Chrisette Michele

Chrisette Michele, the R&B vocalist and composer, rose swiftly from modest local performances to Def Jam’s roster of standout prospects, driven entirely by her singular vocal gift—a rich, fluid instrument marked by jazz-tinged pop phrasing and Billie Holiday inflections. Born Chrisette Michele Payne in 1982, the jazz-oriented singer cultivated her range through gospel music, offering her first solo to a congregation at age four. Religious faith and melody shaped her early years: her father, an organist and church deacon, and her mother, the choir director, kept the Patchogue, New York, youngster occupied with tap classes, piano instruction, and repeated choir rehearsals. At seventeen the teenager experienced a turning point when a teacher played her the bossa-nova classic “The Girl from Ipanema”; Astrud Gilberto’s delivery immediately drew her toward jazz. She then devoted countless hours alone at the piano, absorbing standards as interpreted by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and other masters, before enrolling in vocal and jazz studies at Five Towns College on Long Island.

Initial appearances took place at neighborhood spots during open-mike nights or auditions. Shortly afterward, neo-soul artist India.Arie noticed her at Manhattan’s Village Underground and invited her to open shows, a role soon extended to Kem and Angie Stone. Representatives from Def Jam, likewise present at the club, were struck by her voice and secured her a contract in 2006. Late that year the label introduced her prominently, placing her on hooks for Jay-Z’s “Lost Ones” and Nas’ Nat King Cole-inspired “Can’t Forget About You.” Her full-length debut, I Am, arrived in June 2007. Blending gospel, adult-alternative pop, and hip-hop, the project featured her co-writing every track alongside Babyface, Salaam Remi, John Legend, and will.i.am. It peaked at number five on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart, while the will.i.am collaboration “Be OK” earned a Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. For Epiphany, issued in March 2009, most songwriting duties shifted to Chuck Harmony and Rodney Jerkins; the album nevertheless topped both the R&B/Hip-Hop and Billboard 200 lists despite the absence of a major single.

Payne resumed primary songwriting duties for Let Freedom Reign, released in November 2010 and produced throughout by Harmony. The set entered the top ten of the R&B chart just as Rick Ross’ “Aston Martin Music,” featuring her hook, climbed to number two on the R&B/Hip-Hop tally. Following continued Def Jam success—including the sizable hit “A Couple of Forevers”—she transferred to Motown. Better, unveiled in June 2013, enlisted Harmony along with Carvin & Ivan and Pop & Oak and achieved roughly comparable commercial results. Launching her own Rich Hipster imprint, Payne issued the independent EP The Lyricists’ Opus in November 2014 and followed it in June 2016 with Milestone, an album steeped in trap production.