2006–2008: Musical beginnings and I Am Michele has been featured on several
hip hop albums, such as
The Game's
LAX, on the song "Let Us Live". On
Jay-Z's
Kingdom Come, she appears on the second single, "
Lost One", while on
Nas'
Hip Hop Is Dead, she is featured three times: on the album's second single "
Can't Forget About You", the
Kanye West-produced "Still Dreaming", and the final track, "Hope". She also appeared on the bonus track "Slow Down" from
Ghostface Killah's
The Big Doe Rehab. Michele's debut album,
I Am, was released on June 18, 2007. The song "Your Joy" was released on
iTunes as a free single of the week. The album spawned four singles: "If I Have My Way", "
Best of Me", "
Be OK", and "Love Is You". The album's lead single, "If I Have My Way", charted at number 24 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Best of Me" charted on the US
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks at number 21. In September 2008, Michele performed twice at the Evening of Stars: A Tribute to
Patti LaBelle.
2009–2012: Epiphany, Let Freedom Reign, and mixtape releases In mid-2008, Michele began recording her second album,
Epiphany. In January 2009,
the album's title track was released as the lead single. It marked Michele's first solo entry to the
Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 89. Released on May 5, 2009, the album debuted at number 1 on the
Billboard 200, selling 83,000 copies in its opening week. A week after the release of
Epiphany, another single was released, titled "Blame It on Me". It didn't repeat the success of "Epiphany (I'm Leaving)"; however, it peaked at number 28 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was followed by two more: "What You Do" in July and "Fragile" in November. Originally, "What You Do" was planned to be the second single from the album. The song features
Ne-Yo, who worked with Michele on the album. After the release of
Epiphany, she started working on her next album. Michele has worked with rapper
Rick Ross and Canadian rapper/singer
Drake on the fourth single of Ross's album
Teflon Don, called "Aston Martin Music". The song was released on October 5, 2010. Michele released her third studio album,
Let Freedom Reign, on November 30, 2010. The record included the singles "I'm a Star" and "Goodbye Game". "I'm a Star" was released in September, and was followed by "Goodbye Game" and "I Don't Know Why, But I Do", both in November, just before the release of the album. The record features Michele performing hip-hop, R&B, as well as the dance-pop influenced "So Cool". The album debuted at number 25 on the US
Billboard 200 chart, selling 42,000 copies in its first week. It also peaked at number 7 on the US
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. On November 5, 2010, her first mixtape,
Love Thy Brother, was released. On December 7, 2012, her second mixtape, titled
Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation, followed. The mixtape contained some songs recorded for her fourth studio album, such as the single "Charades", among other tracks.
2013–present: Better, R&B Divas LA, ''The Lyricist's Opus, and Milestone'' The first single from Michele's fourth album,
Better, titled "Charades", was released on January 29, 2013. Previously, "Charades" was featured on her second mixtape album, released in late 2012. The second single, "A Couple of Forevers", was released in February. The Alcon came out on June 11, 2013, published by
Motown Records. It was produced by Michele,
Shea Taylor, and
Pop & Oak. Michele collaborated with rappers such as
2 Chainz and
Wale on the album. It debuted at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 27,000 copies in its first week. It was nominated at the
2014 Grammy Awards for
Best R&B Album. Chrisette Michelle joined the cast of
R&B Divas LA for its second season. On March 20, 2015, it was reported that she left the show. On November 24, 2014, Michele released her latest project, entitled ''The Lyricist's Opus'', for digital download. Two music videos were released from the EP: "Super Chris" on October 1, and "Together" on December 15. On November 12, 2016, Michele released her single "Steady". It was produced by Blickie Blaze, also from Four Kings Productions. "Steady" is the lead single from her fifth studio album,
Milestone tour, which was released on June 10, 2016, via her label Rich Hipster. In 2018, she released the album
Out of Control. In 2020, Michele released the single "Wait". == Controversy ==