Inaya Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Inaya Davis |
| Born | January 17, 1977 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Inaya Day (born Inaya Davis, January 17, 1977) is an American singer, best known for her vocal work on house music tracks such as "Horny '98" by Mousse T, and her cover version of "Nasty Girl" by Prince protégées Vanity 6.[1]
Day started singing in church in Brooklyn, New York. She attended the prestigious High School of Music and the Performing Arts,[2] and went on to study musical theater at the University of Bridgeport. She also appeared on Broadway, notably as understudy to Stephanie Mills as "Dorothy" in The Wiz, and stepped into the lead role in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Missouri.[2]
She has had extensive experience as a session musician, having appeared on tracks by Michael Jackson, Al Green, Puff Daddy, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Big Daddy Kane and Jonathan Butler.[2] Day has also written songs for Randy Crawford and Bootsy Collins, and has writing credits on Missy Elliott's"Gossip Folks" (the second single from her Under Construction album), on which Day co-wrote the hook and provided backing vocals.[2]
Day was introduced to house music in 1996 when she was asked to do a demo. She met German record producers Boris Dlugosch and Mousse T, who produced a dance single "Keep Pushin", which went on to reach No. 2 on the Billboard dance charts. She then sang chorus for Mousse T's track "Horny",[2] which later gained in popularity when additional vocals from the duo Hot 'N' Juicy were added to the song. "Horny" reached No. 1 on the Billboard dance chart. The follow-up song "Hold Your Head Up High", with Booom!, reached No. 6 on the Billboard dance chart.
In 1997, she released the club anthem "Movin' Up", credited as DJ Mike Cruz Presents Inaya Day and Chyna Ro. For this record, long time friend and actress Tichina Arnold lent her vocals but chose to use the moniker Chyna Ro for the project. She again teamed up with Cruz for "Can't Stop Dancing" which reached No. 1 on the Billboard club play chart.[3]
In 2004 she sang on a track by the Australian dance producer mrTimothy called "I Am Tha 1", credited to Mr Timothy featuring Inaya Day, which went to the top of the Australian dance charts and top 30 in the Australian pop charts. She also sang on his next single "Stand By Me" later that year. "Nasty Girl" was first released in Australia, reaching the top 20, and it was then released in the UK in July 2005, and reached No. 9 there.[4] Later that year, she also guest featured on "The Glamorous Life", a single by T-Funk, an alternate alias of mrTimothy. In June 2007, Day released a cover version of the 1988 Big Pig song, "Breakaway", which itself was a cover of the song "I Can't Break Away" by Chuck Jackson.
Day is also the cousin of Solomon Roberts Jr., the bandleader and co-founder of the Dance/funk group Skyy, for which she has confirmed as she is serving as a contributor as part of a profile on the group in an Unsung episode that will in March 2020.
