Jhené Aiko
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Aiko embarked on her musical career in 2002, as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K. She was signed by their record label, The Ultimate Group that same year and was marketed as the "cousin" of B2K member Lil' Fizz to cultivate her own following, although they are not related. Her debut album, slated for a 2003 release through the label with Epic Records, was shelved due to Aiko instead further pursuing her education.
In March 2011, Aiko made her return to music with the release of her first full-length project, a mixtape titled Sailing Soul. In December of that year, she signed a recording contract with producer No I.D.'s record label ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. Aiko gained mainstream recognition with her guest performance alongside Lil Wayne on Big Sean's 2013 single, "Beware", which marked her first entry on Billboard Hot 100 — peaking within the chart's top 40. In November of that year, she released her debut extended play Sail Out, which spawned the singles "3:16AM", "Bed Peace" and "The Worst"—the latter received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Aiko's studio albums, Souled Out, Trip and Chilombo, were each met with critical and commercial success; the latter peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and earned Aiko three Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year.
Early life
Aiko was born on March 16, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. Her family lived in South Los Angeles, but their home burned down when she was seven and they moved near Slauson Avenue around View Park–Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, and Ladera Heights where she was homeschooled until high school. She calls her home neighborhood "Slauson Hills". Aiko is the daughter of Christina Yamamoto and pediatrician Karamo Chilombo. Her parents are divorced. Aiko has seven siblings, four from both her mother and father's side and three half-siblings from her father's side. Her older sister is R&B singer Mila J. Her mother is of Spanish, Dominican, and Japanese descent, and her father is of Native American, African-American, and German-Jewish descent. Her maternal grandfather was of Japanese descent and her maternal grandmother is of Dominican heritage. She took vocal lessons in Culver City, but quit when she unexpectedly became pregnant.Aiko addressed her mixed heritage during a Twitter conversation: "I am less black than someone half black, but also less white someone half white… and asian is the least thing i am," she said "So at this point, it’s whatever they want me to be. I have a Japanese grandfather and a Creole/Dominican grandmother on my mothers side and both of my fathers parents are black and white. my dna results came in 25% Asian, 33% African and 34% European. So that is what i was referencing in the tweet. also, those dna sites update and change from time to time so who actually knows. Ok now im done explaining, promise i am human and i see you all as family regardless of how u view me."
Career
2002–2006: Career beginnings and hiatus
Aiko embarked on her musical career contributing vocals to several B2K releases, as well as a song on The Master of Disguise soundtrack in 2002, while signed to The Ultimate Group and managed by Chris Stokes. During this time she was known as the cousin of B2K's rapper, Lil' Fizz, though she is not actually related to him. It was used as a marketing tool, suggested by her labels Sony, The Ultimate Group and Epic Records, to promote Aiko through B2K and attract an audience; nonetheless Aiko affirms that she and Lil' Fizz grew up together and were close like family. She featured on tracks five through eight of the R&B group's remix album B2K: The Remixes – Volume 1. "Santa Baby", a cover she recorded, was also featured on their album Santa Hooked Me Up and she appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "Tease" from Pandemonium!. Her song "Dog" appeared as a bonus track.Aiko also appeared in numerous music videos including O'Ryan's debut video, "Take It Slow", B2K's debut video "Uh Huh" and "Why I Love You", P.Y.T.'s "Same Ol' Same Ol' " featuring Sarai, Play's "M.A.S.T.E.R. " featuring Lil' Fizz video and Morgan Smith's 2004 video "Blow Ya Whistle". Aiko also has songs featured on the soundtracks of Barbershop, The Master of Disguise, You Got Served, The Proud Family and Byou. She released a video for her single "NO L.O.V.E", which debuted on BET's 106 & Park when she was 15 years old. Aiko was set to release her debut album, then-titled My Name Is Jhené in 2003 through Sony, The Ultimate Group, Epic; however, the album was never released due to tension at the record label Epic, which ultimately led to Aiko asking to be released from the label. Aiko later left the aforementioned labels in order to continue her education.
