Terri Walker

In 2003, Terri Walker took her native London with authority. Untitled, her Def Soul debut, featured 14 slices of hot-buttered neo-soul that relaxed comfortably between tradition and the latest thing; it was an immediate hit, and Walker soon found herself vying against Beyoncé Knowles for Best Album honors at that year's Music of Black Origin (MOBO) awards. Walker studied opera as a child, and pointed to this training as reason for her fluid, effortlessly shifting vocal style. By 17, she was actively pursuing music. She had designs on a career as a soul singer, modeled after in...