Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 5, SMOKE E.
DIGGLERA began singing. "Papa Bear bought me a record player
with a Charlie Brown and the Peanuts record, and i used to sing that
whole album and get on my family's nerves 24/7," SMOKE says with a
chuckle. "I knew he would do something musical, because he used to bang
on pots and pans and throw them up in the air and let them fall to hear
the sounds that they made. And my father used to call him King-King,
because he always knew that he would be something, and be something
special," says Papa Bear (Smoke's father).
    During his early
years, he sang in church, home, and in school choruses and plays. He
studied music, other artist's music, and other artist's musical/vocal
talents and capabilities. He then, with that, put it into his own
collage of versatility.
    SMOKE E. DIGGLERA started
playing keys in 1992, when he received a keyboard for Christmas. His
father encouraged him to write songs and, basically, have his stuff
together for when the time came. Well, the time surely came.
   
SMOKE E. DIGGLERA, then known as Smokey, in the R&B
trio, Playa, was discovered in a scene straight out of any aspiring
musician's fantasy. In 1993, Playa was singing gospel in churches and
R&B at local talent shows. All they needed was their big break. One
night after a Jodeci show, Playa managed to convince a guard to let
them backstage. The man had heard Playa perform locally and let them
through. Playa sang a medley of Jodeci hits and Devante was amazed.
"You boys is dope!" he said, and immediately took Playa under his wing.
   
What followed were four years of hard work and patience. Playa spent
days in the studio writing songs, practicing their vocal talents and
learning from the talent around them. At the time, DeVante's camp
(dubbed Da Bassment) included Ginuwine, Missy Elliot, Timbaland &
Magoo, Tweet, and producer Stevie J.
    In 1997, Playa released an
album, Cheers 2 U. It was a superlative mix of the best elements of
southern gospel, Motown New Jack and a dash of 90's funk. Certainly,
the album's fan-base is not equivalent to the album's sales. They made
history with being the most played and requested video on BET.
Everywhere they go, someone notices and says things like, "that album
was a classic."
    Now, SMOKE E. DIGGLERA is doing it by
himself, to give what u had in Playa and what he hasn't given you, thus
far. Using his southern-flavored soul to bring back true R&B, he
proves that talent is still a necessity. Not watered down with guest
rappers or sampled tracks, SMOKE brings a wealth of talent with his
musical introduction.
    The album, titled, "PERSONAL, PAIN, &
PLEASURE", released in April of 2006, gives u just that. The personal
talks about personal feelings, as well as personal experiences and
relationships. The pain talks about painful experiences and
life-brought pain. And the pleasure talks about the pleasures of having
a good time and getting down-right sexual. Every song, whether
personal, pain, or pleasure, is a song that all can relate to, cry to,
make love to, and share with a friend.
    But, the hits just don't
stop coming with SMOKE E. DIGGLERA. He has been, diligently,
working with TOO BIG MAFIA on their upcoming new album, as well as his
own. TOO BIG MAFIA appears on the first single, SLOW, off SMOKE's
second solo album. The second album, titled, "SITTIN ON A GOLDMINE",
released in November of 2006, is an album to prove that the first album
was not a fluke and that SMOKE truly is SITTIN ON A GOLDMINE.
   
SMOKE E. DIGGLERA is now releasing, his 3rd solo album, and
claiming he is "THE TRUTH IN THE BOOTH". This album will be a variety
of R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop, and much more. With the hit-ballad ANGEL, the
album is due out very soon.
    SMOKE has taken the extra step to
start his own record label dubbed BITTERSWEET, LLC. One of the
BITTERSWEET artists goes by the name of G.NO AKA THE LATIN BIRD. His
album, FROM PARIS 2 LOUISVILLE, is due out in the Fall of 2008. G.NO
& SMOKE, also, have a dvd releasing in the Fall of 2008. He has
been, diligently, working with TOO BIG MAFIA on an upcoming collab
album, SMOKE~N~BIG - RHYTHM & GANGSTA (R&G MUSIC).
SMOKE~N~BIG's album releases in the Fall of 2008.