About Keyshia Cole
Keyshia Myeshia Cole is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Born and raised in Oakland, California, she began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer before signing with A&M Records to release her debut studio album, The Way It Is . It received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America , spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single "Love," and earned two nominations at the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards. Established by the album's success, Cole filmed a reality television series for BET documenting her career, family and personal life titled Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is; the show ran for three seasons, and became one of the most-watched programs in the network's history.
Cole's second album, Just Like You was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Let It Go" , as well as the top 40 singles "I Remember" and "Heaven Sent". The album received four Grammy Award nominations, peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, and received platinum certification by the RIAA. Her third album, A Different Me , was met with continued success, also peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 and receiving platinum certification. Cole's fourth and fifth albums, Calling All Hearts and Woman to Woman both peaked within the top ten of the chart and saw continued praise; the latter was led by the single "Enough of No Love" , the only song of the albums to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Her sixth and seventh albums, Point of No Return and 11:11 Reset were released by Interscope and Epic Records, respectively, and both met with critical and commercial declines.
Dubbed by critics as the "Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", Cole is best known for her soulful voice. Her work has earned her several awards and accolades, including an ASCAP Award and a Billboard Music Award. Following the release of Woman to Woman, she starred in the reality series Keyshia & Daniel: Family First. From 2019 to 2020, she hosted the Fox Soul syndicated television talk show, One on One with Keyshia Cole.
Keyshia Myeshia Johnson was born in Oakland, California on October 15, 1981. She is the daughter of Francine "Frankie" Lons and boxing trainer Virgil Hunter. Her biological mother was addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine. She was adopted at the age of two by family friends Leon and Yvonne Cole, changing her last name to Cole. Cole has four siblings, including two brothers Sean and Sam, a younger sister Elite Noel and an older sister Neffeteria Pugh. At the age of 12, Cole met and recorded with MC Hammer, after being introduced to him by her brother Sean .
She later formed a friendship with Tupac Shakur, who promised to help her start her singing career after asking her to write a hook on his then-upcoming project on the night he got shot in a drive-by shooting unexpectedly, which caused his death six days later. At the age of 16, she became a participant at the East Oakland Youth Development Center , a local youth organization. Cole attended Fremont High School in Oakland, before later attending and graduating from Tracy High School in Tracy, California. Cole moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to pursue a music career. During this time, Cole collaborated with artists from her native Bay Area, among them D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony Toni Tone and Messy Marv. In 2002, she was introduced to A&M Records A&R Ron Fair, whom signed her to the label and began mentoring her after listening to an unfinished version of one of her songs.
In March 2004, Cole's debut single, "Never", a collaboration with American rapper Eve, was released as the second single from the soundtrack to Kevin Rodney Sullivan's comedy film Barbershop 2: Back in Business . In anticipation of her then-upcoming album, Cole and DJ Green Lantern released a mixtape, Team Invasion Presents Keyshia Cole, in February 2005 which features remixes of hip hop instrumentals and snippets. Cole released her debut album, The Way It Is, on June 21, 2005, through A&M Records; it debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and sold 89,000 copies in its first week. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Chink Santana, Metro City and Eve; and was produced by Cole, Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Kerry Brothers Jr., John Legend, Chink Santana and Kanye West, among others. It spawned the singles "I Changed My Mind", " To Be Over", "I Should Have Cheated" and "Love". All appeared on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, with "I Should Have Cheated", and "Love" reaching the top-ten. Upon its release, The Way It Is received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Cole's vocals and musical themes. It received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America and earned her several accolades, including a NAACP Image Award nomination and two Soul Train Music Award nominations at both ceremonies in 2006, respectively. To further promote the album, Cole served as a supporting act on Kanye West's Touch the Sky Tour, which took place from October to December 2005.
Map & Directions To Venue
