Yvette Michele

American R&B singer Yvette Michele was born Michele Yvette Bryant in New York City in 1972. Heavily influenced by both her mother's jazz records collection and more contemporary R&B acts like Prince, Chaka Khan, and the Commodores, she recorded a demo tape and sent it to longtime friend and Hot-97 DJ Funkmaster Flex. "Everyday & Everynight" (1996), her debut single, was featured in the compilation Funkmaster Flex's The Mix Tape, Vol. 1., followed by a second contribution to the mixtape series titled "I'm Not Feeling You" (1997). Both singles cracked the Top 10 of Billboard's US Dance/Electronic Singles Sales chart and caught the attention of Loud!/RCA, which quickly signed her to their roster and released her studio debut My Dream in 1997. The album peaked at Number 46 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and included her breakthrough hit singles, as well as "DJ Keep Playin' (Get Your Music On)" and "Crazy." Later that year, she also appeared on rapper O.C.'s "Far from Yours," which reached Number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.