Chrisette Michele Payne (born December 8, 1982) is an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

singer. She won a

Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance The Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality urban/alternative performance ...

in 2009 for her song " Be OK" (featuring will.i.am). She was previously signed to

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

, and

Caroline Distribution Virgin Music Label & Artist Services is a music distributor of independent artists and record labels, owned by Universal Music Group. The subsidiary focuses on the distribution of new or emerging partners. Started by Virgin Records as Carolin ...

but was dropped from her label in 2017. In the same year, Michele announced plans to release new music independently through her own label, Rich Hipster.

Early life

Michele was born in

Central Islip Central Islip is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 34,450 at the 2010 census. History and overview Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the S ...

, New York, and grew up in

Patchogue Patchogue (, ) is a village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 11,798 at the time of the 2010 census. Patchogue is part of the town of Brookhaven, on the south shore of Long Island, adjoining Great South Bay. It is officially kno ...

.Gamboa, Glenn.
Chrisette Michele has an 'Epiphany'
, ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'', May 3, 2009. Her father was a sociologist and her mother a psychologist. Michele led gospel choirs in high school. She attended

Five Towns College Five Towns College is a private college in Dix Hills, New York. The college's degree programs focus on music, media, and the performing arts. History Founded in 1972, Five Towns College holds an Absolute Charter issued by the New York State ...

Dix Hills Dix Hills is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 26,892 at the 2010 census. In the past, Dix Hills and some of its neighbors have proposed ...

, New York, and graduated with a vocal performance degree.

Music career

2006–2008: Musical beginnings and ''I Am''

Michele has been featured on several hip hop albums, such as The Game's '' LAX'', on the song "Let Us Live". On

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

's '' Kingdom Come'', she appears on the second single, " Lost One", while on

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

' ''

Hip Hop Is Dead ''Hip Hop Is Dead'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def ...

'', she is featured three times: on the album's second single " Can't Forget About You", the

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

-produced "Still Dreaming", and the final track, "Hope". She also appeared on the bonus track "Slow Down" from

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

's '' The Big Doe Rehab''. Michele's debut album, ''

I Am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * " I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (p ...

'', was released on June 18, 2007. The song "Your Joy" was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

as a free single of the week. The album spawned four singles: "If I Have My Way", " Best of Me", " Be OK", and "Love Is You". The album's lead single, "If I Have My Way", charted at number 24 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. "Best of Me" charted on the US

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

at number 21. In December 2007, "Be OK" was released as the third single, charting at number 64 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In 2008, "Love Is You" was released as the album's fourth and final single; it reached number 90 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Chrisette Michele (cropped)

In 2008, Michele appeared on the track "Rising Up" from

the Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

' album ''

Rising Down ''Rising Down'' is the eighth studio album by the American hip hop band The Roots, released on April 28, 2008, on Def Jam Recordings. The album's title is adapted from William T. Vollmann's book '' Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Viol ...

''. Michele guest starred as herself in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

's '' Girlfriends'', in the episode entitled "What's Black-a-Lackin'?", which originally aired on February 11, 2008. She also wrote a song for '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne'', titled "I've Gotta Love Jones". From May to July 2008, Michele embarked on a nationwide co-headlining tour with fellow soul singer Raheem DeVaughn called the Art of Love Tour;

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, whi ...

served as the opening act. In September 2008, Michele performed twice at the Evening of Stars: A Tribute to

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

2009–2012: ''Epiphany'', ''Let Freedom Reign'', and mixtape releases

In mid-2008, Michele began recording her second album, '' Epiphany''. In January 2009, the album's title track was released as the lead single. It marked Michele's first solo entry to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 89. Released on May 5, 2009, the album debuted at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 83,000 copies in its opening week. A week after the release of ''Epiphany'', another single was released, titled "Blame It on Me". It didn't repeat the success of "Epiphany (I'm Leaving)"; however, it peaked at number 28 on the US

chart. It was followed by two more: "What You Do" in July and "Fragile" in November. Originally, "What You Do" was planned to be the second single from the album. The song features

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

, who worked with Michele on the album. After the release of ''Epiphany'', she started working on her next album. Michele has worked with rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

and Canadian rapper/singer

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

on the fourth single of Ross's album ''

Teflon Don John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...

