Syleena Johnson: Soul of Love

SYLEENA JOHNSON

A SOUL OF LOVE  

Love heals all wounds. In Syleena Johnson’s case it not only heals, it nurtures. The soulful songtress grew up in Chicago and always had an ear for music at a young age, listening to artists such as Tina Turner, The Dells, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, and Al Green. These talented soul artists inspired Syleena Johnson to leap forward and apply her love for music in an effort to start her own career.

The road to success is never a smooth one. As stated on soultracks.com, Syleena did not have an encouraging team by her side. Her father, Syl Johnson, was not much of a supporter due to his “lackluster” success and he had very little interest in the music industry. But in an interview on respect-mag.com, Syleena said that she was influenced by music by default because her father used to play the guitar every single day and he played records all the time. Not only did the artist have to deal with her father’s lack of respect for the music industry, she also had problems with her voice as well. Syleena developed vocal nodules and had to attend speech therapy. While the singer was in school, she also dealt with an abusive boyfriend also. But through it all Syleena remained strong in her music and continued to maintain a strong love for her family even after her parents split. Some of these issues are the main influences of her music. In her song, “Guess What” off her album entitled “Chapter II: The Voice,” she is basically telling her fans not to settle for less in a relationship. The source of her lyrics set the tone for the bad relationships she has had in the past.  

Not only is Syleena a powerful force in the music industry but she is also a creative mind behind some of her lyrics. According to starpulse.com, she wrote all the songs on her debut CD, “The Best of Syleena Johnson,” except her first single, “I Am a Woman,” which was penned by R. Kelly. She began writing songs for her debut CD at age 20 in 1997 and sent her demo to Wayne Williams, V.P. of Artist Development at the Chicago office of Jive Records. Without a doubt, he signed her and paved the way for the release of her debut album in May 2001.

Diva is certainly a word to describe Ms. Johnson. During an interview on respect-mag.com they asked Syleena about a lyric in her song “Label Me.”

“That’s that girl with R.Kelly and sang with Kanye.” The interviewer asked if she was trying to move away from this association, and if she felt that this album would do that. The singer responded, “I don’t mind anybody linking me to those two. What I don’t like is this: “That’s that girl that sang with R.Kelly?” “First off all, I didn’t sing with him, we didn’t sing together. Second of all, we were label mates. He did not discover me and I am not his protégé.” Just this statement alone lets people know that she is trying to pave her own way. The boss lady goes on to tell respect-mag.com that she does not like to be labeled. She adds, “A lot times in the industry as a woman, to have any type of anything, you have to be connected with a man. It’s always going to be this way, I try and break from that.”  

Syleena continues to embrace life and makes the best of it. Syleena Johnson is now on her way to reality shows. Starring alongside Singers Faith Evans, Tweet and Angie Stone these stars will be in an upcoming reality show called “Diary of a Diva” according to Billboard.com. The show will be similar to “Basketball Wives,” the show will let fans see the women as spouses and mothers, but do not expect any over-the-top fights. She also just released a new album called, “Chapter V: Underrated.” Johnson states on eurweb.com that she is trying to become a new artist with this album but at the same time letting her old fans know that she is still here.

-Deidre Palode