Teen Maria Gets Filled With a Hard Lesson

Teen Maria’s classic R&B, soul, and funk records became staples throughout the 1990s – either sampled by hip-hop artists or covered by other R&B divas – thanks to 1979’s It Must Be Magic album which introduced hip-hop into R&B grooves for good. Marie made history when she became one of only white artists of her era to include rapping on an album (on tracks such as “Square Biz”).

Marie was raised by her mother, an event which did not sit well with many black fans during her early career and contributed to her not reaching as much success in pop charts as would have been possible had she been just another young, white female singer coming through Oakwood. Yet despite these concerns, Marie maintained strong bonds with black communities which lead her to return to Motown in 1980 – her second album Lady T (a nickname given her by manager Berry Gordy) featured production by Richard Rudolph (widower of R&B singer Minnie Riperton), who wrote its most notable track Behind the Groove.

On her following album, 1984’s Starchild (which produced the Top 10 US pop hit Lovergirl), Marie experimented with rock music influences that weren’t well received by her core fan base, yet returned to soul and funk roots on 1988’s Naked to the World (featuring “Ooo La La” as its R&B chart #1 single). Additionally, Passion Play was recorded live and released by Sarai Records later that same year.