Syleena Johnson
Encyclopedia
Syleena Johnson is a Grammy award-nominated American R&B
and soul
singer-songwriter
and actress.
, Al Green
, Tina Turner
, The Dells
, and Mavis Staples
. She would later apply her taste for soul music
as a member of her high school gospel
choir.
Johnson attended Thornridge High School
in Dolton
, Illinois
. Her music career was inspired by her music teachers, who are still working there as of June 2007.
Johnson's road to music was hardly easy. Her father, Syl
, was not encouraging, as his own lackluster success with his craft led him to think little of the music industry. On top of that, Johnson suffered from vocal nodules and had to go through speech therapy. And when Johnson was fifteen, her parents split up. Despite these setbacks, Johnson's relationship with both her parents and her music remained strong: she contributed as a singer and songwriter on her father's 1994 album Back in the Game. After having nodes removed from her vocal cords, she took two years of speech therapy. She has seven years of vocal training.
That same year, Johnson began attending Drake University
in Des Moines
, Iowa
, where she worked in classical
and gospel choirs as well as jazz
ensembles. Originally a psychology major, success at a talent show convinced her that her strength had always been in music. She switched to a music major and began recording her own songs. In 1996, she transferred to Normal
's Illinois State University
, and majored in music. In September 1997, Johnson met an assistant scout for Jive Records
at a charity basketball game. That contact allowed her to send in a demo tape, which had an immediate impact; days later, she got a callback from a Jive executive with an offer for a deal. "That's a miracle", Johnson later observed. "Demo tapes don't get heard like that." The experience renewed her resolve.
Hi Records
singer Syl Johnson
and Brenda Thompson (America's first black female police commissioner).
In August 2000, Johnson married former Illinois State University college basketball player Marcus Betts. Betts graduated in December 2000 and became her manager for her first two albums.
In July 2006 she became engaged to basketball player Kiwane Garris
. Garris, a fellow Chicago
an, is a former player for the Sacramento Kings
. On August 1, 2007, after forty-four hours of labor, their son Kiwane Garris Jr was born. On Sunday, February 6, 2011 she gave birth to their second son Kingston. He weighed 8 lb 5oz After playing overseas in Italy
for nine years from 2001–2010, Garris returned home. Since Fall 2010 he has been an Assistant Coach at Prairie State College
. She is a notable member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
Syleena made a number of assaults on the R&B music scene. In 1995, Syleena released an album with her legendary father Syl Johnson
, 'This Time Together By Father And Daughter', featuring songs such as 'Keep On Loving Me' and 'Piece of the Rock'. A rare video of an early song 'It's On' has appeared on video-sharing website YouTube
.
Her official debut recording album Love Hangover was released on January 26, 1999. The album featured Johnson singing classic R&B songs such as 'Love Hangover' by Diana Ross
and 'Baby I'm Scared Of You' by Womack & Womack. The album is hard to come by, often being sold at an extortionate price on eBay
and Amazon
. Both 'Love Hangover' and 'This Time Together By Father And Daughter' were released on the Independent Twinight Records.
Not long after 'Love Hangover', Syleena Johnson would sign a Record Deal with Major Label Jive Records
, where she would begin writing the chapters of her life.
Johnson counted on her own honesty and real-life experiences to produce her compelling music. The young Chicago
native confronted her own romantic pitfalls and coming of age story on her debut CD, which featured guest appearances by blues guitarist Buddy Guy
and contemporary R&B artist R. Kelly
.
Johnson wrote all the songs on her debut CD except her first single, "I Am Your Woman," penned by R. Kelly
. Johnson began writing songs for her debut CD at age 20 in 1997 and sent her demo to Wayne Williams, V.P. of Artist Development at the Chicago
office of Jive Records
. He signed her and paved the way for the release of her debut album in May 2001. The album received much praise, but despite its No. 1 position on Billboard's Heatseekers chart the week of its release, the album was not a commercial success.
