Case

Singer, songwriter

For the Record…

Selected discography

Sources

Rhythm-and-blues and soul artist Case has earned platinum sales for his songs that discuss the various conditions of romantic and parental love. He has written and recorded songs that explore his love for his own children, infidelity, relationships that ended bitterly, and relationships that never began due to the cowardice, poor communication, or insecurity between men and women. His recorded output represents a progression from a more street-based, urban hip-hop style typically associated with the Def Jam label, to a smoother, more soul-and R&B-styled music. Case has admitted that he aspires to recreate the sound of such traditional R&B and soul performers as Stevie Wonder and the Gap Band. The soul-based sounds of Case’s later recordings inspired Def Jam to create the Def Soul subsidiary.

Born Case Woodard, Case was raised in several areas of New York City and New York state, including Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Mount Vernon. He was living in the Bronx when he was 17 years old, in a family that he has described as being very strict. His father was a onetime aspiring singer, and Case was the eldest of three siblings that included his two younger sisters. By the time he was five years old, he was entertaining his family and friends with concerts he performed in the family living room. His aspirations to become a professional singer were discouraged by his family, particularly his mother, and the tension between the two caused him to leave home as a teenager.

For a time, Case lived in an abandoned one-room apartment in the South Bronx. “I was eating just about anything I could and sleeping anywhere I could,” he told Showcase magazine’s Echo Hattix. “I left home because my family did not want me to pursue the artist route.” He continued to stay in abandoned apartments during what he described to Hattix as “one of the coldest winters the East had ever seen. And you know what was the killer thing about it, I would usually be like four or five blocks from my parents’ house.” He eventually reconciled with his family, moved home, and took a job with the New York City Housing Authority while continuing to record tapes demonstrating his vocal and songwriting abilities during the evenings. He eventually received employment as a co-writer and background singer for such R&B acts as Al B. Sure!, Christopher Williams, and Usher. During this period, Case was linked romantically with soul singer Mary J. Blige.

When Case released his self-titled debut album on Def Jam in 1996, sales were slow, due in part to the fact that the album’s million-selling lead single “Touch Me, Tease Me”—featuring guest vocalist Foxy Brown—had appeared previously on the popular soundtrack to The Nutty Professor. Characterized by tape loops and hip hop production values, Case’s first album, he later declared to MTV.com, “wasn’t me at all.” He blamed himself for the album’s inconsistent sounds, explaining that he accepted diverse input from too many people. “I had my vision of what I wanted to do, then I had this person’s vision and this person’s vision. What happens is, you end up losing what you’re trying to do,” he told MTV.com

For his second album, Personal Conversation, Case presented a more consistent, smoother sound, perhaps best exemplified on the love song “Happily Ever After.” The recording also includes “Having My Baby,” a song written on the occasion of his son’s birth. “This album is, by far, a better representation of Case, both as an artist and a person,” according to Joseph Brimm of Def Jam, as quoted on the Def Soul website. “We didn’t work on this album with the idea of just releasing singles, rather we wanted to illustrate a story. It is the story of a young black man in love, out of love, in lust.” Guest artists on Personal Conversation include vocal harmony group Boyz II Men on the song “Think of You.” Case emulates Stevie Wonder’s funk soul from the early and mid-1970s on the song “Tell Me,” which features a harmonica that replicates Wonder’s distinctive style. Case also performs a cover of Wonder’s 1974 song “Tell Me Something Good,” the hit single he wrote for the group Rufus with Chaka Khan.

When Def Jam, which is owned by the Island Record Group, inaugurated the company’s Def Soul R&B and soul subsidiary label, Case became the label’s first artist. He was joined later on Def Soul’s artist roster by Sisqó, Musiq Soulchild, and Kelly Price. On his third album, Open Letter, Case worked with producer Redhead Kingpin, as well as production teams Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, who have worked with such artists as Janet Jackson, and Tim and Bob, the team responsible

For the Record…

Born Case Woodard in New York, NY; children: daughter, Skye, and a son.

