Syleena Johnson 'Chapter 3: The Flesh ' album

With her 2001 debut Chapter One: Love, Pain and Forgiveness, Syleena Johnson proved to be a vocalist clearly in a class by herself. Her sophomore offering, 2002’s Chapter Two: The Voice, established her as an artist with true musical roots. Her latest release, Chapter Three: The Flesh (due September 13th, 2005), completes the trilogy and presents another “chapter” in Syleena’s promising career.

Neither a novice ingénue nor a member of the neo-soul movement, Syleena’s vocals are within the Angela Winbush/Aretha Franklin caliber while she presents the youthful appeal often sought after in today’s music market. Her gritty, hard-core blues quality comes naturally -- the daughter of ‘60s R&B/blues singer Syl Johnson discovered her love for singing during an audition for a play. By 15 she was performing professionally and recording with her father.

Syleena was brought to Jive Records six years ago, where Wayne Williams, A&R for both artists, introduced her to labelmate R. Kelly. The fellow Chicago native was instantly impressed with Syleena’s vocal skills and subsequently custom-penned her first single, “I Am Your Woman” and helmed her debut disc. “R. Kelly is my mentor,” she says of the Grammy-winning artist. “He’s a great friend. But I’m one of his biggest fans at the same time. I strive to be the female R. Kelly.”

Whereas Chapter One presented the pain of a broken heart and Chapter Two illustrated one’s strong relationship with God, Chapter Three looks at the characteristics of human weakness. As Syleena found, her faith was tested just as she claimed it. “They say the Devil hears what you say when you speak out loud. If you profess Him, God allows the Devil to put trials and tribulations [in your path] as a test of your faith. So what I’ve been going through is just a test of my faith.” Some of what Syleena’s “been going through” include a recent divorce and the resulting urge to live fully as a single person again, emotions which are aptly played out on an album titled The Flesh. “It’s edgy,” she professes. “It’s got a lot of sexual topics. All the things that I go through as a woman, like dating, sexual relationships with men, baby mama drama. All kinds of stuff that we’re not supposed to be doing but we end up doing for some reason.” The disc also explores the ecstasy of new loves and relationships and the physical gratification they’ve been known to bring. And her personal life has served as inspiration for the material on the album. “Being single changes things. You know how when you get free from somebody you get kind of loose? You wanna party. I was sort of in that quote-un-quote ‘crowd’ for a while so I began to see and experience a lot of things. I’ve been around my peers more since the divorce. My material has been influenced by that.

Syleena took a different approach in production this time around as well, moving from her established “musical” style into a more conventional, popular R&B sound. “I did a lot of sampling and I had a lot of street beats,” which, she explains, was an attempt to showcase her songwriting skills. “I want people to concentrate on the lyrical content a little more rather than this big musical production. I can do songs with big musical arrangements and stuff like that but I want to be able to show all sides of me.”

To help bring out those feelings of unbridled liberation, Syleena brought aboard a bevy of producers, a mix of certified hitmakers and up-and-coming geniuses including Kay-Gee, Kanye West, Roy Hamilton, Jermaine Dupri, Rick Robinson and Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias. Of music’s current “it boy” West, Syleena says, “He’s very passionate about what he does, which is motivating. He wants to win and make hits, but he’s really into the music of the song. He’s like Robert [R. Kelly] but in a hip-hop form.”

Uptempo clubbangers on The Flesh include “Bad Boys” and “Bullseye,” and sensuous ballad territory is covered with tracks like “Phone Sex.” Syleena’s voice blends perfectly with Jaheim’s, who guests with her on the affectionate “More.” She says the two are kindred spirits in that they’re both young artists with an old soul skill not possessed by many of their peers. “He’s like me but in a man’s form. He’s got that old school voice but he’s young. We’re so alike in so many ways.” Syleena’s blues genes really show themselves on gut-wrenching cuts like “Guess Again” (on which R. Kelly guests) and “Apartment For Rent /Fed Up.”

In addition to being a gifted songwriter (she penned roughly half the disc), Syleena also holds the ability to become a chameleon with her voice. The same Lauryn Hill-esque vocalist heard on West’s hit single “All Falls Down” can then project the coy intonation displayed on “Sticks and Stones.” As Syleena explains, “I have to give the song what it asks for. Each song [on The Flesh] I gave a different delivery because I’m trying to get everybody.”

Having recently signed with Whilemina Models’ plus-size division and going over scripts for her first acting role, Syleena is likely to find even more fans in different genres. The stage is set for the singer to break out from her current standing as R&B’s best-kept secret.

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Syleena Johnson - Chapter 3: The Flesh