We loved when Regina Belle was blowing up the radio in the 80’s and 90s with jams like “Baby Come To Me,” “Make It Like It Was,” “If I Could,” “A Whole New World,” and her her many other fire songs that’ll forever be etched in our old school memories. Regina was like our little known R&B gem- She’s highly underrated, but also highly gifted and well-respected as a legend among her peers and R&B music lovers. Another little known fact about Regina is that she and her NBA husband have five children together and the one you’re about to see is damn near like her clone…

REGINA BELLE’S DAUGHTER, NYLA BATTLE

Do y’all see how much Nyla is her mother’s twin?!! Geesh! Looking at this pic kind of makes you feel like Nyla’s about to start singing “A Whole New World” any minute.

Regina giving her baby a kiss…

NYLA’S FAMILY SHOWED HER LOVE AT HER BABY SHOWER

A few years ago Regina shared photos from her now-24 year old daughter, Nyla’s, baby shower and if we didn’t know any better, we’d think we were looking at pictures of Regina Belle circa 1988.
Regina Belle and her husband, John S. Battle III (former NBA player for The Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers) with their daughter, Nyla…

They Get It From Their Mama

Regina Belle and John S. Battle III have a total of five children, but it’s Nyla and her sister, Milan, who followed in their Mommy’s musical footsteps…
Fun fact: Regina Belle and John are both ministers now. They pastor at their two churches in Atlanta, GA.

The post Regina Belle And Husband’s Pretty Daughter Looks So Much Like Belle, It’s Scary appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

“Baby Come To Me” and “A Whole New World” singer, Regina Belle, is 57 years young and looking just as beautiful as she did in 1987 when she released her first single at the age of 28.

Belle Explains Why She Keeps It Gray N’ Sexy

As you can see, our girl Regina is rockin’ her gray hair with pride and taking names while doing it! In a prior interview, with Souleo of Huffington Post, she explained why she decided to let her grays shine:

“I want to be who I am now. I rock my gray hair because it is a blessing. I colored mine for many years, but I’ve gotten compliments from so many men and women about being brave enough to sport the gray. I even wear it on the cover of my record. I am comfortable in my skin and I want listeners to feel that as well.”

Her Life Threatening Surgery

Aside from Regina Belle being a woman of great pride and self-confidence, she can also add the title of ‘survivor’ to her name, because just a few years ago, she risked losing her life when she underwent brain surgery after finding out that she had a brain tumor that left her permanently deaf in one ear. Regina revealed, to NPR, what her rehabilitation was like after her surgery and the fears she faced in knowing there was a possibility that she may not have come out of it alive:

Regina Belle: “…In 2009, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. [….] So it was kind of difficult with 10 months of rehabilitation. We had to have two surgeries because the surgery was so complex. It was only supposed to take two hours. It took eight hours. It was only supposed to take one surgeon. It took six surgeons. We ended up having to be closed up and then the doctor had to go back and open me back up. God is good.

So 10 months being out of the loop and then, finally, when I got ready to go back to work, I could just hear a small voice saying to me, now, when you sing God is good, you will understand how good I really am because you cannot tell by looking at me. You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Why She’s Grateful Today

RB: “I don’t want to go back there. …That was a scary place, you know, to realize that you may not wake up, you may not ever come out of this. And then when you wake up, what kind of state will you be in? And 10 months seems like forever when you’re trying to, you can’t walk by yourself. You can’t feed yourself. You can’t dress yourself.

But when I look at where I am today – being able to stand up, sing and do all these things of my own free will, and I lost all my hearing in my left ear, so I’m clinically deaf in my left ear, so to be able to still sing and do all the things that I do, I’m not scared to talk about it now, ’cause this is huge. I’m a walking miracle.” -via NPR

Throughout all of her ups and downs, Regina’s five children and her husband of 27 years, retired NBA player Pastor John Battle III, were right there by her side.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Biqbs5OlWzP/

After taking a break from the R&B music world for 15 years, Regina says she now understands that she can balance her Christian faith, her gospel music career, and her R&B career successfully, without compromising her beliefs and herself. She’s rockin’ her gray hair with a whole lotta swag…showing these lil’ young girls out here that it’s cool to be fine in your 50’s- with no regrets, no pressure to be something you are not, and no compromise to your self-worth. Get it Regina Belle, we see you!

Source, Source, Source,

The post Regina Belle Explained Why She Rocks Gray Hair And How She Almost Lost Her Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Regina Belle Opens Up About Her Health Problems:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjzSwojFUt_/?taken-by=iamreginabelle

Before she became a musical star, Belle was a student at Rutgers University when she linked up with the Manhattans and scored her first hit, Where Did We Go Wrong. Because she was so talented, Belle landed her own record deal with Columbia Records. Belle’s solo career was filled with success as she won 4 Grammy awards and even began performing songs for Disney movies. One of the reasons why Disney’s animated film Aladdin became a classic is because of her duet with Peabo Bryson, A Whole New World. Despite being so successful, Belle was suddenly dropped from her label and then things got worse.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj3FJ_gFmyM/?taken-by=iamreginabelle

The Life Threatening Health Issue That Almost Took Belle’s Life

In 2009, while on tour, Regina Belle’s experience horrible headaches and she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This was devastating for her and caused her to cancel her tours. In 25 years of being a performer, she had never cancel a show.

“I went to emergency surgery, and the surgery was supposed to take a couple of hours. It took eight. I bled so badly they had to close me up and finish it six months later, they had to open my head back up,” she recalled on Unsung.

