Philadelphia High School For The Creative and Performing Arts - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

• Boyz II Men have recorded five #1 hits and three of them broke the record for the longest time a single remained at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Boyz II Men is considered to be one of the most successful R&B male vocal groups of all time.
• Black Thought MC of The Roots. Became friends with Questlove (drummer for The Roots) while both were students at CAPA.
• Joey DeFrancesco, an organist who has played with the Miles Davis in 1988, Joey DeFrancesco has recorded several albums, a couple of which are: "Live at the Hot Spot" and "Incredible." He is known as one of the major contributors to the rise of jazz in the 1980s.
• Anye Elite, openly gay singer-songwriter and community activist
• Robert X. Golphin graduated CAPA in 1999 as a Creative Writing Major. He is an award-nominated actor and award-winning filmmaker/screenwriter, best known for his role as "Dunbar Reed" in the 2007 film The Great Debaters.
• Amel Larrieux is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory.
• Tony Luke, Jr., a.k.a. Anthony Lucidonio Jr. who graduated CAPA in 1980 is an American actor, screenwriter, songwriter, restaurateur, and entrepreneur who has appeared on such food shows as Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Dinner Impossible and Man vs Food various TV shows and Movies. who wrote, Produced and starred in The Nail: The Story Of Joey Nardone
• Christian McBride is thought to be one of the best bassists of his generation. He has performed and recorded with artists such as James Brown, Sting, Carly Simon, and many more. McBride is also the co-director of the Jazz Museum in Harlem.
• Angela Nissel, author and television writer. Nissel is best known for her first book, The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke and her work as writer and co-producer on the television show Scrubs.
• Questlove (also known as Ahmir Khalib Thompson) is the drummer of hip-hop band, The Roots, and became friends with Black Thought (MC of The Roots) when they were both students at CAPA. Questlove has produced for artists such as Common, D'Angelo, and Al Green and is a member of Soulquarians, Grand Negaz, and Grand Wizzards production teams.
• Kurt Rosenwinkel, Guitar player who has worked with the best of young jazz players and has released a few original albums.
• Jazmine Sullivan R&B singer-songwriter and seven-time Grammy Award nominee
• Stephen Tirpak Jazz Recording Artist, Horn Arranger, multi-instrumentalist Grammy Award nominee
• Karen Malina White, Famous actress well known for her role Dejonay on the Proud Family. She has also appeared in movies such as Lean on Me as Kaneesha Carter. She guest starred on Living Single as Maxine's openly gay friend.
• Bryce Wilson is a record label executive/producer, actor, musician, and former emcee. Wilson was half of late 1990s contemporary R&B duo Groove Theory, and emcee/keyboardist for early 1990s dance music/electro funk/old school hip hop group Mantronix.