Jon Azpiri of All Music Guide gave the album 4.5/5 stating "Songs about breakups are a staple of modern R&B, so it's no surprise that Syleena Johnson has dedicated an entire album to a relationship gone wrong. What is surprising is that Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness is good enough to keep the listener's attention throughout... Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness is a remarkably polished effort and, as the title suggests, Johnson has only just begun."
and his Flipmode Squad
, who contributed to "Tonight I'm Gonna Let Go", which got airplay at urban radio stations. The single also proved a success in the United Kingdom where it was a Top 40 hit; her first appearance on the UK Charts - she would later reach the Top 10 with All Falls Down
, her collaboration with Kanye West
.
The album is considered by many a 'Soul Classic' that fell under the radar. Songs such as 'No Words' and 'Faithful To You' provoked much emotion through the lyrics and Johnson's unique and bluesy voice. Johnson has stated in the past that 'No Words' is one of her personal favorites, referring to it as "the best song I never wrote", referring to its use of adlibbing as verses. The first single 'Guess What', another R.Kelly production, garnered much attention in the US and also received airplay in the UK, France, Germany and South Africa. The track was well received by BBC Radio 1
DJ, Trevor Nelson
who has consistently labelled Johnson as one of the best soul singers of the modern day era.
'Chapter 2: The Voice' was recently voted #62 in a list of the best Soul Albums of the 2000s, ahead of fellow soul artists such as Jaguar Wright
, Adele
, Conya Doss
, Ne-Yo
and Faith Evans
.
The December 2002 issue of Vibe Magazine gave the album 3.5 discs out of 5, quoting "Chapter 2: The Voice" as "...A distinctive sound, sometimes sweet, a little tart, and always strong..."
Mojo
, in its February 2003 issue also gave "Chapter 2: The Voice" a glowing review - "...A coherent and engaging R&B album that explores love's vicissitudes with a confessional candour...Classy..."
to perform "All Falls Down
", her chart hit with Grammy winning rapper Kanye West
. Chaka Khan
would also appear during the performance. The video to the song earned both West and Johnson four VMA nominations, including "Breakthrough Video" and "Best New Artist in a Video". That same year she also earned a Grammy nomination and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. The song also brought Syleena to the attention of the public outside the United States. The song was a top 10 hit worldwide, including the UK.
and rapper Fabolous
. The single was relatively well accepted; the video for the single was played worldwide and was noted as being Syleena at her sexiest. The second single, "Another Relationship", became another radio single and a firm favorite amongst fans and critics. Johnson performed the song live at the Apollo, to a standing ovation. The album included Production from Hitmakers R.Kelly, KayGee, & Terence "Tramp Baby" Abney & the Platinum Brothers.
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actress.
Biography
Johnson took to music early, growing up not only with a musical father but also listening to influential artists such as Aretha FranklinAretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, The Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
, and Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
. She would later apply her taste for soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
as a member of her high school gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
choir.
Johnson attended Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School is a public high school located in Dolton, Illinois. It was built as part of Thornton Township High Schools District 205. It is sometimes confused with the similar sounding schools in the same district: Thornton Township High School and Thornwood High...
in Dolton
Dolton, Illinois
Dolton is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,614 at the 2000 census. Dolton is located just west of the expressway Interstate 94 and immediately south of the city limits of Chicago. Its most common ZIP code is 60419....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Her music career was inspired by her music teachers, who are still working there as of June 2007.
Johnson's road to music was hardly easy. Her father, Syl
Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.-Biography:Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed...
, was not encouraging, as his own lackluster success with his craft led him to think little of the music industry. On top of that, Johnson suffered from vocal nodules and had to go through speech therapy. And when Johnson was fifteen, her parents split up. Despite these setbacks, Johnson's relationship with both her parents and her music remained strong: she contributed as a singer and songwriter on her father's 1994 album Back in the Game. After having nodes removed from her vocal cords, she took two years of speech therapy. She has seven years of vocal training.
