Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 5, SMOKE E. DIGGLERA began singing. "Papa Bear bought me a record player with a Charlie Brown and the Peanuts record, and i used to sing that whole album and get on my family's nerves 24/7," SMOKE says with a chuckle. "I knew he would do something musical, because he used to bang on pots and pans and throw them up in the air and let them fall to hear the sounds that they made. And my father used to call him King-King, because he always knew that he would be something, and be something special," says Papa Bear (SMOKE's father).
During his early years, he sang in church, home, and in school choruses and plays. He studied music, other artist's music, and other artist's musical/vocal talents and capabilities. He then, with that, put it into his own collage of versatility.
SMOKE E. DIGGLERA started playing keys in 1992, when he received a keyboard for Christmas. His father encouraged him to write songs and, basically, have his stuff together for when the time came. Well, the time surely came.
SMOKE E. DIGGLERA, then known as Smokey, in the R&B trio, Playa, was discovered in a scene straight out of any aspiring musician's fantasy. In 1993, Playa was singing gospel in churches and R&B at local talent shows. All they needed was their big break. One night after a Jodeci show, Playa managed to convince a guard to let them backstage. The man had heard Playa perform locally and let them through. Playa sang a medley of Jodeci hits and Devante was amazed. "You boys is dope!" he said, and immediately took Playa under his wing.
What followed were four years of hard work and patience. Playa spent days in the studio writing songs, practicing their vocal talents and learning from the talent around them. At the time, DeVante's camp (dubbed Da Bassment) included Ginuwine, Missy Elliot, Timbaland & Magoo, Tweet, and producer Stevie J.
In 1997, Playa released an album, Cheers 2 U. It was a superlative mix of the best elements of southern gospel, Motown New Jack and a dash of 90's funk. Certainly, the album's fan-base is not equivalent to the album's sales. They made history with being the most played and requested video on BET. Everywhere they go, someone notices and says things like, "that album was a classic."
Now, SMOKE E. DIGGLERA is doing it by himself, to give what u had in Playa and what he hasn't given you, thus far. Using his southern-flavored soul to bring back true R&B, he proves that talent is still a necessity. Not watered down with guest rappers or sampled tracks, SMOKE brings a wealth of talent with his musical introduction.
The album, titled, "PERSONAL, PAIN, & PLEASURE", released in April of 2006, gives u just that. The personal talks about personal feelings, as well as personal experiences and relationships. The pain talks about painful experiences and life-brought pain. And the pleasure talks about the pleasures of having a good time and getting down-right sexual. Every song, whether personal, pain, or pleasure, is a song that all can relate to, cry to, make love to, and share with a friend.
But, the hits just don't stop coming with SMOKE E. DIGGLERA. He has been, diligently, working with TOO BIG MAFIA on their upcoming new album, as well as his own. TOO BIG MAFIA appears on the first single, SLOW, off SMOKE's second solo album. The second album, titled, "SITTIN ON A GOLDMINE", released in November of 2006, is an album to prove that the first album was not a fluke and that SMOKE truly is SITTIN ON A GOLDMINE.
SMOKE has taken the extra step to start his own record label dubbed BITTERSWEET, LLC. One of the BITTERSWEET artists goes by the name of G.NO AKA THE LATIN BIRD. His album, FROM PARIS 2 LOUISVILLE CD+DVD, released Valentine's Day 2009. He has been, diligently, working with TOO BIG MAFIA on an upcoming collab album, SMOKE~N~BIG - RHYTHM & GANGSTA (R&G MUSIC). SMOKE~N~BIG's album releases in mid 2009.
SMOKE E. DIGGLERA is now releasing, his 3rd solo album, and claiming he is "THE TRUTH IN THE BOOTH". This album will be a variety of R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop, and much more. With the hit-ballad ANGEL, the album is due out April 22, 2009.