“The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s” Kandi Burruss Wiki: Age, Businesses, Net Worth, Husband

Real Housewives of Atlanta is in season ten, and currently, the focus is on the reunion special where all the ladies discuss their lives and things that have happened on the show. One of the favorite cast members of the show is Kandi Burruss. She has achieved quite a name for herself in the industry. Here is everything you need to know from our Kandi Burruss’ wiki.

Before watching her on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, you must have heard of her or at least grooved out to one of her hit tracks. Kandi Burruss is a Jill of many trades; she is not just a reality star, but she’s also a businesswoman, a singer, and also a songwriter, who has penned down songs for many singers like Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Usher, and several others.

Burruss is happily married to the former line producer for The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Todd Tucker. Currently, she lives with her husband and kids in Atlanta.

Before She Became Famous

Kandi Burruss was born on May 17, 1976, which makes her age 41. She was born in College Park, Georgia. She is the daughter of Reverend Titus Burruss Jr. and Joyce Jones. Jones is a no-nonsense single mother who raised Burruss and her older brother, Patrick Riley.

Since Jones was busy making ends meet for the family, Burruss was mostly raised and looked after by Riley. He was like a father figure to Burruss, who loved his baby sister to death. Burruss claims that Riley was the best big brother she could ever have. He would often take her and her friends to the movies and do other things for her.

Burruss attended Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Georgia. While she studied in High School, she showed an inclination towards the Drama department. Burruss was excellent when it came to acting and was known in school for her acting skills.

Although she was brilliant at acting, it was her older brother, Riley who recognized her vocal gift and motivated her to pursue singing full-time. He was the one who supported her completely and encouraged her with positive comments.

Credits: Instagram/kandi

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At the age of 15, Burruss first made her appearance on the BET series, Teen Summit. From a very young age, Burruss knew what she wanted to do with her life. She had her options sorted and told her mother that she wanted to be an actress, singer, or a lawyer.

Death of Her Brother

Both Burruss and her brother dreamed of becoming performers, which sadly only Burruss could do. Tragically, in 1991, Riley passed away in a car accident at the age of 22.

Burruss claims that her world came shattering down when her brother passed away. She says that she couldn’t enjoy a lot of her accomplishments without Riley by her side. Burruss says that her brother is definitely her guardian angel as things started falling into place for her after his sudden death.

To make peace with the death of her brother, Burruss and her group members locked themselves in the basement for hours singing. That kind of helped her to get over her pain and sadness.

Kandi’s Relationships and Marriages

Her Relationship with Russell “Block” Spencer

In an interview, Burruss revealed that she saw Russell “Block” Spencer of Block Entertainment quite a few times at the radio station. A year later, she bumped into him at a car dealership. That’s when they exchanged numbers and started spending time together.

They dated for a few months, and she got pregnant with his child. But she ended the relationship when Burruss came to learn that he was still seeing his other children’s mother. Their daughter, Riley (who she named after her late brother), was born on August 22, 2002.

However, over the years their relationship turned quite sour, and a couple of times on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Block was called a “deadbeat dad” to his daughter Riley.

According to sources, Block’s ex (who preferred to remain anonymous) alleged that Burruss knew Block was married and that she was actually one of his four side chicks!

However, Burruss clapped back on the false news and said that she knew Block was in a relationship but not married. As soon as she found out about Block’s marriage, Burruss ended things with Block.

Her Engagement to Ashley “A.J.” Jewell

Burruss moved on her in her life with her daughter by her side. In 2008, she started dating Ashley “A.J.” Jewell, co-owner of a strip club named Body Tap. After being in a relationship for several months, the pair got engaged in January 2009.

However, on October 22, 2009, Jewell was involved in an altercation outside the club. He got into a brawl with several other men in the parking lot and was hit in the head. He was transported to Piedmont Hospital, where he unfortunately died from his injuries.

