KeKe Wyatt

R&B singer KeKe Wyatt made her name by duetting with Avant on his 2000 hit “My First Love.” She enjoyed subsequent solo success before facing a series of industry roadblocks. • Wyatt grew up in Indianapolis with a family that performed gospel music. By age 12, she’d met famed bassist and future American Idol judge Randy Jackson, who mentored the singer for more than a decade. • During her teens, Wyatt earned money writing and demoing songs. At 16, she recorded “My First Love”—a cover of a 1983 song by René & Angela—with R&B singer Avant. The single later went Top 5 on the R&B charts, helping Avant’s 2000 debut album, My Thoughts, go platinum. • The success of “My First Love” led to a deal with Avant’s label, MCA Records. Wyatt recorded her gold-selling 2001 debut album, Soul Sista, in a two-week period. Avant features on two songs, including the hit “Nothing In this World”. • In the years that followed, Wyatt recorded two albums—Emotional Rollercoaster for Cash Money Records and Ghetto Rose for TVT—that were never released. • She returned in 2010 with Who Knew?, which made the Top 40 of Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. • Wyatt has since released a series of follow-ups, including 2017’s Keke Covers, featuring versions of songs by Prince, Beyoncé and Whitney Houston, among others.