'', called "Aston Martin Music". The song was released on October 5, 2010. Michele released her third studio album, '' Let Freedom Reign'', on November 30, 2010. The record included the singles "I'm a Star" and "Goodbye Game". "I'm a Star" was released in September, and was followed by "Goodbye Game" and "I Don't Know Why, But I Do", both in November, just before the release of the album. The record features Michele performing hip-hop, R&B, as well as the dance-pop influenced "So Cool". The album debuted at number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 42,000 copies in its first week. It also peaked at number 7 on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

chart. On November 5, 2010, her first mixtape, '' Love Thy Brother'', was released. On December 7, 2012, her second mixtape, titled ''Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation'', followed. The mixtape contained some songs recorded for her fourth studio album, such as the single "Charades", among other tracks.

2013–present: ''Better'', ''R&B Divas LA'', ''The Lyricist's Opus'', and ''Milestone''

The first single from Michele's fourth album, '' Better'', titled "Charades", was released on January 29, 2013. Previously, "Charades" was featured on her second mixtape album, released in late 2012. The second single, "A Couple of Forevers", was released in February. The Alcon came out on June 11, 2013, published by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

Records. It was produced by Michele,

Shea Taylor Robert "Shea" Taylor is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. He established an early successful songwriting partnership with Def Jam's R&B singer-songwriter phenom Ne-Yo, and has also worked with Rihanna, Beyoncé ...

, and

Pop & Oak Pop & Oak is a songwriting and production duo consisting of Andrew "Pop" Wansel and Warren "Oak" Felder. Wansel is the son of Dexter Wansel, staff songwriter, producer and session musician of Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International Records ...

. Michele collaborated with rappers such as

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, a ...

and Wale on the album. It debuted at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 27,000 copies in its first week. It was nominated at the

2014 Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid compe ...

for

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

. Chrisette Michelle joined the cast of '' R&B Divas LA'' for its second season. On March 20, 2015, it was reported that she left the show. On November 24, 2014, Michele released her latest project, entitled ''The Lyricist's Opus'', for digital download. Two music videos were released from the EP: "Super Chris" on October 1, and "Together" on December 15. On November 12, 2016, Michele released her single "Steady". It was produced by Blickie Blaze, also from Four Kings Productions. "Steady" is the lead single from her fifth studio album, ''Milestone tour'', which was released on June 10, 2016, via her label Rich Hipster. In 2018, she released the album ''Out of Control''. In 2020, Michele released the single "Wait".

Controversy

In January 2017, media outlets reported that Michele would perform at the

inauguration of Donald Trump The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Donald Trump's term as president and Mike Pence as vice president. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony ...

. This was met with backlash on social media, prompting Michele to respond via an open letter on Twitter, stating that she had intended her performance to serve as a bridge between Trump supporters and opponents. Author Aliya S. King published a response to the singer's letter on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

, expressing disappointment with Michele's choice to perform and felt like her letter was a "cop-out". Michele was initially supposed to perform at the Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration held the day prior to the inauguration, but did not perform and instead played at one of the inaugural balls the following day. In response to her performing,

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

removed Michele's song "Black Girl Magic" from his upcoming Netflix series ''

She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and lau ...

''. Subsequent to the performance, Michele announced the release of her poetry album ''No Political Genius''.

Discography

*''

'' (2007) *'' Epiphany'' (2009) *'' Let Freedom Reign'' (2010) *'' Better'' (2013) *''

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

'' (2016) *''Out of Control'' (2018)

Tours

Headlining *The Art of Love Tour (with Raheem DeVaughn) (2008) *The Epiphany Tour (2010) *The Milestone Tour (2016) *Moody Tour (2021) Supporting act *Woman to Woman Tour for

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

(2013) *Liberation Tour for Mary J. Blige (2013) *Appreciation Tour for

Jaheim Jaheim H. Hoagland (born May 26, 1978), known mononymously as Jaheim, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album ''Ghetto Love (album), Ghe ...

(2013)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Chrisette Michele
on

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michele, Chrisette 1982 births Living people African-American Christians American people of Jamaican descent African-American women singer-songwriters African-American jazz pianists American hip hop singers American female hip hop musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Def Jam Recordings artists Grammy Award winners American neo soul singers People from Patchogue, New York People from Central Islip, New York Rhythm and blues pianists Singer-songwriters from New York (state) American contemporary R&B singers Ballad musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American pianists 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century women pianists