Kandi Is Married to Todd Tucker

While filming the fourth season of Real Housewives of Atlanta, Burruss started dating Todd Tucker, who was a line producer of the reality show. After dating for a couple of years, Burruss announced her engagement on Twitter on January 15, 2013. Initially, Burruss’ mother was not quite happy with Tucker because she wanted her daughter to be with somebody who was as hard working as her daughter was. But Jones finally accepted Tucker and said that she would be with her daughter through thick and thin.

A year later, on April 4, 2014, Burruss and Tucker tied the knot in a charming ceremony in Atlanta. In an interview, Burruss said, “This is one of the best days of my life! I never imagined that I would marry my best friend. Todd’s been that to me.” She further added, “And to have just had the wedding of my dreams, it’s all been so beautiful. Now it’s time to party!”

On January 6, 2016, Burruss and Tucker welcomed a little bundle of joy, their son, Ace Wells Tucker. Their son is the second child for both Burruss and Tucker (but their first child together). Tucker has a daughter named Kaela from a previous relationship.

Making of the Group Xscape

Burruss’ mother has always encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and to achieve new things. Since her brother encouraged her to give singing a chance, Burruss jumped on the opportunity and went for an audition with her friend Tamera Coggins-Wynn. Burruss was only 14 or 15 years old, when she decided to focus all her energy on singing.

In 1992, she met Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, LaTocha Scott, and Tamika Scott and together they formed the band, Xscape. Before joining Xscape, LaTocha Scott was with a group called Precise. The four of them started singing together. Coggins-Wynn also eventually joined the group, but she quit quite early, about a year after they came together.

Since the music scene was booming, the girls worked hard to get a record deal.

After their biggest debut performance at BET’s Teen Summit in 1992, the girls were introduced to Ian Burke, who later on became their manager.

Xscape even sang for famous record producer, Dallas Austin once. They sang an Acapella song for him but he didn’t seem to like it because Austin told their manager that they sang too loud. However, they didn’t let the rejection get them down and they continued to sing, and slay.

Their songs caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri, who later signed the group to his recording label, So So Def Recordings. Xscape’s debut album Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha was released on October 12, 1993. The album ranked at number 17 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B Albums chart. The album was certified platinum.

After the booming success of their first album, Xscape released their second studio album, Off the Hook in 1995. Off the Hook was also certified platinum because of the two songs, “Feels So Good” and “Who Can I Run To.”

Their final studio album, Traces of My Lipstick peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200 and at #6 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop album chart. After the third album came out, the group went on a break.

Problems In the Group

Although the music group Xscape was gaining a lot of attention, there were problems. Burruss wanted to write songs for the group, but Dupri didn’t really let the girls write full songs for Xscape.

Moreover, there were problems between the girls, too. There were cracks in Burruss’ and LaTocha Scott’s relationship. In fact, both of them even ended up fighting with each other.

After a long hiatus, Xscape reformed in 2017, they even performed in various places and went on music tours, too. However, Burruss announced in 2017 that she would be taking a break from the music group to concentrate on other things.

Before Burruss rejoined the group, she wanted Tamika Scott to apologize to her because of a 2007 interview, in which Scott claimed that Burruss was the reason the group broke up. Scott alleged that Burruss slept with Jermaine Dupri and his father, Michael Mauldin!

Burruss wanted Scott to apologize for the statement, but she didn’t clear the air as to whether she was actually involved with Dupri. Although, she did say that it was not the reason why the group went their separate ways. And Scott did apologize to Burruss.

A Self-Made Woman

It is a well-known fact that sometimes you are put in an uncomfortable situation, so that you get up and do something with your life or achieve your dreams. Burruss faced a similar situation when Xscape disbanded. She was a little worried but eventually decided to focus her attention on production and songwriting.

In 1999, Burruss teamed up with fellow group member, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle and they released the number one hit song “No Scrubs” for TLC. The same year, she penned down a song for Destiny’s Child, “Bills, Bills, Bills.” For these two songs, she was the first African-American women who won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher’s Songwriter of the Year award in 2000.

In 2000, Burruss released her debut album, which was titled, “Hey Kandi…” One song from the album, “Don’t Think I’m Not” peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, her album was not a major hit in the industry. She took a break from the music industry for a while. In 2009, Burruss released her first EP, the Fly Above EP.

