Kandi Burruss Biography
Kandi Burruss is a popular American singer, television personality, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Her fame came in 1992 as a member of the female American vocal group Xscape.
Furthermore, in 2000, Burruss won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her writing contributions on the TLC hit song “No Scrubs”. She has also starred in the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta from its second-season premiere on July 30, 2009.
As of 2020, Burruss has starred in five Real Housewives spinoff and companion series, starting with 2012’s The Kandi Factory. Also, she played a recurring role as Roselyn Perry in the third season of the Showtime drama series The Chi. She won the third season of the Fox competition series The Masked Singer.
Burruss went to Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Georgia, and graduated in 1994. At the age of 15, she appeared on the BET series, Teen Summit.
Kandi Burruss Age
Burruss is 47 years old as of 2023. She was born on May 17, 1976, in East Point, Georgia, United States of America. In addition, she celebrates her birthday on the 17th of May every year and her birth sign is Taurus.
Kandi Burruss Family
Burruss was born to her father, Reverend Titus Burruss Jr. She has an elder brother, Patrick Riley, born on October 4, 1991. Unfortunately, Patrick died in a car crash at the age of 22.
Kandi Burruss Career
Before joining Xscape, LaTocha Scott was performing with the Precise group. She went to Tri-Cities Performing Arts in East Point High School, in Atlanta, Georgia, LaTocha’s sister, Tamika met Kandi Burruss. The three started singing together and recruited a fourth member, Tamera Coggins, however, her time with the group was short-lived. After a short while, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle was asked to audition for the girls, and Xscape was officially formed.
After the group’s major debut performance at BET’s Teen Summit in 1992, the girls were introduced to record executive Ian Burke, who became the group’s manager. Xscape soon caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri, who later signed the group to his recording label So So Def Recordings.
Moreover, on October 12, 1993, The group released their debut album, Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha. The album was number seventeen on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B Albums chart. It was a critical and great commercial success, certified platinum within a year, and launched two top-ten singles.
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After the album’s success, in 1995 the group released their second studio album, Off the Hook. The album finally went platinum. Their third and final studio album Traces of My Lipstick peaked at twenty-eight on the Billboard 200 and at six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop album chart; over a million copies were sold in the United States. After the third album, LaTocha Scott eventually left the group to pursue a solo career. Soon enough, the ladies regrouped and appeared on the Big Momma’s House and Hardball soundtracks, before finally going on another hiatus until 2005.
As well, in 2017, TV One had planned to produce an unauthorized movie about Xscape which Kandi Burruss did not want to happen against her and the group’s legacy. She called other group members to discuss and started a show of their own. The show was known as Xscape: Still Kickin’ It, and it was set as a 4-episode miniseries. On November 5, 2017, the show was launched and aired on BravoTV. Finally, Burruss rejoined the group.
Solo Work and Production
After the break up of Xscape, Burruss majored in production and songwriting. In 1999, she teamed with group member Tameka “Tiny” Cottle to score the international number one hit “No Scrubs” for TLC. Additionally, the same year, Burruss wrote another song, “Bills, Bills, Bills” for Destiny’s Child. Burruss would also go on to work with Pink by co-writing her debut single “There You Go”.
Kandi was the first African-American woman to win the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers’ Songwriter of the Year award in 2000. The award, in the Rhythm & Soul category, was given for her songwriting credits such as TLC’s “No Scrubs”, and Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills”.
Similarly, in 2000, Burruss released her debut album called “Hey Kandi…” with well-known singles including “Don’t Think I’m Not”. The album did not do as well on the chart as the single peaked #72 on the US Billboard 200.
She went ahead and rewrote and executive produced the song “Tardy for the Party” for her Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Kim Zolciak.
Moreover, on October 29, 2009, Burruss released her debut EP, the Fly Above. By December 2009, Kandi announced she had signed a deal with Asylum Records after her deal with Capitol Records failed. Her second album, Kandi Koated, was released in December 2010. Further, Burruss teamed with Atlanta female rapper Rasheeda to form the duo, Peach Candy.
In 2017, Ed Sheeran released his hugely successful single Shape of You. The song’s lyrical rhythm was compared to the TLC song “No Scrubs”, especially in the pre-chorus line. Consequently, Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, and Kevin “She’kspere” Briggs were awarded co-writing credits on “Shape of You”
Reality Television
In March 2009, Entertainment Weekly reported that Kandi would replace DeShawn Snow in the second season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The introduction of Burruss saw numerous storylines, firstly, she had recently become engaged to her boyfriend A.J. and showed interest in reviving her music career.
Later on, Burrus returned for the third season which saw, Zolciak and Burruss continue recording music together, though they clashed over their creative differences. In later seasons, Kandi struck up a friendship with castmates Porsha Williams and Phaedra Parks, even starring the latter a role in her production of A Mother’s Love, a play that Kandi and her husband created and produced. During her pregnancy with son Ace, a rift was shown between Phaedra and Burruss, finally souring due to unpaid production fees that Parks owed Tucker.
Kandi received the second spin-off from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Initially planned as a one-time television special, in 2012, The Kandi Factory was launched as the second spin-off from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. It followed Kandi and her record producers as they attempted to launch the music careers of unestablished artists.
Moreover, in 2020, Burruss came in the third season of The Masked Singer as the Night Angel. During the finale, she was the winner and became the first female winner in the show’s history. Also, she was asked to compete in the first season but was unable to participate due to other commitments. After watching T-Pain perform and having producers approach her over and over again, eventually, she reconsidered.
Kandi Burruss Husband
Burruss and her ex-boyfriend, Russell “Block” Spencer of Block Entertainment, have a daughter together, Riley Burruss born on August 22, 2002. In 2008, Kandi had a relationship with Ashley “A.J.” Jewell, however, after dating some months, the duo engaged in January 2009. Unfortunately, on October 2, 2009, Jewell died after sustaining head injuries in a brawl.
Besides, on January 15, 2013, Kandi announced via Twitter that she was engaged to Todd Tucker, a former line producer for The Real Housewives of Atlanta, whom she began dating from 2011 while filming the fourth season. The two married on April 4, 2014. The duo lives in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
On July 22, 2015, Kandi announced she was pregnant. Their son, Ace Wells, was born on January 6, 2016. Moreover, on November 22, 2019, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter, Blaze Tucker.
Kandi Burruss’s Height
Burruss stands at a height of 5ft 2 ½ (158.8 cm) and weighs about 62 kg.
Kandi Burruss Salary
Burruss earns an estimated salary ranging between $2 Million – $3 Million for a season of Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Kandi Burrus Net Worth
Burruss has a net worth of around $30 Million. Her income is mainly attributed to her successful career as a songwriter, singer, actress, reality personality, and businesswoman.
Kandi Burruss Films
- 2008 Make It Rain[59]
- 2014 Second Chance Christmas
- 2018 Never Heard
- 2019 Same Difference
Kandi Burrus TV Shows
- 2009–present The Real Housewives of Atlanta
- 2011 Are We There Yet?
- 2012 Let’s Stay Together
- 2014 A Mother’s Love
- 2016 Summer of ’76
- 2017 Saints & Sinners
- 2017 Xscape: Still Kickin’ It
- 2018 Kandi Koated Nights
- 2019 Celebrity Big Brother 2 (American season)
- 2020 Insecure, The Masked Singer, The Chi, Race in America: A Movement Not A Moment
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