Cassandra Ventura

Cassandra Ventura became a recording artist unexpectedly. Shortly after being introduced to music producer, Ryan Leslie, her mother requested that Cassie record a song for her as a birthday gift. Cassie approached Ryan about producing the song, and Ryan put together a duet for them called "Kiss Me". As it turned out, Cassie's mother wasn't the only one who loved the song. Ryan played "Kiss Me" for Tommy Mottola, former chairman of Sony, and the record mogul behind the careers of Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, and most notably Mariah Carey. He offered Cassie a management deal, and weeks later she struck a deal with Ryan to produce her debut album. Cassie signed with Sean Combs's record label Bad Boy Recordings, after he heard her track "Me & U" played in a club.