“Music is emotional. Your job is to make people feel something. The best way to do that is to sing and speak from something they’ve personally been through. That’s where I write from,” Amber ‘Sevyn’ Streeter says. The 26-year-old has already lent her pen to tracks for an elite roster of R&B players including Chris Brown, Brandy, Kelly Rowland, Alicia Keys and Estelle. But today, she is perched atop a control board at Hollywood’s famed Record Plant Studios previewing tracks from her as-yet-untitled Atlantic Records debut. Raised outside of Orlando in the close-knit city of Haines City, Streeter — like so many of the greats before her — cultivated her voice in church as a young girl finding inspiration from already iconic voices in gospel, R&B and pop.
When asked who influenced her the most, she lights up as she quickly rattles off an impressive list: Yolanda Adams, the Clark Sisters, Kim Burrell, the Winans Family, Micheal Jackson, Celine Dion, Brandy and, naturally, Whitney Houston.
By the time she was nine, Streeter already knew she wanted to sing for a living. She competed on the legendary talent show “Showtime at the Apollo” at the young age of 10. Opting to sing “My Funny Valentine,” she tied for first place. She eventually inked a deal with an Orlando production company and as a teenager landed a spot in TG4, the all-girl answer to B2K. Though the girls opened for Bow Wow and B2K and landed a single on the charts, it didn’t quite work out. After being convinced by her cousin to put the music she was writing and recording on her own on MySpace – he did it himself after he couldn’t sell her on the idea — she heard from producer Rich Harrison (Beyonce, Amerie, Jennifer Lopez) about a group he was hoping to put together. He would call the group RichGirl. The four-piece had the harmonies of Destiny’s Child, the hard beats of TLC and the sultriness of En Vogue. And while Streeter and the girls built a loyal fanbase with a handful of hard-knocking singles, a number of tracks that leaked online, and a plum spot opening for Beyonce on her 2009 tour, the girls disbanded and their Jive Records debut never got released.
Sevyn Streeter – Shoulda Been There feat. B.o.B.
“We were together for four really long, beautiful years. The label was going through a change. We can’t pinpoint or put it all on one thing in particular,” she admits. “It came down to we love each other, we love music, so let’s just not stop whether we are together or apart.” The group shared management with Chris Brown, which gave Streeter the opportunity to spark a working relationship with the famed singer and performer. She helped him pen six songs on his Grammy Award-winning album, “F.A.M.E.” including singles “Yeah 3x” and “Next to You” and four tracks on Brown’s follow-up effort, “Fortune.” More importantly, her voice can be heard on both albums, and countless others that have hit the Internet.
Having demoed records for Chris Brown and other major artists helped to set the stage for the next phase of Streeter’s career: “One day we were sitting down listening to records and we thought, maybe we should think about the solo thing. We had songs that we liked and thought were strong. We thought it was time.”
Streeter got the attention of plenty of major labels, but she landed at Atlantic Records — “All of the labels were good, but Atlantic is the place that felt right,” she offers with a wide grin – where she has begun drafting her debut.
Sevyn Streeter – Shoulda Been There feat. B.o.B. Lyrics:
Intro: B.o.B]
They say you never know what you got ’til it’s gone
You shoulda been there, now she’s singing this song
[Verse 1: Sevyn Streeter]
Before this goes wrong, we should take a break
Cause you feel like you know, you know everything
Before I go and say some thangs I’m gon’ regret to you
I’mma call up my ladies, and tell them how you drove me crazy
[Hook: Sevyn Streeter]
They say the club is going up tonight, we up in there
Pour another cup tonight, cause we up in there
If you didn’t want em all on me, you shoulda been there
So why the hell you calling me, you shoulda been there, been there
So we gonna ball, ball out, gonna ball out, oooh
My whip clean, my fit new, oooh
Going up tonight, we up in there
So nigga don’t be calling, calling me
You shoulda been there
[Verse 2: Sevyn Streeter]
I’ve been on my own (I’ve been on my own)
I know how to play (I know how to play)
But in this game of thrones, you ’bout to lose your queen
Cause I’ve been holding up to try and work this out with you
You can’t respect that
So I called up my ladies, and told them how you drove me crazy
[Hook: Sevyn Streeter]
They say the club is going up tonight, we up in there
Pour another cup tonight, cause we up in there
If you didn’t want them all on me, you shoulda been there
So why the hell you calling me, you shoulda been there, been there
So we gonna ball, ball out, gonna ball out, oooh
My whip clean, my fit new, oooh
Going up tonight, we up in there
So nigga don’t be calling, calling me
You shoulda been there
[Verse 3: B.o.B]
I put the “D” in Decatur
Yeah, it’s three in the morning but I still got three in the chamber
I bring her to life with that “D”, call it a defibrillator
Ha, niggas is funny, they all got jokes Cedric “D” Entertainer
But we can’t see the haters, there’s way too much cheese on the table
Aye, so, so, so what’s the likelihood, you looking, mmm lip biting good
They say you never really know what you got ’til it’s gone
You shoulda been there, now she’s singing this song
[Hook: Sevyn Streeter]
They say the club is going up tonight, we up in there
Pour another cup tonight, cause we up in there
If you didn’t want them all on me, you shoulda been there
So why the hell you calling me, you shoulda been there, been there
So we gonna ball, ball out, gonna ball out, oooh
My whip clean, my fit new, oooh
Going up tonight, we up in there
So nigga don’t be calling, calling me
You shoulda been there
[Outro: B.o.B]
Sevyn Streeter, Bobby Ray
You wasn’t there, I took your place
