Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American R&B singer. Born and raised in Oakland, California, she began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer before ultimately signing with A&M Records, under whom she released her debut studio album, The Way It Is, in 2005. The record was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and earned two nominations at the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards. Riding on the album's success, Cole would begin filming a reality television series for BET documenting her career, family and personal life called 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.
In 2007, Cole released her second studio album, Just Like You, which spawned three number-one R&B singles — "Let It Go" (featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim), "I Remember" and "Heaven Sent" — and earned her four Grammy nominations. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Her third album, A Different Me (2008), was met with generally positive reviews and became the second of her career to debut atop of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as well as number two on the Billboard 200. Another commercial success, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA.
Cole's fourth album, Calling All Hearts (2010), included the singles "I Ain't Thru" (featuring Nicki Minaj) and "Take Me Away". Her fifth studio album, Woman to Woman (2012), peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. It 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.
Early life
Keyshia Myeshia Johnson was born in Oakland, California on October 15, 1981. She is the daughter of Francine "Frankie" Lons (1960-2021) and boxing trainer Virgil Hunter. Cole is of African-American and Mexican heritage. 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. 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.