Became backup singer for Usher, mid-1990s; million-selling single, “Touch Me, Tease Me,” appeared on Nutty Professor film soundtrack, 1996; released debut album, Case, 1996; released platinum-selling sophomore album, Personal Conversation, 1999; released third album, Open Letter, 2001.

Addresses: Record company —Island Def Jam Music Group, Worldwide Plaza, 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, phone: (212) 333-8000, website: http://www.islanddefjam.com.

for much of the music released by Boyz II Men and Sisqo. Featured on the album is guest vocalist Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band. “Charlie was always like an idol of mine. See, that’s why I got my ‘Lil’ Gapper’ tattoo. So, like me and Charlie hang out and everything, so when I finally got to work with him and perform with him on stage…, it was dope,” Case said in comments included at the Vibe magazine website. Wilson appeared as a vocalist on the duet “Another Man,” and provided backup vocals on the track “No Regrets.” “A Song for Skye” was written for Case’s daughter, while the songs “Love of My Life” and “Shine” were inspired by the music of Stevie Wonder. Tim and Bob produced the songs “Sex Games,” “Missing You,” “You Think of Me,” “Not My Friend,” and “Conversate.”

Songs performed by Case also appear on the film soundtracks for the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker comedy Rush Hour, the Eddie Murphy comedies The Nutty Professor and The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and the romantic comedy The Best Man. The last film features a collaborative effort between Case, Tyrese, Ginuwine, and RL on the song “Best Man I Can Be.” He also collaborated with LL Cool J on the single “Love You Better” for the film soundtrack to Deliver Us from Eva, set for release in 2002.

Selected discography

Solo

Case, Def Jam, 1996.

Personal Conversation, Def Jam, 1999.

Open Letter, Def Soul, 2001.

Appears on; soundtracks

The Nutty Professor, Def Jam, 1996.

Rush Hour, Def Jam, 1998.

The Best Man, Sony, 1999.

The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Def Jam, 2000.

Sources

Periodicals

Billboard, April 7, 2001.

Black Beat, July 2001.

Request, May/June 2001.

Showcase, March 2001.

Online

“Case,” All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (April 30, 2002).

“Case,” Def Soul, http://www.defsoul.com/artists/case/case.html (May 1, 2002).

“Case’s Heartache Pays Dividends on Open Letter” MTV-.com, http://www.mtv.eom/news/articles/1442282/20010329/story.jhtml (May 1, 2002).

“In Their Own Words,” Vibe, http://www.vibe.com/new/vibeav/bmm/week2main.html (August 4, 2002).

Additional information was obtained from Def Soul press kit materials.

