Why Blu Cantrell Scared Men With 'Hit 'Em Up Style'

Blu Cantrell (aka Tiffany Cobb) was one of R&B's biggest stars in the early 2000s with her signature single Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!). But then she mysteriously disappeared. Now the power diva, who supported Missy Elliott here in 2004, is joining the retro-themed RnB Fridays Live tour alongside Nelly, TLC and Blackstreet.

"I know a lot of women come up to me and tell me they did exactly what the record was about and I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh - you really did that to your husband or your boyfriend?' "

Cobb was raised in Providence, Rhode Island by her mother - a professional singer. Cobb, too, started singing backing vocals for various acts. With producer Chris "Tricky" Stewart her champion, Cobb was touted a deal by Arista Records' Antonio "LA" Reid. She broke out with 2001's swinging materialist cheater revenge anthem Hit..., helmed by Dallas Austin. Cobb trailblazed a distinctly urban feminism. "I talked about a boyfriend that I was getting over - it was sort of a fantasy for me," Cobb recalls. "I never knew it would become a feminist record, but it did break like that to the public." Did she cop heat? "Some guys would come up to me and say, 'Oh, Hit 'Em Up Style - I'm afraid of you!'" she quips. "But mainly everyone loved it - even the guys loved it. I know a lot of women come up to me and tell me they did exactly what the record was about and I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh - you really did that to your husband or your boyfriend?' Some people really took it seriously."

Cobb followed with an album, So Blu. Two years later, her second, Bittersweet, dropped. Its proto-Rihanna, dancehall-inflected offshoot Breathe, with Sean Paul, blew up mainly outside the US - topping the UK charts. (Years & Years have performed it live.)

Unjustly, Cobb's career was derailed when old porn photos surfaced - she'd once posed for Black Tail mag to pay bills. Women are "judged harder" than men, she maintains. Despite three Grammy noms, and Whitney Houston-level potential, Cobb was sidelined by Arista. Still, she blames this on the impact of Napster - and label restructures. "All the artists got scattered." Cobb continued gigging.

Cobb ventured into music theatre - and reality TV. In 2012 she shared SOS (Tell Me Where You At) - wildly (mis)construed as her dissing Jay Z, a rumoured ex. Reportedly, police were called when, on one night in 2014, Cobb was heard raving in Santa Monica's streets about being poisoned by gas - leading to psychiatric evaluation.

Today Cobb is businesslike - and focussed on her comeback. She spruiks a forthcoming Christmas project featuring "a lot of R&B greats" such as Angie Stone and Chante Moore. Cobb avoids listening to the radio, preferring "old stuff" - including '20s jazz. Contemporary R&B doesn't appeal. "Everything is a little more filtered today," Cobb remarks. "I try to be nice when I say it's more filtered." She deems Auto-Tune "played out". "I think it's ridiculous!," Cobb exclaims. "Everyone's lip-syncing and they're using Auto-Tune and it's something that I will never do - it's just not my style. I refuse to do that."