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| Keyshia Cole Biography |
Keyshia Cole Biography: Keyshia Cole (born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her second album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007. Her third studio album, A Different Me was released on December 16, 2008 and is certified Gold for selling 900,000+ units in the United States. She also achieved moderate success for her reality/documentary series Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is which aired on BET from 2006-2008 which gave a close look at Cole's career and personal life with her biological mother and sister. In December 2010, she released her fourth studio album, Calling All Hearts.
1981-03 :Early life and career beginnings
Keyisha Cole was born on October 15, 1981 in Oakland, California, where she was raised. Cole was born to Francine "Frankie" Lons and Sal, her now deceased father. She was later adopted by family friend Yvonne Cole and raised by Yvonne's husband's family and friends from the age of two. Yvonne learned that Cole could sing when she was five. At a school function, she snuck away from her mother and the next thing she knew, Cole had won a talent show. Along with her brother Sean,
Cole was first introduced to the music industry at the age of 12, when she met and recorded with MC Hammer. She later formed a friendship with Tupac Shakur, who promised to help start her singing career before he died unexpectedly. Cole remembers Shakur as "really outspoken and really bright. He was definitely a guy who gave off a superstar vibe." Cole moved to Los Angeles when she was 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 executive Ron Fair, who signed her and began mentoring her after hearing her singing a verse of her hit song "Love".