—Bruce Walker

case¹ / kās/ • n. 1. an instance of a particular situation; an example of something occurring: a case of mistaken identity. ∎  [usu. in sing.] the situation affecting or relating to a particular person or thing; one's circumstances or position: I'll make an exception in your case. ∎  an incident or set of circumstances under police investigation: a murder case.2. an instance of a disease, or problem: 200,000 cases of hepatitis B. ∎  a person suffering from a disease or injury: most breast cancer cases were older women. ∎  the circumstances or particular problem of a person who requires or receives professional attention: the welfare office discussed Gerald's case ∎  inf. a person whose situation is regarded as pitiable or as having no chance of improvement: Vicky was a very sad case. ∎ inf., dated an amusing or eccentric person.3. a legal action, esp. one to be decided in a court of law: a former employee brought the case against the council. ∎  a set of facts or arguments supporting one side in such a legal action: the case for the defense. ∎  a legal action that has been decided and may be cited as a precedent. ∎  a set of facts or arguments supporting one side of a debate or controversy: the case against tobacco advertising.4. Gram. any of the inflected forms of a noun, adjective, or pronoun that express the semantic relation of the word to other words in the sentence: the accusative case. ∎  such a relation whether indicated by inflection or not: English normally expresses case by the use of prepositions.PHRASES: as the case may be according to the circumstances (used when referring to two or more possible alternatives): the authorities will decide if they are satisfied or not satisfied, as the case may be.be the case be so.in any case whatever happens or may have happened. ∎  used to confirm or support a point or idea just mentioned: he wasn't allowed out yet, and in any case he wasn't well enough. (just) in case1. as a provision against something happening or being true: we put on thick sweaters, in case it was cold.2. if it is true that: in case you haven't figured it out, let me explain.in case of in the event of (a particular situation): what to do in case of fire.in no case under no circumstances.in that case if that happens or has happened; if that is the situation: “I'm free this evening.” “In that case, why not have dinner with me?”on someone's case inf. continually criticizing or harassing someone.case² • n. a container designed to hold or protect something: he placed the trumpet safely in its velvet-lined case. ∎  the outer protective covering of a natural or manufactured object: a seed case. ∎  an item of luggage; a suitcase. ∎  a box containing bottles or cans of a beverage, sold as a unit. ∎  Printing a partitioned container for loose metal type. ∎  each of the two forms, capital or minuscule, in which a letter of the alphabet may be written or printed.See also uppercase, lowercase.• v. [tr.] (usu. be cased) 1. surround in a material or substance: the towers are of steel cased in granite. ∎  enclose in a protective container.2. inf. reconnoiter (a place) before carrying out a robbery: I was casing the joint.

CASE. A term for a set of forms for a NOUN, PRONOUN, or ADJECTIVE in an inflected language, the choice of form depending on syntactic function. In Latin, the noun form dominus (lord) is in the nominative case, used when the word is the subject of the sentence, whereas dominum is accusative, used when the word is the direct object. A set of cases constitutes a paradigm for the class to which a word belongs: dominus is a masculine noun of the second declension, whose paradigm consists of 12 forms for six cases (nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, and ablative, each with singular and plural forms) that were regarded in classical times as ‘falling’ away from an upright nominative.

Case in Old English

ANGLO-SAXON or OLD ENGLISH had the following cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and to a limited extent instrumental. The equivalent of modern stone was masculine stān nominative and accusative cases (singular), stānas nominative and accusative (plural), stānes genitive singular (of a stone), stāna genitive plural (of stones), stāne dative singular (for a stone), stānum dative plural (for stones).

Case in Modern English

The contemporary language has cases for nouns and pronouns, mainly the common case (Tom, anybody) and the genitive or possessive case (Tom's, anybody's). Potentially, countable nouns have four case forms: two singular (child, child's), two plural (children, children's). In regular nouns, these manifest themselves only in writing, through the APOSTROPHE (girl, girl's, girls, girls'), since in speech three of the forms are identical. The genitive case is used in two contexts: dependently, before a noun (This is Tom's/his bat), and independently (This bat is Tom's/his). Most personal pronouns have different forms for the dependent and independent genitive: This is your bat and This bat is yours. The genitive case forms of personal pronouns are often called possessive pronouns. A few pronouns have three cases: subjective or nominative, objective or accusative, and genitive or possessive (see table).

CASE Acronym for computer-assisted software engineering. A marketing term, used to describe the use of software tools to support software engineering. There are two distinct classes of CASE, referred to as lower CASE and upper CASE. Lower CASE generally supports the programming aspects of the development life cycle and here the term is synonymous with programming support environment (PSE). Upper CASE is used to describe tools that support methods used earlier in the life cycle to elicit or record user requirements, software (or system) requirements, and design.

case Any single unit selected for observation or analysis by a researcher. For example, in a study of the division of household tasks among eighty couples, each couple would constitute a separate case. Similarly, in a sample survey, individual respondents or interviewees are cases. Cross-national comparative analysis might feature nations as cases. In contingency tables, the total number of cases is conventionally indicated by a lower-case letter n, as in ‘n = 1,350’.