That same year, Johnson began attending Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
in Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, where she worked in classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and gospel choirs as well as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
ensembles. Originally a psychology major, success at a talent show convinced her that her strength had always been in music. She switched to a music major and began recording her own songs. In 1996, she transferred to Normal
Normal, Illinois
Normal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 52,497 as of the 2010 census. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
's Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
, and majored in music. In September 1997, Johnson met an assistant scout for Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
at a charity basketball game. That contact allowed her to send in a demo tape, which had an immediate impact; days later, she got a callback from a Jive executive with an offer for a deal. "That's a miracle", Johnson later observed. "Demo tapes don't get heard like that." The experience renewed her resolve.
Personal
Johnson is the daughter of 1960s R&BRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
Hi Records
Hi Records
Hi Records was a Memphis soul and rockabilly label started in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch , and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce....
singer Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.-Biography:Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed...
and Brenda Thompson (America's first black female police commissioner).
In August 2000, Johnson married former Illinois State University college basketball player Marcus Betts. Betts graduated in December 2000 and became her manager for her first two albums.
In July 2006 she became engaged to basketball player Kiwane Garris
Kiwane Garris
Kiwane Garris is an American former professional basketball player. He was listed as a 6'2" , 183 lb point guard....
. Garris, a fellow Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
an, is a former player for the Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. On August 1, 2007, after forty-four hours of labor, their son Kiwane Garris Jr was born. On Sunday, February 6, 2011 she gave birth to their second son Kingston. He weighed 8 lb 5oz After playing overseas in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for nine years from 2001–2010, Garris returned home. Since Fall 2010 he has been an Assistant Coach at Prairie State College
Prairie State College
Prairie State College is a two-year community college based in Chicago Heights, Illinois and the only college operated by Illinois Community College District 515.-District area:...
. She is a notable member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
Before the Chapters
Before being signed by Jive RecordsJive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
Syleena made a number of assaults on the R&B music scene. In 1995, Syleena released an album with her legendary father Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.-Biography:Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed...
, 'This Time Together By Father And Daughter', featuring songs such as 'Keep On Loving Me' and 'Piece of the Rock'. A rare video of an early song 'It's On' has appeared on video-sharing website YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Her official debut recording album Love Hangover was released on January 26, 1999. The album featured Johnson singing classic R&B songs such as 'Love Hangover' by Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
and 'Baby I'm Scared Of You' by Womack & Womack. The album is hard to come by, often being sold at an extortionate price on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
and Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
. Both 'Love Hangover' and 'This Time Together By Father And Daughter' were released on the Independent Twinight Records.
Not long after 'Love Hangover', Syleena Johnson would sign a Record Deal with Major Label Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
, where she would begin writing the chapters of her life.
Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness (2001)
A hiatus from school in 1998 coincided with the collapse of her relationship with an abusive boyfriend. The ordeal gave Johnson the raw material for her debut album Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness, which traced a young woman's failed relationship and the healing that followed. Johnson's soulful rasp, reminiscent of old school R&B singers, set the tone for her confessional songs about the pain she endured in a bad relationship with a then-27-year-old man in 1997. Johnson grew from the experience and put it behind her, finding strength in a sense of forgiveness and from the spiritual guidance she says she received from God.Johnson counted on her own honesty and real-life experiences to produce her compelling music. The young Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
native confronted her own romantic pitfalls and coming of age story on her debut CD, which featured guest appearances by blues guitarist Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
and contemporary R&B artist R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
.
Johnson wrote all the songs on her debut CD except her first single, "I Am Your Woman," penned by R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
. Johnson began writing songs for her debut CD at age 20 in 1997 and sent her demo to Wayne Williams, V.P. of Artist Development at the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
office of Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
. He signed her and paved the way for the release of her debut album in May 2001. The album received much praise, but despite its No. 1 position on Billboard's Heatseekers chart the week of its release, the album was not a commercial success.
Jon Azpiri of All Music Guide gave the album 4.5/5 stating "Songs about breakups are a staple of modern R&B, so it's no surprise that Syleena Johnson has dedicated an entire album to a relationship gone wrong. What is surprising is that Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness is good enough to keep the listener's attention throughout... Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness is a remarkably polished effort and, as the title suggests, Johnson has only just begun."
