Michel'le Denise Toussant (born December 5, 1970), also spelled Toussaint, is an American R&B singer known for her songs from 1989 to the early 1990s. Her highest charting song is the top ten

US Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...

hit "No More Lies". Between 2013 and 2015, Michel'le was one of six members on the TV One reality show '' R&B Divas: Los Angeles''. She is also the subject of the 2016 biopic '' Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le''.

Career

Michel'le, a native of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, was originally a featured female vocalist of

World Class Wreckin' Cru World Class Wreckin' Cru was an American electro group, during the 1980s in the Los Angeles area, that contributed to rap's development. Two of its members, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, attained greater fame as members of N.W.A, which pioneered gangsta ...

's 1987 single "Turn Off the Lights". She was called at the last minute to record vocals for Mona Lisa, who could not make it to the studio. Michel'le was signed to

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred ...

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

. In 1989, her self-titled debut album was released, produced entirely by then-boyfriend, rapper

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

. The album contained the single "No More Lies" which peaked at No. 7 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and the hit R&B singles "Nicety" and "Something in My Heart". '' Michel'le'' was certified Gold on April 25, 1990, for sales of over 500,000 copies in the US. During the Suge Knight shakedown incident, Jerry Heller was forced to sign over Dr. Dre, The D.O.C. and Michel'le. The West Coast All-Stars, in which she had a role, scored a nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 33rd Grammy Awards for the single " We're All in the Same Gang" - the West Coast All-Stars also included

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album ''Stone Cold Rhymin found international acc ...

, Ice-T, JJ Fad as well as

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

members

, MC Ren, and Eazy E. In 1998, nine years after the release of her first album, she released her second album, ''

Hung Jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. T ...

'', on

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ...

but it garnered little attention and no hit singles. As of 2013, worldwide sales for the album stood at under 100,000 copies. Michel'le also provided vocals on

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's song "Run tha Streets" on his album ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop ...

'', and

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albu ...

's song " Let's Play House" on their debut ''

Dogg Food ''Dogg Food'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound, released on Halloween 1995. Its controversial lyrics were the subject of shareholder protest. The album was supposed to be released in July 1995, but as a result of t ...

''. Soon after Dr. Dre's departure from Death Row Records in 1996, Michel'le and Dr. Dre parted ways after he became engaged to another woman. Michel'le contributed to the soundtrack '' Dysfunktional'' in 2003. She has since confirmed through several media outlets that she's been working on new material and looking for a label for her third album. In 2011 and 2014, Michel'le released new singles "Freedom to Love" and "It Still Hurts", though she hasn't released an album since 1998''.'' A trailer video for her single "Freedom to Love" can be seen on YouTube. In 2013, Michel'le was part of the cast of TV One's '' R&B Divas LA''. Her character was left out of the 2015 film ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced ...

'', even though she played a role in N.W.A. Michel'le was included in the notorious N.W.A diss track

No Vaseline "No Vaseline" is a diss track by American rapper Ice Cube from his 1991 album '' Death Certificate''. The song was written and produced by Ice Cube and Sir Jinx. The UK release of ''Death Certificate'' omitted this song, along with the 46-secon ...

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's 1991 double platinum effort, ''

Death Certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...

,'' in a reference to a video the group made with the female singer. This omission gave her the opportunity to tell her story. On October 15, 2016, Lifetime aired a biopic about her life titled '' Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le.'' She was portrayed by Rhyon Nicole Brown. It tells the story of her

abusive Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

relationship with Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, her experiences with

, and the journey she went through to find herself. Her intentions with the biopic is to help encourage other victims of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

. Michel'le was cast as herself in the stage play '' Love Jones: The Musical''.

Personal life

Michel'le met Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Romelle Young, at 16 years old when doing a vocal part for a group known as the World Class Wreckin' Cru. The song was titled as "Turn Off the Lights" and was released in 1987. It later peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Charts. They began dating a few months after meeting one another. Michel'le was 16 and later turned 17 in December, and Dre, who had a baby on the way from a previous relationship, was 22. The couple later became engaged and had their son, Marcel, in February 1991. Marcel was Michel'le's first child and Dr. Dre's sixth. After their son was born, their relationship became more strained due to Dr. Dre's drinking, infidelity and volatile behavior. Michel'le has stated that Dre was physically abusive throughout their relationship. Her injuries included a broken nose (which she had to have surgically corrected), a cracked rib and five black eyes. She recalled on ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

'' After one argument Dre shot at Michel'le, missing her by inches. She left the bullet in the door for him to see and said, "he never tried to shoot me anymore. Thank God. But the beatings were—it was a lot… His last wife, I just couldn't do it anymore. It's too much." She then began to self medicate with prescription pills and alcohol. Michel'le left Dre after she discovered that he was engaged to another woman. At her lowest point with Dre, Death Row Records CEO/co-founder Suge Knight stepped in to help get Michel'le clean by sending her to rehab. In 1999, Michel'le married Suge while he was in prison. She filed for divorce six years later. Michel'le discovered that her marriage to Suge was invalid through the divorce process because he was still married to his ex-wife Sharitha. Michel'le stated Suge hit her once, dislocating her jaw. They have a daughter, Bailei (b. 2002). In 2009, Michel'le went to court over unpaid spousal and child support from Suge. In 2015, after Dre was criticized for omitting his past of abusing women in the film ''Straight Outta Compton'', he issued a statement to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' apologizing to the women he has hurt. Michel'le did not think the apology was genuine and said she believed he released the statement to protect his brand. "He apologized to the public. I don't think that was an apology to me, because if it was, he would've either called me without the public and said 'Michel'le, I am so sorry for what I did to you 20-something years ago,' that's an apology," she said.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Michel'le
at VH1.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel'le Living people 1970 births African-American women singers African-American songwriters American people of Creole descent American soul singers Ruthless Records artists Death Row Records artists People from Los Angeles New jack swing musicians American female hip hop musicians American hip hop singers Atco Records artists Songwriters from California American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers