Lumidee (born Lumiana DeRosa) is a female American R&B singer-songwriter and rapper of Puerto Rican descent.
Lumidee was born on August 24, 1984 in Bridgeport, Connecticut (later moving to Harlem, New York, United States). Her father died in 1995. She and her four siblings were raised by her grandparents. She began singing and rapping at the age of twelve. After graduating high school, she collaborated with local neighborhood producer DJ Tedsmooth to record her debut single, “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)” for an independent label, Straight Face. She later signed with Universal Records, where she released her debut album, Almost Famous, on June 23, 2003. Her single peaked at #3 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK, but it was her only hit until the 2007 release of “She’s Like The Wind.” According to Nielsen SoundScan, Almost Famous sold 276,000 copies in the U.S.
For the next few years, Lumidee was not in the mainstream music industry in the US, instead veering more towards reggaeton and dancehall music. After her hit single “Never Leave You” faded, Lumidee went overseas to continue her music career in Belgium, Germany, France, and The Netherlands. She released Grimey Streets in 2004, which was a mixtape consisting of new material, freestyles and tracks from Almost Famous.