Legendary singer Patti LaBelle is known as the “Godmother of Soul” for her world-famous singing voice and heart felt 80s ballads, as well as her delicious “Patti Pies”! Patti LaBelle is a dramatic soprano recognized for her vocal power, range and emotive delivery. The Drink Champs, hosted by rapper Noreaga and DJ EFN is known for candid conversations with hip-hop legends over a few shots of liquor and a little bit of “reefer” toking on the side. One would assume the two dynamics would never cross paths.
Noreaga took a leap of faith and invited legendary singer Patti LaBelle to stop by and visit with the Drink Champs.
Patricia Louise Holte was born on May 24, 1944, and began her career in the early 1960s as the lead singer of the vocal group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. After the group’s name changed to Labelle in the 1970s, they released the popular number-one hit “Lady Marmalade“. As a result, after the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, “You Are My Friend”.
Patti LaBelle became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles “If Only You Knew“, “Love, Need and Want You” (later sampled for 2002’s “Dilemma“), “New Attitude” and “Stir It Up“. Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored a number-one album Winner in You and its number-one duet single, “On My Own”, with Michael McDonald.
Patti LaBelle has also experienced success as an actress with a role in the Oscar-nominated film A Soldier’s Story, and in TV shows such as A Different World and American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 1992, LaBelle starred in her own TV sitcom Out All Night.
A decade later, LaBelle hosted her own lifestyle TV show, Living It Up with Patti LaBelle on TV One. In 2015, LaBelle took part in the dance competition Dancing with the Stars at the age of 70. Labelle has also seen success launching her own brand of bedding, cookbooks, and food for various companies.
In 2015 her Patti’s Sweet Potato Pie sold millions when a YouTube video praising the product went viral. As a result, over a 72-hour period, Walmart sold one pie every second.
In a career that has spanned seven decades, she has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. LaBelle has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame. LaBelle was included in Rolling Stone on their list of 100 Greatest Singers.
Drink Champs documented the exciting arrival of Ms. LaBelle as she visited the set of the podcast by pull out a formal red carpet!
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Much hype surrounded the legendary singer when it appeared that she and legendary singer Aretha Franklin were feuding over what was thought to be, who was the number 1 legend among the two singers. Both she and Aretha have addressed the rumors over the years several times, but not in the way Ms. Patti was able to address it on Drink Champs.
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Much like many interviews and episodes of Drink Champs, Noreaga asks the hard questions, and Patti LaBelle was more than happy to oblige. As she let the host of Drink Champs know how honored she was and how much she appreciated being able to be a guest on the podcast, she was concerned that she would be out of place being a non-smoker, non-drinker and not particulary “hip-hop”.
Noreaga made Ms. Patti feel right at home enough to where eventually she had a small glass of wine! Check out the full episode of Patti LaBelle sitting down to chop it up with Noreaga and DJ EFN on Drink Champs and let us know what your favorite part was in the comments!
