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MARVIN WINANS JR.
IMAGE OF A MAN BIO
Image of a Man is really just an in depth look at what a man is and what a man is supposed to be, says Marvin Winans Jr. of his forthcoming urban CD debut, Image of a Man. I think theres a big void in representing who we are as men in todays society. I think people are searching for who they are and what their purpose is in this life. Its not so hard to deal with some of the blows life is gonna jab you with if you realize that theres a reason and purpose for your life.
Winans has always been aware of his innate purpose. Born into the Winans musical dynasty, the twenty-something singer was surrounded by the biggest names in music as a child, from Quincy Jones to Whitney Houston. The son of Marvin L. Winans, Sr., leader of the Grammy-winning gospel crossover group, The Winans (their collaborations with Anita Baker, Teddy Riley and Michael McDonald are legendary), and the Hardest Working Woman in Gospel, Vickie Winans; Winans Jr. began singing at the age of five. Aside from his parents, the family also included his big brother Mario, a Bad Boy artist who scored a Top Five pop smash with 2004s I Dont Wanna Know; his aunt and uncles such as the platinum duo BeBe & CeCe Winans, Angie & Debbie, Daniel Winans; and his grandparents, Mom & Pop Winans.
Ironically, Winans early dream was to become a basketball star like Isaiah Thomas, his hero as a child. However, he also loved to mimic his fathers jaw-dropping vocal skills and began to write and produce music as he watched Mario develop his own production skills in the basement of the familys home. At the age of 16, Winans officially became a singer himself when he formed the group One Way with his cousin Michael Winans Jr. and a couple of friends. Just a couple of years later, Winans uncle Carvin Sr. put him and his cousins Michael, Juan and Carvin Jr. in a group called Winans Phase 2. Signed to Word/Epic Records as a new generation of The Winans, the group was an immediate success.
Their only CD We Got Next debuted at #1 on Billboards gospel charts and sold over 300,000 units. They performed on Oprah!, The Queen Latifah Show and the CBS Early Show among others. After almost two years of sold-out concerts and industry buzz, Phase 2 was phased out. It was a great CD and people love it to this day, Winans explains. We werent groomed to be Phase 2. That just happened. [The reason the group stopped performing was that] We wanted to get out of our record deal. It wasnt a good deal for us. We didnt have the same management in place, so we just went back to being family. We came together for a purpose and for a time and then we went on with our lives.
Now, Winans has gone on with his life and launched his solo career. He founded M2 Entertainment on April 5, 2000 and has produced a number of artists, including his famous mom. Aside from his own production skills, the Image of a Man CD features production by Rodney Jerkins (Michael Jackson, Beyonce), Noel Detail Fisher (Akon, Ray J) and rising star producer, David Garcia. The sound is decidedly urban with a style similar to that of Chris Brown and Alicia Keys.
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