She also has a neverending stream of songs in her head that she attributes at least in part to attention-deficit disorder, a condition that she calls "a gift."

But it wasn’t until the day a high school track coach stopped her in the hallway Chrisette had been jogging down the corridor singing that her artistic fate was sealed. The coach gave her a CD of Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz’ "The Girl from Ipanema," a song that would establish her love for mixing jazz melodies with what she grew up with: gospel vocals and hip-hop beats.

"I went up to my jazz teacher in school, and said, ’I need you to give me some more of that,"’ she says, recalling the discovery of a cabinet full of classic jazz music. "Every day after that, at lunch period, I would go into the piano room and practice those songs."

With Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday as newfound heroes, Chrisette went on to major in music at 5 Towns College. A show at New York City’s Village Underground led to opening gigs for India. Arie, and eventually a contract with Island Def Jam (Jay-Z is president and CEO of its Def Jam Recordings unit). "Lost Ones," her collaboration with Jay-Z, has been climbing Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop songs and Hot 100 charts, where it now stands at No. 19 and No. 60, respectively.

Chrisette, who is finishing up her own album on Island Def Jam, was featured on the Heineken Red Star Soul tour this fall and performed onstage with Jay-Z at his Radio City concert.

She also wrote and sang hooks on Nas’ album "Hip-Hop Is Dead," including on single "Can’t Forget About You," a nostalgic reminiscence that’s bubbling under the R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.

Being on Nas’ album had particular significance for Chrisette, whose mother was raised in the same Queensbridge housing project as the rapper.

Childhood memories of her own, particularly of the homeless women and girls her family took into their home, inspired her own album. Themes include self-esteem, commitment, and abstinence.

"I don’t want to come off preachy, but I’m not afraid to be a Christian in this industry and to really believe what I believe in," says Chrisette, a stance made easier to take with respectful and respected artists like Nas and Jay-Z behind her.

Source : Billboard