Keyshia Cole

In May 2009, Keyshia Cole started dating ex-NBA player Daniel Gibson, and had their first child, Daniel Hiram Gibson, Jr. on March 2, 2010. Their wedding took place on May 21, 2011. The couple divorced in 2017.

She faces a $4 million lawsuit for allegedly attacking a woman at Birdman's House.

Keyshia Cole was born on October 15, 1981 in Oakland, California, to Francine Lons and Virgil Hunter, who is a boxing trainer. Her father was absent from her life and her mother's drug addiction landed her in prison. Thus family friends Leon and Yvonne Cole adopted her when she was two, and changed her last name to Cole.

Cole met her biological father for the first time in 2016, after a paternity test confirmed their relationship. Her biological mother is still struggling with drug addiction problems.

At the age of 12, Keyshia ventured into the music industry where she met hip-hop recording artist MC Hammer. She also became friends with rapper and actor Tupac Shakur who promised to help her start a singing career. Unfortunately, he died shortly after been shot.

When she was 18, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. She collaborated with artists from her native Bay Area, like Messy Marv and D'Wayne Wiggings.

In 2002, Keyshia Cole was introduced to Ron Fair, an A&R executive. He listened to her unfinished single ‘Love’—which eventually became her first platinum single—and signed her. He also started mentoring her.

‘Never’ was her first single, featuring Eve, which was released on March 23, 2004 as a promotional song for the film ‘Barbershop 2: Back in Business’. However, the single failed to reach the US charts. It was eventually incorporated in her debut album, ‘The Way It Is.’

On November 9, 2004, she released her first single, ‘I Changed My Mind’, from the album ‘The Way It Is’. It was a radio remix, and reached No. 71 in the US. The second single from the album, ‘I Just Want It To Be Over,’ was released on April 5, 2005, and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100.

Before launching her debut album, she released a mixtape ‘Team Invasion Presents Keyshia Cole’ with DJ Green Lantern in June 2005, which included remixes of hip-hop instrumentals and snippets from her album.

She released her debut studio album ‘The Way It Is’ on June 21, 2005. The album, which debuted at No. 6 on the US Billboard 200, and sold 89,000 units in the first week, had five singles, including ‘Love’, ‘Never’, ‘I Just Want It To Be Over’, ‘I Changed My Mind’, and ‘I Should Have Cheated’. It eventually sold over 1.6 million copies. She next featured on a single titled ‘Last Night’ by Diddy from his album ‘Press Play’.

Her debut album ‘The Way It Is’, and her second studio album ‘Just Like You’ were certified platinum and were appreciated by the music critics as well. In fact, the second album remains her highest-selling album till date.

Her fourth studio album, ‘Calling All Hearts’ is another major work of hers which eventually, sold 400,000 copies in the US. Her vocal performance in the ‘Woman to Woman’ album was also highly praised.