Megan Rochell is an American

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

singer, who was formerly signed to

Def Jam Records Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. After parting ways with the label, she signed a production deal with producer Rodney Jerkins of Darkchild Productions. Rochell also inked a publishing deal with EMI/Blackwood publishing within the same time frame.

Biography

At the age of 11, Rochell was a five-time winner on ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harvey ...

''. Several years later, she met

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

and started working on her recording career. One day outside of

, she met Boyz II Men's

Nathan Morris Nathan Bartholomew Morris (born June 18, 1971) is an American baritenor, singer, businessman, and the founding member of American band Boyz II Men. He was the host of the show Hit Properties on the DIY Network where he bought and renovated a ...

and sang for him which prompted Morris to sign her to his management company. Then Rochell secured herself a deal with

. She was enrolled at

Rowan University Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents. ...

, originally as a business major, then switching to secondary elementary education before dropping out after getting the record deal with Def Jam. Rochell's debut album, ''You, Me and the Radio'', featured collaborations from Rodney Jerkins,

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

, the Underdogs, and Stargate. The album was scheduled for released on June 20, 2006, but was never released. Rochell chalked the industry changing, along with the management at Def Jam, with Jay Z becoming president, Rihanna being the big new artist, and many other new artists they were trying to market. However, the project leaked in full online shortly after the project's shelving via the promotional CD. The following year, she collaborated with rapper Peedi on the single "Take Me Home." In 2008, she released ''Vibe Love Party'' mixtape and promoted through on her MySpace page. Additionally, she collaborated with Skinny & Scales on the single "We're Gonna Make It" released in 2009. In 2015, her digital single "Hell Nah" was released on December 28, 2015. It was later re-released on February 4, 2016 through different label distribution. In 2016, Rochell released a new single called "I'm Busy!" on digital services. Later that year, she self-released her debut album digitally onto sites such as

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights ...

with a slightly altered tracklist and various bonus tracks not originally available on the original album. It received a limited vinyl release in 2018. In 2017, she released her first EP, ''Insight'' independently and discussed she was working on a girls-only mixtape. Additionally, she spent some time as a songwriter for other artists such as

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released the ...

K. Michelle Kimberly Michelle Pate (born March 4, 1982) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She is most known from VH1's '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' and after appearing as a regular cast member for two seasons on the reality televi ...

and

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

. In late 2018, she released two digital singles "X" and "Because of Love" ahead of her new EP ''New Wave Music'', which was released on November 22.

Personal life

She has a son named Austin with her husband Sam Crush.
/ref> She cites Brandy,

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, Aaliyah,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

, and Mariah Carey as influences.

Discography

Albums

*2006: ''You, Me and the Radio''

Mixtapes

*2008: ''Vibe Love Party''

EPs

*2017: ''Insight'' *2018: ''New Wave Music''

Singles

References

External links

Megan Rochell Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochell, Megan 1985 births African-American women singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Def Jam Recordings artists Living people Rowan University alumni Singers from New York City 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state)