She’s beeen called"The songbird of Death Row Records" and ’the most recorded female voice in West Coast Hip-Hop". Her contributions to the works of some of rap’s greatest stars arguably ensures that her voice is being played somewhere in the world every second of every day. Her smooth sound and intricate harmonies played a key element in establishing the Death Row sound and set the standard for the use of vocalists in rap productions. She is part of the Death Row legacy, a participant in every important release from the label after "The Chronic" and a witness to the rap empire’s metoric rise and fall. She was Dr.Dre’s confidante and collaborator but was sought out by the West Coast’s major players including Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Warren G and others. Her star rose when she became the first Death Row female vocalist to be featured in a video ( "Keep Tha Heads Ringin’ ") and her body of work contains enough Hip-Hop classics to secure her place in music history.
Nanci was born in Brooklyn, NY on September 10. She grew up watching her father, legendary vocalist Sam Fletcher, performing on television and in swank nightclubs. She developed an early love for Hip-Hop and remembers sneaking to block parties in Harlem and The Bronx to hear the genre’s pioneering DJ’s. During her early teens , the family moved to the east side of Long Beach, Ca. She found Long Beach dull compared to New York and spent time studying Dance. After landing an international tour with a L.A.-based Dance company, she auditioned for the great R&B artist, Barry White. She impressed ’The Maestro’ with her voice and stage presence and became an important part of his tour entourage. Travelling with White to exotic international locations , she learned the art of backing a superstar artist and musical perfectionist.
After touring with Barry White, Nanci moved into the ranks of the industry’s A-list backing vocalists. She worked with other hot R&B acts and was signed to a major label deal.Her first group,’Lipstick’ had a song placed on the ’White Men Can’t Jump" film soundtrack.
In 1993, mega-producer Dr.Dre’s "The Chronic" was dominating rap charts and national airplay. Tony Green,a Death row studio musician, introduced Nanci to Dre for an appearance on the ’MTV Music Awards’. Dre fell in love with Nanci’s inherited tone and impeccable phrasing. She would become an important influence on Dre’s "wall-of-sound" style, lending class and restraint to the label’s unabashed tales of violence and drug-dealing. Nanci was featured on the label’s next project, the grouundbreaking "Doggystyle" by Snoop Dogg. From the opening skit to "Lodi Da Di’, "Gin and Juice" "Aint No Fun" " Gz and Hustlas"and others, she contributes mood-setting vocals and classic melodies. Appearances with Snoop on SNL and Soul Train followed. The next big project was Snoop’s ’Murder Was the Case" and the ill-fated Death Row tour. The multi-platinum ’Above The Rim" soundtrack, ’Natural Born Killaz" (Ice Cube/Dre) and works by the Dogg Pound, Nate Dogg and others featured her vocals. Unfortunately, it became obvious that her work was not always listed on production credits. Dr.Dre and label head Suge Knight would blame the oversight on deadlines and clerical mistakes ( it is rumored that Death Row would omit names so that competing artists would not poach studio players). In 1995. she collaborated with Dre on a song for Ice Cube’s film ’Friday" and video director F.Gary Gray featured her in the video’s opening scene. The video was shown in theaters with the actual film and the tune became an instant classic. During this time, Nanci also worked with other West Coast artists. She blesssed Warren G’s camp with jewels from The Twinz ("Round and Round") and "I Shot The Sheriff". Ice Cube, Jayo Felony, Mc Hammer and Folsum are just a few of the artists who sought her talent.
When Tupac Shakur was signed to Death Row , she was recruited to work on the project. Many of the songs were recorded but re-mixed to add her vocals. She witnessed Tupac’s lightning-fast creativity as they worked together on various songs. The classic double-cd ’All Eyes On Me" was released in 1996 and Nanci displays a more aggressive vocal style on tunes like ’Holla At Me" ’Can’t C Me" and others. Posthumous releases feature more collaborations including the haunting "Unconditional Love" and "Who Do You Believe In’ (feat.Kadafi). After Dre left Death Row, Nanci began to limit her time at the Death Row studio.Tupac’s death and Suge’s Knight’s incarceration brought the mighty label to a halt and Nanci embarked on other projects. After meeting vocalist Sunshine Anderson ("Heard It all Before"), she was persuaded to join the sonsgtress on R.Kelly’s national tour.
