Az One Biography

There?s a subtle anxiety going through the music industry. With groups such as Destiny?s Child calling it quits, who?s going to represent for the single, young ladies of the world? The answer is summed up in two words? Az One, composed of sisters, Ayanna and Niambi Rowland. Az One will captivate you first with their drop-dead gorgeous looks, then with a talent they?ve been crafting since they sang and performed in church choirs and musicals across the Midwest.

There?s an interesting story that begins, ?One day Lionel Richie was in the shower singing the chorus to You Are, thinking it was a great song. Then he realized he?d never heard it before, he was creating it right then and there. Az One?s songwriting offers the same sense of both fresh and familiarity. In fact, their song Be With You, was written by sister Ayanna while she was working at the Illinois State Fair in 1999. The track was laid down in a dorm room on campus of Southern Illinois University, where both sisters were pursuing bachelors. A friend of a friend slipped a copy of the song to a local Hip Hop/R&B d.j. who was so impressed that he began playing the song on his radio show. The response was so overwhelming that they were soon in heavy rotation with established artists such as Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill.

Niambi and Ayanna realized they had a gift and began honing their craft by working with other local artist and unsigned producers, while their song Be With You found it?s way to Kiki of KATZ 100.3 The Beat in St. Louis. Kiki loved that song and connected with Az One. She offered a one hour segment showcasing their songs. It was then that they completed several more songs, including Sometimes. Az One received lots of call-ins and positive feedback from the St. Louis audience who couldn?t believe they were an unsigned group. Back at SIU Carbondale, Sometimes would become one of the most popular songs played on WDBX 91.1 FM. It would also be remixed and put on mix tapes across campus. The sisters refused to stop there and began appearing at local talent shows and professional venues. Their artistic influences range from Pattie Labelle and Whitney Houston to members of their family and church.

After deciding to make singing and songwriting full-time careers, the duo began displaying their craft at events such as the NAACP Awards Banquet and other talent-showcasing venues. Once they obtained their bachelors they moved back to their hometown Springfield, IL, but they continued performing around the United States. In December 2002, they appeared at the Soul Café in New York City. In 2003, they took 1st place at Ro-Lisa?s talent showcase in St. Louis. They also performed at the Juneteenth festival at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, IL, as well as the Illinois State Fair. They were a featured act during a Three Dimension dance show in Davenport, Iowa, and earned first place at the First Annual Black Expo in Springfield.

The demand for their live performance encouraged them to relocate to a larger city and they decided on St. Louis. In September of 2003, Az One began performing regularly at Mello Moods, Club Viva, The Evening Shade?s open mic events, and Club 314. They were a featured act at the Art of Noize at Club Candela and received a rave review by the St. Louis American newspaper for their performance. In 2005, Az One were honored to perform the National Anthem in Miami, Fl. At the Miami Fury?s Football Game (Women?s Football League, WFL). And just recently in 2006, Az One performed on BET 106 and Park Countdown Show, in the Wild-Out-Wednesday R&B Competition. On March 29th, they took 1st place in the competition, which landed them a spot to perform on the BET All Stars R&B Show on July 12th. In August of 2006, Az One was selected by Taxi and Billboard to perform in the Disc Makers Indepdepent Music World Series. Out of 1,104 entries, Az One was the top 6 entry in the Midwest region, to perform at the Elbow Room in Chicago, IL.