Stephanie Cooke

USA Singer and songwriter. Stephanie grew up in the inner city of Newark, New Jersey and like most of her contemporaries got her start by singing in church. At the tender age of 9, she belted out a stirring rendition of "I Made A Vow" as stunned parishioners listened to her sing. At 15 she wrote her first song, but it wasn't until 10 years later that she would pen her first non-gospel song. Naturally, her latter influences would never stray far from the former. Stephanie credits [a=Fred Hammond], [a=The Clark Sisters] and [a=Marvin Winans] as being her greatest influences as a vocalist. Her songwriting influences, however lean more towards [a=Stevie Wonder], [a=Diane Warren], and [a=Babyface]. Stephanie's professional music career began when she entered a production studio in hope of procuring some studio time as a prize for a talent show she was coordinating. After obtaining an impromptu a cappella session, she was signed to a production deal on the spot. Unfortunately, the following two and a half years of writing and recording went by without the production company releasing one song. As if bred by defiance, her motivation propelled her lifelong dedication to music and songwriting. Determined to make up for lost time, she gathered all her songs and started making cold calls to every publishing company she could find. Before long she was picked up and the following year would yield some dramatic results. Stephanie has since worked as a songwriter with [a=Chanté Moore], [a=Jermaine Dupri] (for [a=Aretha Franklin]'s "Every Little Bit Hurts"), All-Star, and with Soul Shock and Carlin wrote [a=Shiro]'s "I Like". Additionally she's worked on remixes for [a=SWV], [a=Changing Faces], [a=The Braxtons] with [a=DJ Enuff], and background vocals for [a=Diana Ross] with [a=Malik Pendleton]. She's written "Do You Need" for Tyrese, "Be Mine" for Charlotte, "Are You Ready", "You'll Never Find a Love" from [a=Jody Watley]'s "Off the Hook" album, and "I'm Your Lady" for [a=Meeka] and has also written for Phaja. Furthermore, on an international level, she wrote the song "Love of Mine" for Japanese R&B diva, Double. In 1997 she wrote and sang 3 songs for "Closer]", an album composed by Japanese producer [a=Shinichi Osawa] also known as [a=Mondo Grosso]. Stephanie has propelled herself as an artist with her own identity, combining her prowess as an R&B/Gospel & Garage House songstress alongside the buzz that has already ignited the dance community. She operates the [l=Angeltown Recordings] label.