Childhood:
Toni Braxton was born on 7th October, 1968, in Severn, Maryland. Her father was an apostolic minister and a vocalist. As a child, she was forced to live under strict rules of their family faith. The girls of the Braxton family were not allowed to wear pants, sandals or makeup, were also not allowed to have boyfriends, and the children were not allowed to listen to mainstream music. That didn't stop them from listening to music; when their parents were out; they watched Soul Train and listened to music. Once her parents joined the United Methodist Church, it becomes easy for them to entertain themselves with TV and music. Toni got her musical style from Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan. She learned many things by simply seeing him on the television.
Career:
Toni started exploring the world of music by singing in church choir. She finished her college education at Bowie State University. While studying she never gave up music. She learned music to fulfill her desire of a singer. Toni and her sisters formed a group called the Braxtons. Signed with Arista, the Braxtons released a single entitled "The Good Life". Although the song was a commercial success, it did manage to catch the ear of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A. Reid", of LaFace Records.
"The Good Life" was good enough for Toni's career, as it led to her record contract with LaFace. Toni got the opportunity to prove her singing talent in the Boomerang soundtrack, when Anita Baker backed out because she was pregnant. Singles such as "Give U My Heart" (a duet with Babyface) and "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" both appeared on the Billboard charts. Boomerang was just a glimpse of her talent. She released her debut album the self-entitled in 1993, it produced the hits like “Another Sad Love Song”, “You Mean the World to Me” and “Breathe Again”. She was acclaimed with Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1993.
Then she followed up with her new album the 1996 Secrets. The singles from this album like “You’re Makin’ Me High” and Un-Break My Heart” were huge hits. Toni also contributed to another soundtrack, the female bonding film “Waiting to Exhale”.
She received 1997 Billboard Award for Female R&B Artist of the Year, Toni's stroke of success crashed when she filed for bankruptcy in 1998, after litigation with her record company. This did not stop Toni, who got back into the record studio to develop her third album, The Heat, released in April 2000. Although The Heat has not had the same fiery success as her previous albums, her first single, "He Wasn't Man Enough" has been on the Top Ten charts for months, and has become a staple on R&B, Pop and Adult Contemporary radio stations. The artist known as "The First Lady of LaFace" has triumphed over hardship to become a modern R&B, soul diva.
Personality:
She is so friendly by nature, maybe too friendly. She was supposedly the cause of the hostility between basketball players Jason Kidd and Jimmy Jackson, when she dumped one for the other. The tension was so bad that Dallas traded Jason Kidd to Phoenix.
Toni’s voice is best among the other. It's slightly deeper than most female voices, making her sound unique.
