About Syleena Johnson

Real name: Syleena Johnson. Born: Sept. 2, 1976 in Harvey, Illinois.
Raised in the greater Chicago area.

Syleena is the daughter of blues/soul singer and music producer Sylvester "Syl" Johnson, who recorded with numerous artists in the 1950s and '60s before starting a solo career in the mid-1960s. Her mother is Brenda Johnson, who was the first black female police commissioner in the United States. She grew up the suburbs outside of Chicago and developed a love for music and singing at an early age and even participating in the Gospel choir at Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois. Her father, did not encourage her singing career, since he'd had his ups and downs in the industry.

Syleena's life before becoming a known artist had several setbacks, including her parents splitting up when she was 15 and also having to have surgery to remove nodules on her vocal chords, which required two years of speech therapy to recover from. But her first break as a professional came in 1994 when she appeared as a singer and songwriter on her father's 1994 comeback album Back In The Game. (Also featured on the album were Syleena's uncles, Blues guitarist and singer Jimmy Johnson and bassist Mack Thompson.) Also in 1994, Syleena began taking classes at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, majoring in music.

In 1996, Syleena transferred back home to Illinois State University, still focusing on a music major. In 1997, she cut a demo tape which eventually led to her being signed by Jive Records. After taking time off from school to deal with personal issues, she used her life experiences in the songs on her debut album, Chapter 1 : Love, Pain & Forgiveness, which was released in May, 2001. As of mid-2008, she has released three albums, all of which were critically acclaimed though not big sellers. Her music generally deals with very personal themes and real-life situations. Her fourth album is due out in January 2009.

"I am an old soul especially because I am the youngest of a bunch of girls in my family. It was five girls and a boy, and I’m the youngest so I’ve always had to, you know, rise to the occasion. I just matured faster because everybody was older than me. I think that’s what kind of made me more mature but, also my dad was a blues singer and we used to listen to old school and all kinds of music. I think that got into my system and spirit as well. So, it was like I didn’t have a choice. I guess that’s why, musically, I come across as old school." -- Syleena Johnson to singersroom.com, April 2008.

2001: Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness
2002: Chapter 2: The Voice
2005: Chapter 3: The Flesh
2009: Chapter 4: Labor Pains