Chapter 2: The Voice (2002)
Soon after, Johnson got to work on her follow-up album, Chapter 2: The Voice, which was released November 2002. Once again, the soulstress explored her personal feelings to find a thematic thread for the featured songs. This time, Johnson's shrinking self-esteem—brought about by the lackluster success of her first album and problems with her weight—provided the inspiration. Johnson realized that her strength came from her talent and her unwavering religious faith. Hence, The Voice is what keeps Syleena going. As with Chapter 1, Johnson got some high-profile help from Busta RhymesBusta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
and his Flipmode Squad
Flipmode Squad
The Flipmode Squad is a production crew and musical group, founded and fronted by rapper Busta Rhymes. The first Flipmode album debuted in 1998 with The Imperial, Rampage and Rah Digga went on to record solo efforts...
, who contributed to "Tonight I'm Gonna Let Go", which got airplay at urban radio stations. The single also proved a success in the United Kingdom where it was a Top 40 hit; her first appearance on the UK Charts - she would later reach the Top 10 with All Falls Down
All Falls Down
"All Falls Down" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released as the second single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song was produced by West and features singer Syleena Johnson. It was released in February 2004 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number ten and...
, her collaboration with Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
.
The album is considered by many a 'Soul Classic' that fell under the radar. Songs such as 'No Words' and 'Faithful To You' provoked much emotion through the lyrics and Johnson's unique and bluesy voice. Johnson has stated in the past that 'No Words' is one of her personal favorites, referring to it as "the best song I never wrote", referring to its use of adlibbing as verses. The first single 'Guess What', another R.Kelly production, garnered much attention in the US and also received airplay in the UK, France, Germany and South Africa. The track was well received by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ, Trevor Nelson
Trevor Nelson
Trevor Nelson MBE is an English DJ and presenter.Born in Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, he attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School in Cowper St, Islington, London EC2 and Westminster Kingsway College...
who has consistently labelled Johnson as one of the best soul singers of the modern day era.
'Chapter 2: The Voice' was recently voted #62 in a list of the best Soul Albums of the 2000s, ahead of fellow soul artists such as Jaguar Wright
Jaguar Wright
Jaguar Wright is a soul/R&B vocalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is part of the Okayplayer collective. She has performed along rap acts such as The Roots, Jay-Z, and Blackalicious.-Career:...
, Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
, Conya Doss
Conya Doss
Conya Doss is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter and record producer. In 2001, Conya Doss started her own recording label Conya Doss Songs and began recording her first album. In 2002, Doss released her first singles "Good Good" and "Coffee" which were followed by the release of her album,...
, Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
and Faith Evans
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
.
The December 2002 issue of Vibe Magazine gave the album 3.5 discs out of 5, quoting "Chapter 2: The Voice" as "...A distinctive sound, sometimes sweet, a little tart, and always strong..."
Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, in its February 2003 issue also gave "Chapter 2: The Voice" a glowing review - "...A coherent and engaging R&B album that explores love's vicissitudes with a confessional candour...Classy..."
In Between Chapters
In 2004, Johnson appeared on the MTV Video Music AwardsMTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
to perform "All Falls Down
All Falls Down
"All Falls Down" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released as the second single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song was produced by West and features singer Syleena Johnson. It was released in February 2004 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number ten and...
", her chart hit with Grammy winning rapper Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
. Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
would also appear during the performance. The video to the song earned both West and Johnson four VMA nominations, including "Breakthrough Video" and "Best New Artist in a Video". That same year she also earned a Grammy nomination and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. The song also brought Syleena to the attention of the public outside the United States. The song was a top 10 hit worldwide, including the UK.
Chapter 3: The Flesh (2005)
2005 saw the return of Syleena Johnson with her album Chapter 3: The Flesh. The record's first single, "Hypnotic", featured friend/producer R. KellyR. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
and rapper Fabolous
Fabolous
John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
. The single was relatively well accepted; the video for the single was played worldwide and was noted as being Syleena at her sexiest. The second single, "Another Relationship", became another radio single and a firm favorite amongst fans and critics. Johnson performed the song live at the Apollo, to a standing ovation. The album included Production from Hitmakers R.Kelly, KayGee, & Terence "Tramp Baby" Abney & the Platinum Brothers.