Tonya Michelle Johnston (born July 17, 1973), known professionally as Solé, is an American rapper from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

Early life and education

Solé was born on July 17, 1973 in Kansas City, to Phyllis Frazier and James Johnston, Her siblings are Sean and Charles (Chuck) Johnston, Sierra and Tamika Gamble. She is of West African, East African, Tamil (South Indian), Native American descent through her mother side and North African, Eastern European and British descent through her father side. She attended cosmetology school and college in the early 1990s where she studied Political Science and Psychology before securing a record deal with

Dreamworks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

and

RedZone Entertainment RedZone Entertainment is an Atlanta-based, music-production entity. Redzone's discography includes collaborations with many artists, producers, and composers of note, and is responsible for over 25 million records sold. RedZone Entertainment has ...

Career

Solé descended from a family of musical talent, song writers, singers and musicians. She began rapping at the age of 6 and formed a group called Divine with her best friend Shurhea Mitchell in 1986. They would perform at local talent shows and in 1990 they won a trip to the BRE (Black Radio Exclusive) in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, to perform at a showcase in front of record label execs and other artists. They were offered a record deal by JDK Records and flew to New York to record. Her father, who was managing them at the time, didn't feel it was a good deal so they went back home and started college. She once again began recording in 1997 with

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...

and Don Juan of Kansas City fame and traveled to LA to record. She met Thabiso Nkhereanye who introduced her to Christopher Tricky Stewart of Red Zone Entertainment, who signed her to a production deal. Her career took off as a hardcore female

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist by attracting attention in the summer of 1999 with her appearance on J.T. Money's hit single "Who Dat," which reached number 1 on the US Rap chart, remaining there for 8 weeks (a record at the time), winning number 2 on the US R&B chart, and number 5 on the US Hot 100. Who Dat won "Rap Single of the Year" at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards as well. In September 1999, she released her debut album ''Skin Deep'', which was an overall success in the United States attaining Gold status and garnered her a nomination for "Rap Artist of the Year" at the Billboard Music Awards. She also went on to win several ASCAP Music awards that same year. Her highly anticipated return to music was guided by a desire to offer music that is empowering and inspiring, reflective of the path that she embarked upon when she left the industry. In 2011 she was featured on “Naal Naachna" by UK based Bhangra artist Jassi Sidhu lead singer of British Indian bhangra band B21. In February 2012 she featured on a song called "A New Look" by Focus. In 2017 she was featured on "SocMed Digital Heroin" from

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

30th-anniversary album "Nothing Is Quick In The Desert". On September 29, 2019, Solé released her second album ''Encoded.''

Personal life

Solé met

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

in June 1999 and began dating in October 1999. The two became engaged in August 2000. They resided in

Brandywine, Maryland Brandywine is the name of an unincorporated area in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, that refers both to a census-designated place (CDP) and a zip code area which is much larger (20613), whose area ...

. They have two daughters together: Story (b. March 29, 2001) and Dream Sarae Lumpkin (b. November 1, 2002). Solé married Ginuwine on September 8, 2003 in

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town, Cayman Islands, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of L ...

. Solé has four daughters in total and one granddaughter. Her daughters De'jan Nicole Lee, born in 1992, and Cypress Soleil Lee, born in 1995, are from a previous relationship. Her granddaughter, Sage Lotus Lee, was born May 17, 2020. In 2014, Solé filed for divorce;

announced their separation in November of that year. Their divorce was finalized July 22, 2015. On August 27, 2017, Solé married

band member and rapper

Professor Griff Richard Duane Griffin (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name Professor Griff, is an American spoken word artist, and lecturer currently residing in Atlanta. He was a member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, serving as the group's ...

, taking his last name Shah and legally changing her full name to Aja Shah.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Solo

As featured performer

Guest appearances

References

External links

Solé's Official Website
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Solé interview on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sole 1973 births Living people Rappers from Kansas City, Missouri DreamWorks Records artists African-American women rappers African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters 21st-century American women rappers Hardcore hip-hop artists Midwest hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Missouri