Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo – better known as her stage name,
Jhené Aiko or Jhené – was born in 1988 in Los Angeles, California. The singer and songwriter, who has African American, Japanese, German Jewish, French, Spanish, Dominican and Native American roots, first started out on her musical career by appearing in a number of music videos for the R&B group, B2K, which featured Omarion as the lead singer. While it was rumoured that she was the cousin of Lil’ Fizz, a member of B2K, this was in fact not true, but simply a marketing tool suggested by record labels Epic Records and Sony in order to push Aiko onto the world stage.
In 2003, she finalised her first album, entitled My Name is Jhené, and it was the subject of much excitement among her three record labels. However, the album never ended up being released to the public, as Aiko decided to continue with her education rather than take her music career further at that point in time.
Fast forward to 2011 and she decided that it was the time to push forward with her musical ambitions, with the release of a mixtape called Sailing Souls. That same year, she signed a recording contract with the label Artium, which is owned by record producer No I.D.s. Since then, Aiko has made numerous appearances on other’s albums and singles, including on Big Sean’s Beware. Last year, she released her debut album, Souled Out.
Musical talent must run in the family – Aiko’s older sisters, Miyoko and Jamila were once in the R&B group, Gyrl.
