Days Of Our Lives

Corey Latif Williams (born November 25, 1981), sometimes known as simply LATIF, is an American R&B singer and Grammy nominated songwriter. He was the winner of Teen People’s Who’s Next contest. He is a mentee of Teddy Pendergrass.

LATIF was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His early passion for music came mainly from his parents, who, ironically, were not musically inclined. This passion for music developed into an interest in singing for he and his older brothers. A close friend of LATIF’s family, Teddy Pendergrass, served as a mentor for the young budding artist. It was this mentorship that taught LATIF how to “deliver” songs. This relationship was nurtured by LATIF being taken along with Pendergrass to various interviews and appearances. He would often be allowed to sing alongside Pendergrass. It was this that led to LATIF being noticed by the daughter of a label executive. Which brought about his first recording contract with Sony/550.

In 2001, the buzz from winning the competition was enough to draw the eye of Kedar Massenburg. This actually worked out well for LATIF, because the “taste of spotlight” from the performance convinced him to tell his parents that he did not want to go back to school. He wanted work on his music fulltime. His mother gave him one semester to prove himself, or he had to go back to school. Massenburg became interested in LATIF, and signed him to Motown Records.

LATIF’s debut album on Motown was called Love in the First. Only one single, “I Don’t Wanna Hurt You” was released. It was mainly written by LATIF, with production by Ryan Leslie, B. Cox, Adonis, Greg Charley, Andy C, Teddy Bishop, Mechalie Jamison, D “French” Spencer, and Sean Garrett.

LATIF is no longer signed to Motown, but is currently in the studio working on his second album. He has garnered a large fan base in Europe, with Germany leading the pack. One song that may be attributed to his international popularity is “U Think U Know”. He has also continued to work and write for different artists, such as JoJo, Cassie, The Roots, Jim Jones, Lil Scrappy, Tiffany Evans, Frankie J, Chris Brown, Cheri Dennis, Musiq Soulchild and Sonnie Carson just to name a few. He had a number one record with “Teach Me” from Musiq Soulchild, which got him a Grammy nomination, and is currently working on various major projects.