R&B Diva Syleena Johnson Sits Down with The Trending Report

15 Mar, 2013

It was a quiet afternoon in Illinois.  There was a calmness surrounding Chicago and its’ surrounding suburbs.  The kind where spending the day inside, wrapped in a blanket with the remote control was ideal.  A winter storm swept through the city days earlier and the residents were using the weekend drizzle of rain to recover from its remnants.  It was muggy- the sun hidden behind clouds.

There was little movement in the Lobby of the Wyndham hotel in Lisle.  A young couple accompanied by their family had just finished a tour of the facility for their upcoming nuptials.  The receptionist straightened stacks of paper to fill the time.  I was there to meet singer and cast member of TV One’s hit reality series R&B Divas, Syleena Johnson.

She returned to her hometown to perform at a gala hosted by the local chapter of the NAACP.  But it would be a short visit as her series of intimate concerts that would take her to Amsterdam, France and London were days away.  When I entered her room she was debating the need to ‘dress up’ for the evenings’ event.  Her mother’s attendance would be the deciding factor in the nights wardrobe decision-yes; she’d have to ‘dress up.’

But for now, the mother of two had a few minutes before sound check and the ten minute time allotted in between for the interview had started.
Dressed casually in black leggings highlighted with silver designs, a black tank and over-sized cardigan, Johnson propped a pillow against her back, wrapped her cardigan closer and adjusted to comfort in her king-sized bed.

Within minutes it was as if I hadn’t met her for the first time less than five minutes earlier.  It was hard to detect any ‘diva’ in the Grammy nominated songstress.

There were no frills and little thrill to the room.  It was your basic bed, chair, ottoman, desk combination.  There was no make-up artist.  No hair stylist- Just Syleena, the girl from Harvey with big dreams and the drive to make them come true.

Syleena hit the music scene with a series of albums that chronicled the chapters of her life.  Her vocals took us through the pain and heartbreak she endured during an abusive relationship in her debut album on Jive Records, Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness in 2002.

Fans followed along her musical path of hits including I Am Your Woman, Tonight I’m Going to Let Go and Down & Out.  They watched her perform ‘All Falls Down’ alongside Kanye West on the 2004 MTV Award show.  Even through weight gain, she sustained a quality fan base in an industry where looks so often determine the artists’ future.

She would leave Jive records and release two albums on her own Aneelys Records.  The 2008 release of Chapter 4: Love Pains and in 2011, Chapter 5: Underrated. A title that reflects a level of commercial success that never quite matched the critical acclaim her albums received.

Syleena could relate to a certain disappointment as she was armed with a first-hand look at the roller coaster ride that is the music industry through her father, Sly Johnson’s career. While his experience originally deemed him skeptical of Syleena following his footsteps, her talent was undeniable.

True Syleena fans remember her pre-Jive Record recordings: The young Syleena singing alongside her father on the 15-track album, This Time Together by Father and Daughter and the 1999 independent release of Love Hangover where she sang R&B classics by the likes of Diana Ross.

These days, Syleena’s life is coming full circle.  She has a new television fan base with TV One’s most watched reality series R&B Divas and a host of entrepreneurial endeavors in tow. One of which is taping a series of exercise DVD’s-a project that was interrupted during the filming of the second season of the reality series. “It’s all Nicci’s fault,” Syleena asserted referring to Nicci Gilbert-Daniels, cast-member and co-creator of the show.

“It’s still in editing because I had to re-shoot the video because of all of the drama.”  Syleena hesitated to give specifics but insists reshooting gave her the opportunity to have a better product.  “It’s better this time because now I have a DJ in the video as well as my trainer who’s also pregnant.”

Mommy’s Got Soul is the first in a series that’s designed for mothers who want to keep their bodies in shape during pregnancy as well as those wanting to get back to their post-pregnancy weight.

The exercise routines are safe enough to do after the 6th week of pregnancy and strong enough to continue after the baby is born.  “It’s designed so the audience will go through the stages of pregnancy.  They will not only see my progress but will progress along with me” Syleena said.

Syleena is hoping the popularity of the tv series will translate into success on other projects.  When she’s not on the set taping her DVD collection, her time is spent in the studio.  She’s currently working on three albums.  If everything stays on schedule they will be released within months of each other.

A duets album with Grammy nominated artist Musiq entitled Nine is set to be released this summer.   A fitting name since the pair recorded the nine songs on the album in nine days, which was the original plan.   “Its American reggae infused with R&B.” The collaboration happened while they were in the studio recording a compilation cd.  “We both were saying how we’d love to do a reggae album when he said, ‘Let’s do it together” and it literally went from there” Syleena said.  The nine songs consist of three duets and three songs sang individually by each artist.

“We started videotaping ourselves so that we can create footage and a documentary to go along with the album.”

Syleena is also putting the finishing touches on her next solo album, Chapter 6: Couples Therapy, that she’s hoping to get out by the end of the year.  “Bangladesh is the Executive Producer for the album and Sean Garrett did a lot of writing-I’m so excited about this project.”

Still Syleena found time to record a second album with her father, Rebirth of Soul, that’s due out early next year, 2014. “The album pays homage to all of the soul greats from the 50’s and beyond.  We remade everything from that era with live instruments.  Its real musicians, playing real music.  Think orchestra.   River deep, Mountain High is the last song we have to record.”

Working with her father and Musiq proved to be a pleasurable experience.  Something that can’t always be said for Syleena’s R&B Diva cast-mates: Nicci Gilbert-Daniels, Faith Evans, Monifah Carter, Keke Wyatt and newly added members to season two Angie Stone and Latocha Scott.

“I’m not always in the mood to be around a bunch of heifers” Syleena contends.  “I’m not always thrilled to be on the set with a bunch of strong-willed, strong-minded, selfish heifers.  But it’s what we are.”  She can’t help but laugh at the thought.  “It’s what makes us divas. We’re out of control.”

“I’m sure we all get on each other’s nerves but at the end of the day, it’s all in love.”  While a lot of yelling may go on, Syleena highlights that while there are several animated arguments taking place in the series, there will never be any physical altercations.

“We will curse each other out…smooth out, but there won’t be any hands thrown” Syleena says.  This, along with the fact that the entire cast had some form of friendship prior to joining the show, helps set them apart from the influx of reality shows.

There will be noticeable changes in season two.  Aside from the addition of  two ladies joining the cast, fans will see less of Faith Evans.  “Faith made a decision to be less visible on season two to focus on family.  She is really just needing to be with her kids more” Syleena said.  “She has teenagers and they need her attention right now  so she has to be closer to home.”

Despite the drama that may occur on set, Syleena contends that it’s all worth it.  “It’s a blessing to have a platform to promote yourself and all that you are doing.”  And this diva is doing a lot.

B. Spencer

Mentioned In This Post: @Syleena_Johnson