Contemporary R&B singer/songwriter Tony Rich first attracted attention as a staff writer at LaFace Records, where he authored hits for acts including Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill, TLC, and Toni Braxton. As the Tony Rich Project, he debuted in 1995 with Words, writing, performing, and producing every note of the LP himself. After scoring the Grammy-nominated hits "Like a Woman" and "Nobody Knows," he released 1998's Birdseye, also for LaFace, and then went the independent route with Resurrected (Rich Projects、Compendia, 2003), Pictures (Rich Media/IM, 2006), and Exist (Hidden Beach, 2008). He also provided the music for A New Understanding of Peace (Sefat Mustard Seed, 2006), a gospel release featuring narration from Sheila Evans.