Thankfully, the tumor was benign, however, she still faced medical challenges. She lost her hearing in her left ear and she experienced dizziness. Belle also endured other common symptoms from the brain tumor, such as vertigo, loss of balance, and incoordination. The vertigo caused her to vomit, but she never stopped pursuing her music.

Since her recovery from the near fatal brain tumor, Regina Belle listened to the voice inside of her.

“When I got ready to go back to work, I could just hear a small voice saying to me, now, when you sing God is good, you will understand how good I really am because you cannot tell by looking at me. You don’t know what I’ve been through,” Regina Belle shared.

With a renewed sense of faith, Belle and her ex-NBA player husband, John S. Battle III, are senior pastors at First Lady of New Shield of Faith Ministries in Atlanta, GA. Despite the fact that Belle was a R&B singer, she has always brought a Gospel element to her performances.

“I don’t think my fans are all that surprised because when I’m in concert, they know Regina can break off into praise at any moment. I’ve been giving God the glory for a long time and I’ve never allowed fans to believe for one moment that I was pulling up my own bootstraps. So I don’t think they’re surprised, but I suppose some might be who aren’t familiar with who I am. [My faith is] my foundation and something I never left, but I can say that through the years, God has beefed up that understanding. All of the stuff that I was going through in my life, he helped me amidst the hardships. He was taking his time to build me into the woman he wanted me to be, opening the doors for me to go into the R&B world. Some church folk might not agree with that [decision to go mainstream], but it’s given me a full-fledged understanding of who God is and given me a greater compassion for people in the world that might be a little different than folks who’ve only lived in church circles their whole life,” Regina Belle shared with Cross Rhythms.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjSq56QlycA/?taken-by=iamreginabelle

Through it all, the accomplished R&B legend faced some hurdles that could have totally altered her life and career. However, Belle was able to push past her obstacles, like the true warrior she is, and continues to show up and show OUT on stage today with her undeniable talent.

The post Regina Belle Opens Up About Her Health Problems That She’s Kept Quiet For Years appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

[kkgallery kid=”2432″ title=”Regina Belle &Hubby’s Pretty DAUGHTER Looks SO Much Like Belle It’s Scary”]

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The post Regina Belle &Hubby’s Pretty DAUGHTER Looks SO Much Like Belle It’s Scary appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

A few days ago, Erykah posted a pic of her beautiful and mostly gray mane with a caption that offered just as much wisdom as her gray hair represents: “Body and brain have aged. My conscious has witnessed this, yet has not aged. This is who we are.” Check it out below…
In today’s vain entertainment industry, that judges celebrities based on their outer appearances, it is very refreshing to see some of the women take back their power and show that they are still just as beautiful, sexy, and regal as they ever were with their fly gray hair. It’s cool to switch things up a lil’ bit anyways, so we’re giving Erykah Badu an old school high five and fist bump for giving the world a peak into who she really is.

We’ll keep our eyes open to see who joins the movement next.

The post Erykah Badu Shows Off Her REAL Gray Hair, Reveals TRUE Feelings On Aging appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Belle Explains Why She Keeps It Gray N’ Sexy

As you can see, our girl Regina (54) is rockin’ her gray hair with pride and taking names while doing it! In a prior interview, with Souleo of Huffington Post, she explained why she decided to let her grays shine:

“I want to be who I am now. I rock my gray hair because it is a blessing. I colored mine for many years, but I’ve gotten compliments from so many men and women about being brave enough to sport the gray. I even wear it on the cover of my record. I am comfortable in my skin and I want listeners to feel that as well.”

Her Life Threatening Surgery

Aside from Regina Belle being a woman of great pride and self-confidence, she can also add the title of ‘survivor’ to her name, because just a few years ago, she risked losing her life when she underwent brain surgery after finding out that she had a brain tumor that left her permanently deaf in one ear. Regina revealed, to NPR, what her rehabilitation was like after her surgery and the fears she faced in knowing there was a possibility that she may not have come out of it alive:

Regina Belle: “…In 2009, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. [….] So it was kind of difficult with 10 months of rehabilitation. We had to have two surgeries because the surgery was so complex. It was only supposed to take two hours. It took eight hours. It was only supposed to take one surgeon. It took six surgeons. We ended up having to be closed up and then the doctor had to go back and open me back up. God is good.

So 10 months being out of the loop and then, finally, when I got ready to go back to work, I could just hear a small voice saying to me, now, when you sing God is good, you will understand how good I really am because you cannot tell by looking at me. You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Why She’s Grateful Today

RB: “I don’t want to go back there. …That was a scary place, you know, to realize that you may not wake up, you may not ever come out of this. And then when you wake up, what kind of state will you be in? And 10 months seems like forever when you’re trying to, you can’t walk by yourself. You can’t feed yourself. You can’t dress yourself.

But when I look at where I am today – being able to stand up, sing and do all these things of my own free will, and I lost all my hearing in my left ear, so I’m clinically deaf in my left ear, so to be able to still sing and do all the things that I do, I’m not scared to talk about it now, ’cause this is huge. I’m a walking miracle.” -via NPR

Throughout all of her ups and downs, Regina’s five children and her husband of 27 years, retired NBA player Pastor John Battle III, were right there by her side.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Biqbs5OlWzP/

After taking a break from the R&B music world for 15 years, Regina says she now understands that she can balance her Christian faith, her gospel music career, and her R&B career successfully, without compromising her beliefs and herself. She’s rockin’ her gray hair with a whole lotta swag…showing these lil’ young girls out here that it’s cool to be fine in your 50’s- with no regrets, no pressure to be something you are not, and no compromise to your self-worth. Get it Regina Belle, we see you!

Source, Source, Source,

The post Regina Belle Revealed Why She Rocks Gray Hair & How She Almost Lost Her Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.