Jhené Aiko Artistfacts

Jhene Aiko Artistfacts

March 16, 1988
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her performing name, Jhene Aiko, is pronounced "Juh-nay Ahh-ee-ko."
Jhené Aiko has a rather diverse ethnic background: Her father, Dr. Karamo Chilombo, is Native-American, German Jewish and African-American; her mother, Christina Yamamoto, is Japanese, Spanish and Dominican. According to Aiko, her DNA results came in as 25% Asian, 33% African and 34% European.
Her older sister, Mila J, is also a singer and appeared in the 1991 video for Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls."
Aiko started out in the tween R&B world while signed to The Ultimate Group. She contributed backing vocals and appearing in videos for B2K in the early 2000s as well as serving as the boy band's opening act on their Scream Tour 3. Aiko also recorded a song in 2002 for The Master of Disguise soundtrack.
Jhené Aiko put her budding music career on the back burner in the mid-2000s to continue her education. She also conceived a daughter with R&B singer O'Ryan. Namiko Love was born on November 19, 2008.
Namiko can be seen tugging on her mother's hair as she tries to write a song in the video for "The Pressure." She can also be heard duetting with her mom on another Souled Out track "Promises."
Aiko honed her electro-soul sound through free mixtapes and in 2012 signed with producer No I.D.'s Def Jam subsidiary Atrium. A friendship with Drake led to their Nothing Was The Same collaboration "From Time." Aiko joined the Toronto MC on his Saturday Night Live performance of the song and also supported him on tour..
Before releasing her debut Sail Out EP in November 2013, Aiko provided vocals for several other artists including Big Sean ("Beware") and J. Cole ("Sparks Will Fly.")
She lost her brother Miyagi to a brain tumor on July 19, 2012. Aiko has a tattoo with tiny characters on her left wrist that represents the last Tweet Miyagi sent to her: "Why aren't you smiling?"
Aiko is a practicing Buddhist. She gravitated towards the religion at the age of 15 because "it's not very preachy" and it requires that "you let go of the ego."
She had her second child, son Noah Hasani, in 2022 with Big Sean, whom she started dating in 2016 when they made a collaborative album called Twenty88.
Aiko married the producer Dot da Genius in 2014. They separated in 2015 and divorced in 2017. Soon after the divorce was finalized, she showed her love for Big Sean by getting a tattoo of his face on her arm.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Brass In PocketPretenders

Chrissie Hynde got the phrase "Brass In Pocket" from a Northern England slang term meaning you had some money, "brass" meaning coins.

TemptedSqueeze

The Squeeze song "Tempted" is one of their few with lead vocals by Paul Carrack, who sang the Ace song "How Long" and was in Mike + The Mechanics.

God Bless AmericaKate Smith

Irving Berlin said "God Bless America" was "not a patriotic song, but rather an expression of gratitude."

Radar LoveGolden Earring

At the end of "Radar Love," the driver dies in a crash but maintains a psychic bond with the woman he was racing to see. The song's lyricist was inspired by stories of extrasensory perception (ESP).