Keith Sweat is an American singer and songwriter who has a net worth of $250,000. He is probably best recognized for his 13 hit solo albums, 6 of which have been certified Platinum by RIAA.
Keith began his career as a singer and later gained popularity as a songwriter, record producer, author, as well as a radio host. In 1987, this R&B and soul singer dropped his debut studio album “Make It Last Forever” From there he continued to release more projects.
Despite his success in music, Keith found notoriety in acting, appearing in a number of TV shows and movies. In the meantime, he was doing some other things including a radio show “The Sweat Hotel” which he began hosting in 2008.
[table id=323 /]Early Life
Keith Douglas Sweat was born on July 22nd, 1961, in Harlem, New York City. He grew up in a working-class family, his mom Juanita Thompson worked as a hairdresser and his father Charles Sweat used to work in the factory.
In 1973, Keith lost his father and since then he was raised by his single mother Juanita alongside four siblings. At this point, the family’s financial situation was not good, so Keith began working as a night stockboy at Macy’s.
He was also pursuing his studies at City College. During college, Sweat began spending his free time with “Jamilah” a musical band. Before launching his music career, Sweat had a job at the brokerage firm Paine Webber in which he was in the mail room.
Eventually, he established himself as a brokerage assistant at the New York Stock Exchange, after working there for about 4 years. He also got a chance to work at the New York Mercantile Exchange as a supervisor.
Career
Keith Sweat began his music career by becoming the lead singer of a Harlem band “Jamilah”. Along with the other members, he began performing in different cities including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In 1984, Sweat decided to leave the group to pursue his solo career.
The singer teamed up with “Stadium Records” an independent label with whom he recorded a couple of early tracks. For this label, he also worked as a co-writer and co-producer for the track “You Are the One for Me”.
Sweat’s music eventually caught the attention of “Vintertainment Records”. This label offered him a deal in 1987, and he quickly signed with them. Under the label, he began recording his debut studio album “Make It Last Forever” which was released in November 1987.
Breakthrough
The singer found massive success with his first project Make It Last Forever as it peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 chart. Additionally, the album was certified triple Platinum before reaching number 1 on the Albums chart of “Top R&B/Hip-Hop”. “I Want Her” was the hit single which was included in this album.
Following the success, Sweat’s second album “I’ll Give All My Love to You” came out in 1990 and went double Platinum. From that point on, the singer continued to release massive hit albums including 1991’s Platinum “Keep It Comin” and 1994s “Get Up on It”. All these three projects debuted at number 1 on the Albums chart of “Top R&B/Hip-Hop”.
The biggest breakthrough moment of Sweat’s career came with the release of his album “Keith Sweat” in 1996. It wound up reaching number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as well as going 4x Platinum. Sweat followed his successful album with the Platinum album “Still in the Game” in 1998.
Further Success
His next album “Didn’t See Me Coming” was even more successful, released in 2000 and earned Gold status. Sweat didn’t stop there and continued to drop one hit album after another. His 2008’s album “Just Me” broke all the previous records, reaching the top 10 on the 200 charts Billboard as well as number 1 on the Albums chart of “Top R&B/Hip-Hop”.
In 2010, Sweat made a deal with Kedar Records and dropped his album “Ridin’ Solo” which contains the lead single “Test Drive”. In the following year, his album “Til the Morning” came out. The singer found success once again in 2016 after releasing his album “Dress to Impress”.
Two years later, he dropped the album “Playing For Keeps” along with singles “How Many Ways” (ft K-Ci) and “Boomerang” with Candace Price. Despite this, Keith often released live projects such as 2003’s “Keith Sweat Live” and 2007’s “Sweat Hotel Live”. Thanks to his success in music, Keith Sweat has a net worth of $250,000.
Other Ventures
In 1992, Sweat found the group “Silk”, he helped the band to release their successful debut album, “Lose Control”. In the following year, he collaborated with another band “Kut Klose” and produced their first album “Surrender”.
In 1997m Sweat released a collaborative album “Levert.Sweat.Gill” with Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill. Then they dropped another album “LSG2” in 2003. Sweat collaborated with singer Bobby Brown for the “Verzuz” battle in the summer of 2021.
Outside of music, Sweat had a guest role in the 1997 TV shows “Martin” and “The Wayans Bros”. As for films, he showed his acting skills in 1991’s “New Jack City”, 2009’s “Pastor Brown”, and 2018’s “Love Magical”.
In 2008, he started hosting the nationally syndicated radio show called “The Sweat Hotel”. Sweat is also an author and published his book entitled “Make It Last Forever: The Dos and Don’ts” in 2013.
Personal Life
Keith Sweat started dating TV personality “Lisa Wu” who later appeared on the popular show “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”. The couple married in 1992 and later had a son named Jordan, born in 1995.
Three years later, their second son Justin was born in 1998. However, Sweat and Lisa Wu were separated in 2002. Additionally, Keisha, Keia, and Amaya are Sweat’s other three daughters.
Career Highlights
- Make It Last Forever (Debut album, 1987)
- I’ll Give All My Love to You (Album, 1990)
- I Want Her (Song, 1987)
- Keith Sweat (Album, 1996)
- Didn’t See Me Coming (Album, 2000)
- American Music Awards four nominations, winning 1997’s Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2013 Soul Train Award, Lifetime Achievement _ Honored
- Soul Train Award _ 8 Nominations
Keith Sweat Net Worth
Keith Sweat is one of the most recognized singers in the American music industry. He came to the spotlight after releasing his first album “Make It Last Forever” in 1987. That project led the singer to release further projects which earned him mainstream success.
Sweat mainly earns from music sales, live concerts, brand deals, and some other ventures. He has been working in music for many decades and has already accumulated wealth for himself. As of 2023, Keith Sweat’s net worth is estimated to be $250,000.
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