[1] He did not belong to a wealthy family and grew up watching his mother struggle to provide the best to her children.
[1] His mother encouraged him to improve his music skills by playing classic R&B artists like Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, and Marvin Gaye.
His debut album featured a remake with fellow R&B singer Keke Wyatt of the 1983 René & Angela ballad "My First Love".
[1] A remix featuring Snoop Dogg appeared on the promotional vinyl and was released on September 30, 2003.
In 2005, Avant featured on Cuban Link's song "Comin' Home With Me" alongside Swizz Beatz, which was included on the album Chain Reaction.
[1] Avant was featured in the remix of Lloyd Banks' song "Karma" from the 2004 album The Hunger for More.
Avant later signed to Verve Forecast and released his sixth studio album The Letter (formerly titled Wake Up) on December 21, 2010,[9][non-primary source needed] featuring production from the likes of The Pentagon; Mike City; Marshall Leathers; and Kajun.
Although successful, Avant began drawing comparisons to fellow R&B singer R. Kelly and even faced some backlash from music critics.