Adina Marie Howard was born on November 14, 1973, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by her mother with her three younger sisters.
[4] Her debut album Do You Wanna Ride?, featuring the Platinum-certified hit single, "Freak like Me", was released in 1995 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
In 1996, she collaborated with Warren G for the Police Story 3: Super Cop soundtrack with the single "What's Love Got to Do with It" which featured a sample of the Tina Turner hit.
Also that year, she collaborated on a track with Somethin' for the People titled "Damned If I Do" which appeared on the soundtrack for A Thin Line Between Love and Hate as well as their self-titled debut album.
The album sold poorly due to lack of promotion and only managed to gather 40,000 copies on store shelves and she was later sued by the label.
She released an official mixtape album (with DJ RIP) featuring new songs, remixes, and unreleased tracks titled Let You Hit through SoundJewelz.com on August 5, 2005.
[24][25][non-primary source needed] She also filmed an episode of TV One's Life After in April,[26] and it is set to premiere during the Fall 2013 season on October 2.
[31] On December 3, 2013, it was announced that Howard would be the resident chef on Wednesday nights at Michael's Cafe and Supper Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
[34] In June 2014, it was announced that Howard had landed the lead role of April in Derrell Lawrence's touring stage play "Do You Trust Your Best Friend?"
[36] She announced in November 2014 that she signed a new label deal with SMG/Sony Red[37] in addition to news of a new single "Bad 4 Me" set for release in December.
[48] In May 2016, she previewed four new songs ("Love Jones", "Come Over", "Nasty" and "Run It") from Resurrection on her Periscope account, in addition to doing a mini-concert for her fans.
[52] A year after its release, the album's lead single "Bad 4 Me" was featured on MTV and garnered renewed interest and radio airplay.
[55] A few days earlier, her vocals were sampled once again on the DJ Luke Nasty track "Adina (Freaks)" produced by Djay Cas.
[61][62] On March 17, 2017, an EP containing previously unreleased/released material was released through Famous Records Corp / Echo International called Freaky.
[64] Due to some issues with iTunes and other digital services, Howard decided to release the album for free (on her SoundCloud) for 24 hours beginning at 12 pm PST.
[68] Later that month, she received two UB Honors nominations in the Best Artist Return Single (for "Blasphemy" with King Gas) and Best Independent R&B Album Release (for Resurrection).
[71] Additionally, she confirmed she was working with producer-rapper King Gas again on a new album tentatively titled Diary of a Desperate Housewife.
[75] In May, she announced a new single with Mothers Favorite Child called "Freak" after collaborating with them for her acoustic performances for her TV One episode.
[76] With her promotion for a Detroit performance with Montell Jordan in July, she discussed a new single in the works called "Lifeline" in addition to a book and a motivational speaking career.
[81] In an interview with R&B Junkie celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut album, she discussed starting a Houston, TX residency set to begin in May.
[82] She also joined Katrina Walker's new theatrical stage play "Miss Dee's Kitchen" which was set to premiere April 3[83][84] but was postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"[85] In January 2021, it was announced that her previously shelved album Welcome to Fantasy Island will be finally released in the United States on February 19 thru Rhino Records.
[89] In July 2023, Howard released her first wine “Indelible” in a collaboration with Ramona Ranch Winery along with the announcement of her new upcoming single “Liquor.”[90][91] She divorced Sherman Jordan in 2017.
[92][non-primary source needed] On the March 10, 2019 episode of TV One's "Unsung," Howard revealed to having an affair with Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris, who was dating singer Brandy, at the time.