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A gifted R&B singer whose cool but passionate style is a solid match for his flexible vocal abilities, Carl Thomas was born in Aurora, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) on June 15, 1972. After graduating from high school, Thomas moved to Chicago to pursue a career in music, and for a while sang with a vocal group called the Fourmula, who scored a minor hit in 1994 with the tune "Pass It Over." In the mid-'90s, Thomas relocated to Brooklyn, New York, and began playing open-mike nights and showcase gigs in hopes of making a name for himself as a solo artist. In 1997, Thomas was spotted at one such performance by Sean "Puffy" Combs (aka P Diddy and Puff Daddy), who liked what he heard and promptly signed the singer to his Bad Boy Entertainment label. Initially, Thomas sang R&B-styled backups on sessions for hip-hop acts such as the Notorious B.I.G., the LOX, LL Cool J, N.O.R.E., and Puff Daddy, and it wasn't until 2000 that Thomas' first full-length album, Emotional, was released. On the str...