Her very first EP, “Sail Out,” was released in November 2013, and it did so well that it reached the No.1 spot on the R&B chart. Following the success of the mixtape and an increased fan base, she was signed the next year into “Artium Record Imprints” through Def Jam.
On the completion of her studies, she made her way back into the music scene by releasing a mixtape in 2011 which she named, “Sailing Souls.” It featured acts like Drake, Miguel and Kanye West.
More so, she had a strong desire to pursue her education, therefore, she decided to opt out of the deal. In 2003, Jhené Aiko made an attempt to release her debut music album (My Name is Jhene) through record labels including, Sony, The Ultimate Group, and Epic, however, it didn’t work out and the album was never released as a result of differences faced between the labels and herself. Surprisingly, the video won the BET Award for Viewer’s Choice. She was also featured in the debut video album of the group, Uh Huh, in 2002. She later became part of the R&B boy group, B2K, and signed a deal with Epic music when she was just twelve years of age. She has always been influenced by music as her older sisters were already successful singers. By the time she was seven years old, Jhené Aiko had written a good number of rap songs. It was through her sisters that she got the chance to showcase her singing skills to then-producer, Chris Stokes at the young age of five. To make things more interesting, her older sisters, Jamila and Miyoko, were already in the limelight with an R&B musical group called, ‘Gyrl’. She began taking music and vocal lessons as early as age four. Whenever she felt sad, music was her go to pass time and comfort. Notwithstanding, the wonderful part of her childhood was the music. This made her parents decide that she be home schooled. More so, Jhené didn’t have a pleasant experience while in school as a kid because she was constantly teased for her looks of which didn’t fall into the popular racial classifications. Sadly, the violence from the riot led to the death of over 50 people and 2000 people injured. This ill-treatment led to a riot conducted in solidarity for the victim. She has disclosed that she still has memories of the horrific 1992 incident which involved the police brutality of Rodney King. Growing up was a bittersweet experience for her. She comes from a middle-class family made up of her father, Karamo Chilombo, mother, Christina Yamamoto and her four siblings. Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo was born in Los Angeles, California on the 16th of March 1988.
This was a move made in order to generate buzz for her 2003 planned debut album titled “ My Name Is Jhené.” This album was however not released as the singer opted out of her contract with her record label, Sony, as she desired to further her education. To further bring her into the limelight, she was marketed as being a cousin to one of the B2K boys (Lil’ Fizz) whereas this was false. Jhené Aiko is an American singer and songwriter who started off as a contributing vocalist for the famous R&B boy group of the late 90s and early 2000s known as the B2K.