Mikhala Jené

Contemporary R&B performer Mikhala Jené announced her arrival through the 2018 track “Mad Bitches.” Once that characteristically candid and introspective ballad appeared in season five of the HBO series Insecure, complete with a guest turn from Ro James, the vocalist and composer had already placed her independent debut EP, Carolina Blues, into circulation. Momentum from the project secured a contract with Def Jam, which issued her follow-up EP, The Missing Peace, in 2022.

Born in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Jené was immersed in church music yet hesitated to sing publicly until a revelation during her early teenage years led her to deliver her initial solo. While refining her voice she began composing original material, adapting the words of mainstream songs for devotional settings. Her work reached Deputy, the collaborator who co-wrote and co-produced Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” as well as selections for Wale and J. Cole. Under a production agreement with Deputy she relocated to Los Angeles, where her first official releases emerged in 2018: the singles “Mad Bitches” and “Stay,” followed by the Carolina Blues EP. After issuing a handful of additional tracks in 2019 and 2020, she supplied a revised rendition of “Mad Bitches” featuring Ro James for the Insecure season-five soundtrack. Maintaining her partnership with Deputy, Jené entered the Def Jam roster in 2022 via the slow jam “Human Nature,” the opening single from The Missing Peace.