nominations, the inventive Caribbean Jazz Project has blended scintillating rumbas, sambas, boleros and cha-chas with the uncut spirit of jazz improvisation. As the leader of this continually evolving entity, Samuels explains: "Caribbean defines part of what we do, and jazz defines the other part."

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove offers sound nutrition with Earfood - his new album which features 13-tracks - more than half of the tunes are original compositions. Hargrove's musical upbringing of gospel, R&B, funk, and soul comes through, whether he's playing with Slide Hamtpon or Erykah Badu. He may be the most prominent jazz musician involved in major hip-hop and R&B recordings.

You don't get to be a seven-time grammy nominated artist without considerable talent. A native of Columbus Georgia, Joe is the son of two preachers. Like many accomplished singers, he had his start in the church choir.

After countless hits, and six successful albums, Joe is back with his seventh studio album New Man. Joe has been a staple in R&B music for well over a decade and it looks like the trend will continue. He truly is an R&B superstar.

Jo De La Rosa was born in Lima Peru, but moved with her parents to California as a child and settled in Mission Viejo. Shortly after graduating from University of California Irvine with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literature, she was approached to be in The Real Housewives of Orange County, which aired on Bravo in March 2006.

She recorded a demo for The Real Housewives of Orange County and the record executives knew they had a star on their hands. Her debut album titled Unscripted will be released on August 19, 2008 on Immergent Records.

Unscripted's first smash single "U Can't Control Me" is the title track for Bravo's new series "Date My Ex."

Nicole Henry was raised in Bucks County, Philadelphia. With a mom who played the piano, Nicole was always surrounded by music. She took ballet and sang in the church choir. She is also a Cello player.

After receiving a full scholarship to the University of Miami, she recorded for producer Noel Sanger and then went on the road performing in various nightclubs. It was then she realized that she could make a living being a performer.

Committing to a full-time entertainment career in 2000, the singer/songwriter began producing original material and took the opportunity to tour the U.S. as a background vocalist with RCA band, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. She has shared the stage with Isaac Hayes, Jennifer Holiday, Nicholas Payton, Joan Osborne, Roberta Flack and performed with Kenny Werner and Tom Scott to name a few.

Nicole Henry is a breath of fresh air, and her album The Very Thought of You is outstanding. She is one to watch.

Naturally 7 is an all male "Vocal Play Band" that formed in New York City. The group consists of brothers Warren Thomas and Roger Thomas, as well as Dwight Stewart, Armand "Hops" Hutton, Garfield Buckley, Rod Eldridge and Jamal Reed. The Thomas brothers formed the group with five other musicians they had come to know after singing around New York city for years.

The draw to Naturally 7 is that every instrument that is heard in their shows is created from their voices. There are no actual drums, guitars, horns, flutes, or any other instrument that is heard when listening to them perform live; it's the band members playing each of their vocal instruments. Vocal Play is singing as instruments, and becoming an instrument with the voice. This should not be confused with Acappella, which is defined as singing without instruments. They have a large international following after they covered Phil Collins' smash hit In The Air Tonight. Their latest album titled Ready II Fly is an international success.

Ashanti was born in Glen Cove, New York. Her mother was a dance teacher and her father was a singer. From an early age, she showed an appreciation for music. She took dance lessons and sang in the church choir. In 2002, she released her self-titled debut album Ashanti. The album went on to win Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2003 Grammys. It also sold over five million copies worldwide. Her latest album, The Declaration is her fourth studio release. With a lineup of impressive producers like Jermaine Dupri, LT Hutton, Babyface, Seven Aurelius, Pharrell Williams, and others, the album is sure to please.

Ashanti is also a great draw at the box office. She has starred is box office hits like Resident Evil Extinction. She also starred in the hugely successful John Tucker Must Die. In her feature film debut Coach Carter, she co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson. She can be seen as an Indian Songstress who sings in Hindi and English as she dances in the film, Bride & Prejudice. She was also in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, opposite Miss Piggy and Kermit The Frog. She got her start in acting on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and she portrayed Dionne Warwick on American Dreams.

See our blog for 5 Question with Ashanti