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By Fiona McKinson

Whoever thought that when Natalie Stewart 24 and Marsha Ambrosius 25 set out for Philadelphia 3 years ago it would come to this? Their debut album 'Floetic', which combines a fusion of spoken word with meaningful soul, has secured three Grammy nominations and has seen them working with the likes of Michael Jackson, Jill Scott, Justin Timberlake and producer Jazzy Jeff, the prestigious list goes on.

Having met on the basketball court as rival players, the girls developed a friendship during their time at the Brits school in Croydon. Sharing a passion for music, they decided to capitalise on each other's unique talents and bring them together. Originally billed as 'Nat and Marsh', the girls established themselves on the UK poetry scene competing in talent shows such as Black Pepper, and building a following on London's small circuit where they performed in venues such as the Tabernacle in North London. Natalie the poet/MC had been in the performance poetry outfit 3+1, which she left due to personality clashes. Marsha the singer, already had a publishing deal with Warner Brothers, and had been writing for sometime. Together they developed a magic amidst the eclectic artists they shared stages with.

Gracing small audiences in the UK for around a year, an invitation from a US performance and poetry promoter, led to the girls transplanting their sound to the states in April 2000. Starting afresh in Atlanta the pair would showcase their talent at different venues in various neighbourhoods, gradually building a name for themselves. Like two flowers over time the girls grew in popularity, attending larger events and being demanded by larger promoters. It wasn't long before they were called upon to do shows including the 'Black Lily' in Philadelphia. They were now to share the stage with music artists who they had previously only seen on MTV videos such as The roots, Jazzyfatnastees, Bilal, Jaguar, Musiq and Jill Scott. Adapting to the change in environment, Marsha admits that "I wasn't far away from being a crazed fan, I mean every time me and Nat met another star I wanted to pass out and faint (laughs)."

Not being out shone on a stage of established artists, Floetry's fusion of music, singing and poetry did not go unnoticed. "We had to wait our turn, work really hard just to prove points to get up there. We had to make sure that we were on top of our game. At first I was afraid of the US, thinking, they have major talent - what are we gonna bring? I guess we were something new... our music was something fresh to them."

Marsha claims that, "The intention was never to get a recording deal and get an album out, that was the last thing on our mind. First was about being on stage". Landing on State soil had started the inevitable as far as these young talents were concerned and a chance meeting with Julius Irving Jnr, son of the legendary basketball player, led to him becoming their manager. Floetry captivated him by performing acapella on the spot and before long they began working at Axis studios. Continuing to play the circuit, Floetry were generating a buzz about town. The hype was not missed by Jazzy Jeff, CEO of 'A touch of Jazz Productions'. Jeff invited Floetry to his studio to work with his stable of producers, Vidal Davis and Andre Harris AKA 'The Misfits.' The latter impressed Floetry with their musicianship, and together they started to collaborate on tracks. The girls worked day and night to churn out material, which was to include a multitude of hits for other artists as well as the 11 songs which are found on 'Floetic'. Floetry had delivered quality fast and Jazzy Jeff wasted no time in securing their record deal with Dreamworks Universal.

The story so far has been somewhat dramatic; Jill Scott, Musiq, Jazzy Jeff... Imagine how the girls felt when they were told by Jeff that Michael Jackson had left a message on his answering machine, saying, "that Floetry stuff is really cool". What followed was a request for them to write a song for him. "We were like what? This is the epitome. This is what's it's all about. I remember watching this man do the moonwalk, we said to each other... okay, we can retire now!" The girls subsequently gave MJ 'Butterflies' which ended up on his 'Invincible' album and featured Marsha's backing vocals.

Marsha explains their approach to the art of writing songs that touch the heart. "You're never necessarily writing with someone in mind, it's just your emotions and your truth and your heart. For Floetry, Nat and I are just basically having a conversation but it just happens to be on an album, it's not necessarily a structured song where the chorus will go one way and whoever is singing the verse has a time limit - really its whoever says whatever." Whilst spoken about casually, their deep lyrical content and structure of written word seems to have touched more than just Michael Jackson. Artists including Jill Scott, Glenn Lewis, and Bilal have queued up to record songs written by Floetry. Faith Evans and Brandy have put in requests.

Floetry have proved themselves in a market that many before them have struggled to conquer. Marsha explains that their success must be destiny, "It has to be, I've had too many deja vu's, too many stamps, too many clarifications that I'm supposed to be doing this." It is perplexing to discover that a British A&R actually told Marsha that she could not sing and rejected Butterflies. Speaking on the strength of her voice, Marsha humbly replies "I'm trying man, I'm learning new things. I know what my voice was like last year and I know that I can do something very different this year so it's progression, still learning new things - I'm still wide open."

Being big fans of 'Garage' music the girls have a lot of praise for the stars of the genre, however, they have noticed the changes that mainstream success has attributed. "I first heard Ms Dynamite, as a MC, and when I next heard her she was singing and it was like wow, there's certain compromises you have to make to open doors and I really appreciate that because this industry is not easy and there are certain things that you have to do". Somehow Floetry don't seem like the compromising type. Take there image for instance which symbolises the earthiness in their music, "We came in with locks and afro. I wasn't about oh wear this skanky outfit with your tits out. We went to the record company with an entire album and with our look and were just about enhancing our personalities; it was never about oh you have to wear a daishiki and a poncho that actually is whatever we buy from the store. I'm not Britney, or Christina, Nat is not Brandy, she's not Monica, we're none of the above. We're ourselves and we're thankful that the industry has let us sneak in the back door - were waiting to get kicked out. I'm glad they took the honesty."

I asked Marsha to what extent she thought Floetry's US success would be mirrored here. Her answer was diplomatic "The best expectations for us is no expectations. I'm not sure what kind of success you can get over here. My mum's got my album, she brought it at HMV on import in Croydon and that's more success to me than anything."

No matter the scale of success in the UK in terms of sales, Floetry are happy to fly the flag in terms of British music. Though they have an American produced album, Marsha notes that "music is music and is kinda universal". Looking on the cover of their album it's clear that the US influence has not compromised their British identity. The iconography of a red British telephone box and the black taxi cab symbolise an emphasis on their UK roots. Floetry are keen to cement this connection through further collaboration work. After previously working with such a large roster of high profile US artists including Justin Timberlake where Marsha provided backing vocals for his hit single 'Cry me a River', the pair are keen to work with UK acts such as '4 hero', 'Sting' and 'Coldplay.'

In the UK, Floetry are becoming just that bit more recognised. However, If you're on the look out for Floetry, then don't expect any fast cars, or shades. According to Marsha, "Your more likely to find me in a tracksuit and trainers keeping a low profile, I'm not about that famous stuff, you won't see me getting out of a whatever reg Mercedes with the Gucci shades on, you're more likely to see me get off the bus with my gran."

Floetry are clear about their future plans. "We're trying to hit as many continents as possible, future collaborations, more studio, second album, then we're promoting that one (laugh), it goes on and on."

Even in instances where large amounts of money have backed an artists, few UK groups have managed to succeed in the US.

For Floetry, creative poetry,
Began in the court you see.
Led from the UK to the US
From a dream to success.

O.K. so my poetic skills may not touch your heart, if your looking for that your going to need to purchase, 'Floetic', the album, or see them live at the Jazz cafe, London, on 25/26 June 2003.

Live your Dream.
Links www.floetry.net