A stint as session vocalist for R&B group Maniquin led to an official place in the group as lead singer. D'Extra Wiley of the 1990s R&B group II D Extreme was also a member of Maniquin, briefly before signing to MCA Records. The group released a lone self-titled album for Epic Records in 1989. Its lead single "I Wanna Ride" was an answer to the hit single "Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles in both sound and lyric. Both artists' singles were produced and co-written by Charlie Wilson of Gap Band fame. Lattimore soon left Maniquin to pursue a solo career, and the group subsequently disbanded.
1992-1999: ''Kenny Lattimore'' and ''From the Soul of Man''
His own debut album Kenny Lattimore was released on Columbia Records in 1996. That set included a pair of Top 20 hits: "Never Too Busy" and the Grammy-nominated "For You", written by high school friend Kenny Lerum. The album earned Lattimore a win for Best New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards in 1996, and eventually achieved Gold sales status. He followed up his debut with From the Soul of Man, another critically acclaimed set of classically styled soul music in 1998, yielding the hits "Days Like This" and "If I Lose My Woman" along with a standout cover of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
After a short hiatus, the singer re-emerged on Arista Records when, then president Clive Davis signed him to a new contract. He eventually released a more contemporary R&B album, 2001's Weekend under L.A. Reid's regime as Davis was only allowed to take a small defined number of artists to his next venture, J Records. The title track and first single was anchored by a sample of Blondie's "Rapture" and became a radio favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. Davis may have had a different vision for his career, but, he ended up recording three albums for Arista Records as Reid also had a vision that included a modern-day version of a classic soul duo with his new bride, the Gold level artist, Chante Moore whom he recorded two duet albums that were both critically and commercially acclaimed. In keeping with the "lover man" image that came to the fore with the hits that launched his career, Lattimore is known for his dramatic stage shows, vocal agility, and romantic ambiance. The New York Times called him as a "modern soul man" on stage. The singer has long established in interviews his personal mission to show the "strong, but sensitive and caring side of Black men." In 2003, Lattimore and his then-wife Chante Moore released a duet album entitled Things That Lovers Doconsisting of classic soul songs from the 1970s and 1980s plus two new original songs. The standout singles were the smooth and contemporary "Loveable " and a cover of René & Angela's "You Don't Have To Cry". Lattimore and Moore continued promoting the album with a successful touring stage show. Following Things That Lovers Do, Lattimore released another collaborative album with Moore. The duo released their second collaborative album entitled Uncovered/Covered. The album peaked at number-ten on the Billboard R&B Charts and number-two on the Billboard Gospel charts. The duo's cover version of "You're All I Need to Get By" served as the theme song for the BET reality series The Family Crews.
2008-present: Recent activities
In 2008, Lattimore released a cover album with Verve Records entitled Timeless on September 9, 2008. The lead single "You Are My Starship" was originally performed by Norman Connor featuring Michael Henderson. Lattimore was also featured on the uptempo dance song "Another Love" by Brian Culbertson. Lattimore began his own record company SincereSoul Records in 2012. He released his album Back 2 Cool on January 22, 2013. The album's first single "Find a Way" produced by Ivan "Orthodox" Barias & Carvin "Ransum" Higgins hit radio on Valentine's Day 2012. The second single "Back 2 Cool" featured Kelly Price.
Personal life
In January 2002, Lattimore married singer Chanté Moore in Jamaica. On April 10, 2003, Moore gave birth to their son Kenny Lattimore Jr. In July 2011, the couple announced that they had divorced. On March 8, 2020, Lattimore married American judge Faith Jenkins. On May 17, 2020, Lattimore was mentioned in the 10th episode of the miniseries The Last Dance as Michael Jordan was riding the bus stating he was listening to Lattimore's music, on the way to play in a 1998 NBA Finals game in Utah.
