Keyshia Cole

She is the daughter of Francine "Frankie" Lons (1960-2021) and boxing trainer Virgil Hunter.

Cole is African-American and Mexican-American.

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 (also known as Nutt-So).

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 (EOYDC), 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.

Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress.

Keyshia Myeshia Johnson was born in Oakland, California on October 15, 1981.

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 (2004).

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 (2005).

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", "(I Just Want It) 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.

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.

The album received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single "Love," and earned two nominations at the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards.

Established by its 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.

It received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and earned her several accolades, including a NAACP Image Award nomination and two Soul Train Music Award nominations at both ceremonies in 2006, respectively.

In June 2006, Cole was featured on "(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me" by Sean Paul from the soundtrack of the romantic dance film Step Up (2006).

It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit in several other countries, including Canada, Switzerland and Finland.

On July 9, 2006, it was reported that Cole had signed with BET for a reality series, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is.

Chronicling her personal life, family dynamics and professional career, the series premiered three days following its announcement.

Cole's second album, Just Like You (2007) spawned three number-one R&B singles—"Let It Go" (featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim), "I Remember" and "Heaven Sent"—and received four Grammy Award nominations.

The album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and received platinum certification as well.

Her third album, A Different Me (2008), was met with positive reception and likewise peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and received platinum certification.

Cole's fourth album, Calling All Hearts (2010) included the singles "I Ain't Thru" (featuring Nicki Minaj) and "Take Me Away".

Her fifth album, Woman to Woman (2012) peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Enough of No Love" (featuring Lil Wayne), which peaked within the top-ten of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

That same year, she starred in the reality series Keyshia & Daniel: Family First.

Further label changes saw the release of Point of No Return (2014) under Interscope and 11:11 Reset (2017) under Epic.

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.

From 2019 to 2020, she hosted the Fox Soul syndicated television talk show One on One with Keyshia Cole.