Marsha Ambrosius is a specialist in soul-rooted ballads and slow jams enhanced with her yearning riffs and runs. She secured her standing in post-millennial contemporary R&B as the co-writer of Michael Jackson’s “Butterflies” (2001). This immediately preceded her recorded debut as one-half of Floetry. The Philadelphia-based English duo released a pair of studio albums, including the gold-selling, Grammy-nominated Floetic (2002). Following a floe-schism, Ambrosius resumed collaborative work and quickly established a solo career, debuting with the number two hit Late Nights & Early Mornings (2011), featuring “Far Away,” a single nominated for two Grammy awards. Since then, the singer and songwriter has continued to juggle co-writing and/or featured appearances on tracks by the likes of Kanye West, Robert Glasper, and Dr. Dre, and has added to her solo discography with the sophisticated and impassioned albums Friends & Lovers (2014), Nyla (2018), and Casablanco (2024), the last of which she produced with Dre.
Originally from Liverpool and raised in London, Marsha Ambrosius met Natalie Stewart as a youth basketball opponent. The two made a deeper connection while later enrolled at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. An injury prevented Ambrosius from attending Georgia Tech on an athletic scholarship, which prompted her to redirect her energy toward music. A demo led to a publishing deal, and in 2000, Ambrosius and Stewart established themselves as a performing duo in the U.S., specifically Atlanta and Philadelphia. This led to their first song placements on a series of Philly-connected projects scattered across 2001. Ambrosius and Stewart co-wrote Bilal’s “You Are” and Jazz’s “Love Again” (featuring Jill Scott), two songs produced by Andre “Dre” Harris and Vidal Davis. Additionally, Harris and Ambrosius co-wrote Michael Jackson’s “Butterflies,” which appeared on Invincible that October and four months later was issued as a single that went Top 20 pop. During the song’s ascent, Glenn Lewis’ World Outside My View was released with a handful of songs involving Ambrosius’ input.
As Floetry, Ambrosius (“The Songstress”) and Stewart (“The Floacist”) debuted in October 2002 with Floetic. A Top 20 entry certified gold within nine months of release, it was nominated for a 2003 Grammy in the category of Best Contemporary R&B Album, while its title track was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Urban/Alternative Performance. The Top Ten R&B/hip-hop hit “Say Yes” added to the tally of nominations the following year when it was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. A live album and several outside collaborations were in the duo’s rearview mirror by the time they issued Flo’Ology in November 2005. Although it debuted within the Top Ten and earned yet another urban/alternative Grammy nomination, this time for the Common collaboration “Supastar,” it was Floetry’s final studio album.