Kandi Burruss

**Kandi Lenice Burruss-Tucker** (born May 17, 1976) is an American television personality, singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman. She is best known for starring in the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

## Early Life

Burruss was born in East Point, Georgia to parents Titus Burrus Jr. and Joyce Jones. She had an older brother, Patrick Riley who died in a car crash when he was twenty-two.

She attended Tri-Cities High School.

## Career

### Xscape

Burruss started her career as a singer. Prior to joining Xscape, LaTocha Scott had been performing with a group called Presise. While attending Tri-Cities performing arts high school in East Point, Georgia, Scott's sister Tamika met Kandi Burruss. The three began singing together and recruited a fourth member, Tamera Coggins, though her time with the group was short-lived. Soon Tameka "Tiny" Cottle was asked to audition for the girls, and Xscape was officially formed. After the group's major debut performance at BET's Teen Summit in 1992, the girls were introduced to record executive Ian Burke, who later became the group's manager. Xscape soon caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri, who later signed the group to his recording label So So Def Recordings.

The group released their debut album, Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha, on October 12, 1993. The album peaked at number seventeen on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B Albums chart. It was a critical and commercial success, certified platinum within a year, and launched two top ten singles. After their debut album's success, Xscape released their second studio album, Off the Hook, in 1995. The album eventually went platinum. Their third and final studio album Traces of My Lipstick debuted at twenty-eight on the Billboard 200 and at six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop album chart; over a million copies were sold in the U.S. Ater Traces of My Lipstick, LaTocha Scott initially left the group to pursue a solo career. The ladies soon regrouped and made appearances on the Big Momma's House and Hardball soundtracks, before going on another hiatus until 2005.

In 2017, TV One had planned to produce an unauthorised movie about Xscape which Burruss did not want to happen against her and the group's legacy. She called other band members to discuss starting a show of their own. The show was named Xscape: Still Kickin' It, and it was set as a 4-episode miniseries. The show was launched on November 5, 2017, and airs on Bravo TV. Before Kandi could rejoin the group, she wanted an apology from band member Tamika Scott claiming in a 2007 interview that Burruss broke up the group by sleeping with their label head Jermaine Dupri and his father, Michael Mauldin. Kandi wanted an apology for the false statement that Scott told, but did not confirm that she and Dupri had been involved (though Burruss claims that wasn't the reason why the group broke up). Kandi got an apology from Tamika.

### Solo Work and Production

After the disbanding of Xscape, she focused on production and songwriting. In 1999, she teamed with groupmate Tameka "Tiny" Cottle to score the international number one hit "No Scrubs" for TLC. That same year, Burruss wrote another song, "Bills, Bils, Bills" for Destiny's Child. Burruss would go on to work with Pink by co-writing her debut single "There You Go". Burruss was the first African-American woman to win the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher's Songwriter of the Year award in 2000. This award, in the Rhythm & Soul category, was given for her songwriting credits such as Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills" and TLC's "No Scrubs".

In 2000, she had released her debut album entitled "Hey Kandi..." with well known singles including "Don't Think I'm Not". The album did not do as well on the chart as the single did, scoring #72 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Burruss rewrote and executive produced the song "Tardy for the Party" for her Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Kim Zolciak. On March 12, 2013, Burruss and her collaborating songwriter/producer Rodney "Don Vito" Richard, filed suit against Zolciak for profits earned from "Tardy for the Party". In the documents filed, Burruss' attorney, RHOA castmate Phaedra Parks, alleges her clients wrote the song for Zolciak and that Zolciak released and sold the single "without the plaintiffs authorisation, license or consent." Burruss was also seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent future sales of the song and the "destruction of all copies of the infringing single and any other product of defendant's that infringe plaintiffs' copyrights", punitive damages, attorney's fees, and a jury trial. The lawsuit also dismissed on October 12, 2013, after the presiding judge deemed that Burruss failed to furnish enough evidence of copyright infringement.

