Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb on October 1, 1976 in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American R&B singer. She was born into a biracial family of jazz enthusiasts from Providence, Rhode Island. She and her five siblings were born of an Italian American mother who is a jazz singer and an African American father who was a NBA basketball player. She was raised by her mother. In 2000, Cantrell was discovered by an A&R executive and began singing backup for artists such as Puff Daddy, Truth Hurts and Faith Evans.