Genre: R&B
Keyshia Michelle Cole (born October 15, 1981) is an American Grammy-nominated R&B singer-songwriter, and record producer known for her soulful voice. She released her platinum selling debut album The Way It Is in 2005, and her second album Just Like You in 2007, which has gone platinum as well. Keyshia's third studio album "A Different Me" will be released on December 16, 2008. The lead single "Playa Cardz Right" features the late rapper 2Pac and was offically released on Oct 8, 2008. Cole is currently filming the third season of her BET reality series, The Way It Is, which she confirmed is set to premiere in November of 2008. Cole cites singers Mary J. Blige, Allure and Brandy as her biggest influences.
Keyshia Cole was born on October 15, 1981 in Oakland, California to an African-American mother Frankie Lons, and an Italian father Sal who was estranged from the family. Cole entered the ACS system because of her biological mother's, drug addiction made her incapable of caring for Keyshia. She was adopted by her mother's friends Yvonne and Leon Cole Jr. at 2 years old. She is the younger sister of Oakland based rapper Nutt-So.
Cole's first experiences with the music industry began at the age of 12, when she recorded with MC Hammer and associated with 2Pac. In 2004, she attracted the attention of A&M Records executive Ron Fair. The following year, her Platinum-debut album The Way It Is was released, featuring the hit singles "I Changed My Mind", and "I Should Have Cheated", and "Love". The album debuted at #6 on the U.S. charts and sold 89,000 copies in the first week of release.
Her sophomore album, Just like You, was released in 2007. It features the singles "Last Night" featuring Diddy, "Let It Go" featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim, "I Remember", "Shoulda Let You Go", and "Heaven Sent". It debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 300,000 copies in its first week.
At the 50th Grammy Awards, Cole was nominated for 2 Grammys, Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyshia_Cole