Thanks to her time working with producer Anthony Dent (Destiny's Child, Diddy) during her mid-to-late teens, Hilson sang backing vocals or wrote songs for multiple artists including Usher, Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, and Ciara, according to Allmusic.
Hilson moved on from Dent to work with Southern rapper Polow da Don who introduced her to producer Timbaland, who signed her to his label Mosley Music imprint in 2006.
After writing songs for the likes of Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears under Polow da Don and releasing some lackluster singles, Hilson finally released her debut solo album "In a Perfect World..." in 2009, which earned Hilson a pair of Grammy nominations and a pair of hits in "Knock You Down" and "Turnin Me On."