Burruss released her second album, Kandi Koated in December 2010. The album peaked at no. 17 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In 2017, when singer Ed Sheeran’s hit number “Shape of You” released, the song’s lyrical rhythm was compared to the TLC song “No Scrubs.” Hence, Burruss, Tiny, Kevin “She’kspere” Briggs were awarded co-writing credits for the song.

Credits: Instagram/kandi

Burruss received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her contribution to the song “No Scrubs.”

Kandi Burruss on The Real Housewives of Atlanta

In 2009, Burruss replaced DeShawn Snow in the second season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Burruss introduction on the show peaked interest in the show.

She also revived her singing career on the show while working with Kim Zolciak-Biermann. Since becoming a part of the main cast, there’s been a lot of drama and excitement on the show, which is now on season 10 and stronger than ever.

In 2012, she starred in the second spin-off of The Real Housewives of Atlanta titled, The Kandi Factory. The show centered around the lives of Burruss and her record producers as they tried to launch the music career of undiscovered artists. However, the show was canceled after one season.

Burruss and Tucker’s marriage was also a part of the show Kandi’s Wedding, which premiered on June 1, 2014, and ended on July 6, 2014. Another series, Kandi’s Ski Trip, which was a three-part television series, premiered on May 17, 2015. The show was centered around Burruss, her husband Tucker, and their family as they attended a family ski trip together.

It comes as no surprise that Burruss’ estimated net worth is $35.0 million. She reportedly earns around $450,000 per season of Real Housewives of Atlanta. According to reports, Burruss received around a $200,000 raise and she made around $2.0 million for season 10.

In 2017, Burruss spoke to her former band members and they decided to start a show of their own. The show was titled Xscape: Still Kickin’ It and it was a 4-episode miniseries. The show was launched on November 5, 2017.

Her Multi-Million Business Empire

Besides appearing on reality TV, Burruss has also made appearances on series like Thicker Than Water: The Tankards, Let’s Stay Together, and Single Ladies.

Burruss has made sure to invest her time and resources in different businesses. She has a clothing line called Raising Ace, which offers all cutesy and unisex products for kids.

Kandi Koated Nights was started by Burruss and her friends, where they discussed everything related to relationships and sex. The show aired on TGI TV in 2011.

Burruss also has a restaurant called Old Lady Gang, which is a Southern eatery. The restaurant is located in Atlanta and is a multi-level dining eatery.

Bedroom Kandi is another business venture Burruss embarked on. It is a sex toy company and many of her friends were not surprised when she told them about starting a business centered around selling sex toys. Besides the intimate products, Bedroom Kandi also offers men’s products such as beard oils.

Along with her partner, Burruss also owns a boutique called TAGS and it offers various clothing items for ladies.

She even started Kandi’s Arts & Entertainment Summer Camp, where kids can learn and take part in fun activities. Burruss also runs a non-profit organization called Kandi Cares to support single parents who want a better future for their kids. She also handles Kandi Koated Entertainment.

Kandi Burruss’ House and Automobiles

With all her hard work and determination, Burruss managed to buy her dream house and renovated it according to her taste. She bought the house for $503,000 in Atlanta, GA and it truly is a mansion.

Last month, Burruss surprised her mother and bought her a new car, a Lexus RX 350! It is a Midsize luxury SUV. Burruss’ car collection includes a black Mercedes CL63 and also a BMW 7 series. Her first car was a BMW 325i.

Public Presence & Social Media Presence

Credits: Instagram/kandi

Throughout her career, Burruss has been featured on the cover of several magazines such as IMPACT, CEOMOM, and ESSENCE.

Being a reality star and a singer, Burruss also has a lot of endorsements, deals, and sponsorships. She has been associated with Conceal Virgin Hair, Flat Tummy Co, and Raising Ace.

In fact, one of the reasons why Burruss decided to quit the group Xscape after their reunion is because she wanted to focus on Broadway. In fact, she was a part of the Chicago Broadway Musical!

Burruss also has a YouTube channel called KandiOnline, which has over 85k subscribers.