Following a hiatus from music, she released her debut EP, the Fly Above EP, on October 29, 2009. By December 2009, she announced she had signed a deal with Asylum Records after her deal with Capitol Records fell through. Her second album, Kandi Koated, was released in December 2010. Burruss also teamed with Atlanta female rapper Rasheeda to form the duo Peach Candy. In 2017, Ed Sheeran released his hugely successful single "Shape of You". The song's lyrical rhythm drew comparisons to the TLC song "No Scrubs", particularly in the pre-chorus line, "Boy, let's not talk too much / Grab on my waist and put that body on me." As a result, Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, were awarded co-writing credits on "Shape of You".

### Reality Television

She filmed a spin-off series during her time on The Real Housewives called The Kandi Factory which followed her and her record producers as they attempted to launch the music careers of undiscovered artists. She then filmed her second spin-off called Kandi's Wedding which documented her wedding to Todd Tucker. She was then given a third spin-off called Kandi's Ski Trip.

On January 13, 2019, it was announced that she would be a houseguest in the second American season of the reality show competition Celebrity Big Brother. She placed fifth in the competition and was a fan favourite during her run on the show. She appeared as a guest judge on the "From Farm to Runway" episode of Season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race alongside model and actress Amber Valletta, which aired on April 11, 2019.

In 2020, she competed in the third season of The Masked Singer as the Night Angel. During the finale, she was declared the winner and became the first female winner in the show's history. Burruss was also asked to compete in the first season but was unable to participate due to other commitments. After watching T-Pain perform and having producers approach her again, however, she reconsidered.

### Other Ventures

Burruss has made cameo appearances on series such as Single Ladies, Thicker Than Water: The Tankards, Chief Roblé & Co., and Let's Stay Together. She also owns a sex toy company called Bedroom Kandi. Burruss and four friends started a "sex and relationship" web series on Ustream, Kandi Koated Nights. The show started on television in 2018.

### The Real Housewives of Atlanta

In 2009, Kandi joined the cast of the Bravo reality television series for the second season. She has been the longest running housewife and has appeared in every season since.

#### **RHOA Taglines**

* Season 2 - "I'm an independent women doing it for myself."
* Season 3 and 4 - "I have fame and fortune and I earned it."
* Season 5 - "I may be small but my empire keeps on growing."
* Season 6 - "Music may be my passion but family is forever."
* Season 7 - "I'm not about the drama. Don't start none won't be none."
* Season 8 - "I'm a hitmaker and this year I will reveal the best one."
* Season 9 - "Now that I've got my Ace, I have a full house."
* Season 10 - "Don't mess with the boss 'cos you might get fired."
* Season 11 - "I count my blessings and my cheques."
* Season 12 - "Don't check for me unless you got a cheque for me."
* Season 13 - "A little Kandi always helps sweeten the T."

## Personal Life

### Marriages and Children

Burruss was in a long-term relationship with Russell "Block" Spencer and together they have one daughter, Riley (born August 22, 2002). The couple separated.

She was then engaged to Ashley "A.J." Jewell but A.J. died on October 2, 2009, after sustaining head injuries in a fight.

Burruss has been married once. She married producer Todd Tucker on April 4, 2014 and together they have two children: Ace Wells (born January 6, 2016) and Blaze (born November 22, 2019). Their daughter Blaze was born via a surrogate. Their wedding was shown on The Real Housewives.

## Family

**Husbands and Partners**

* Russell "Block" Spencer (Ex-boyfriend)
* A.J. Jewell (Ex-fiance)
* Todd Tucker (Husband; 2014-present)

**Children**

* Riley Burruss
* Ace Tucker
* Blaze Tucker

**Parents**

* Titus Burruss
* Joyce Jones

**Siblings**

* Patrick Riley

## Filmography

### Film

 2014
 Second Chance Christmas
 2019
 2021

### Producer

 2013
 2014
 2018
 2020

## Discography

See Also: Xscape Discography and Kandi Burruss Discography

### As Lead Artist

 2001
 2009
 2010
 2011

### As Featured Performer

 2002
 2006
 2009
 2013
 2015