2007–2011: Return to music and ''Sail Out''
In 2007, she made a return to music, in an interview she spoke on the choice saying "Shortly before I conceived my daughter, I stepped back into the field and took a meeting with a label head. In this meeting, I was innocently told, to 'sell' myself when walking into these meetings. "That's when I decided I would 'sail' myself rather than sell myself."Aiko released a mixtape on March 16, 2011, titled Sailing Soul via her official website, JheneAiko.com. All the songs on the mixtape were written by her, except "July". The mixtape featured collaborations from Miguel, Drake and Kanye West as well as others. To promote the mixtape Aiko was joined by R&B singer Miguel on a one off free secret performance on Sunday, July 15. On October 21, 2012, Aiko released a music video for the song "My Mine". Aiko also released a video for the mixtape's second track, "Stranger". In 2011, she also began working closely with artists from Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment such as Schoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, and Ab-Soul. The latter two were featured on her EP released November 12, 2013, titled Sail Out.
2012–2014: Breakthrough and ''Souled Out''
In 2012, Aiko met with No I.D., record producer and vice president of A&R at Def Jam, who ended up signing Aiko to his Artium Records imprint through Def Jam. Aiko released the track "3:16AM", which was made available for digital download on iTunes September 4, 2012. The song was released as the first single from Sail Out. In 2012, Aiko was also the opening act on the highly anticipated "Life Is Good/Black Rage" concert tour headlined by fellow American artists, rapper Nas and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. In June 2013, Aiko was featured on the Big Sean song "Beware", which became her first song to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100. In October 2013, it was revealed Aiko would open for Canadian rapper Drake on his Would You like a Tour? concert tour.Aiko then released her debut EP Sail Out, on November 12, 2013. The EP debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 34,000 copies. On January 14, 2014, "The Worst" was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States as the album's third single. On May 2, 2014 "The Worst" rose from three to one on the airplay Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop, in doing so she became the first female artist to top the chart as a lead with a debut single since Jazmine Sullivan in 2008. The song peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at forty-three, becoming Aiko's first solo release to chart in the region, the song also peaked at number eleven on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
On January 18, 2014, Aiko appeared on Saturday Night Live performing the song "From Time", with the episode's guest host, Drake. In a January 2014 interview with Vibe, Aiko announced her debut studio album Souled Out would be released in May 2014. However, the album would be delayed. On March 16, 2014, Aiko premiered a song titled "My Afternoon Dream," produced by Key Wane, along with an accompanying music video directed by Aiko and Krissy. On June 23, 2014, "To Love & Die", was released for digital download as the album's lead single. Following its release "To Love & Die" debuted and peaked at number forty-six on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. On June 26, 2014, Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd, announced he would be headlining the "King of the Fall Tour", essentially a mini-tour across America in September / October 2014, the tour will consist of four shows and start on September 19, 2014, in New York, at the Barclays Center and end on October 10 in San Francisco, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Aiko and frequent collaborator ScHoolboy Q, were confirmed as the tour's supporting acts, respectively.
After three years of recording Aiko released her debut album Souled Out on September 8, 2014. An anticipated release, the album was released to commercial and critical success. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 70,000 copies in its opening week, in doing so the album became that week's second highest debut and doubled the first week sales of Aiko's debut extended play Sail Out. The album also debuted at number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and US R&B Albums and has sold 121,012 units in the US. The album produced a further three singles: the album's second single, "The Pressure", was released on iTunes on July 18, 2014. The Pressure debuted at number twenty five on the US Hot R&B Songs chart, and peaked the following week, at number twenty three. "Wading" was released as the album's third single on December 12, 2014, along with an accompanying video, followed by the release of Spotless Mind Her debut album was included on numerous critics' year end lists and was described by Gail Mitchell of Billboard as one of the albums to breakthrough and "make some noise" in the R&B genre. Following the release of the song "Post to Be", a collaboration with Omarion, the line "I might let your boy chauffeur me, but he gotta eat the booty like groceries" was described as a standout lyric and "the lyric of the summer, or the lyric of the year," by Rob Markman, editor for MTV News.