She’s Back — Part 2

Katrell Mendenhall, NBC5 Street Team

August is the month of MUSIC.  Let’s catch you up to speed… “She’s Back” was posted 6/12/08 about Chicago’s own Syleena Johnson’s long awaited debut.

After a four year hiatus from being in love and the birth of her first child, Johnson is ready to release her fourth album Chapter 4: Labor Pains, which is an in-depth look at her most personal struggles.  A total of 16 tracks and one of my personal favorites titled “Freedom” featuring Blues singer Syl Johnson (her father) is a hit.  Other local natives appearing on the album are Teefa and always holding down the Chi, Crucial Conflict.

Debuting an album is not the only celebration. Syleena amicably left Jive Records in 2006 and has now gone independent with her personal label Aneelys Records, a subsidary of Universal Music Group.  Normally, after hibernation and leaving a major label, it’s easy for an artist to fall by the wayside, but this is not going to be the case with Chapter 4: Labor Pains. The only way is UP!  The release has been pushed back from it’s original date (Sept. 2nd, her birthday) to January 13, 2009.  Wow, can you believe we’re only 4 months away? Time flies.  Check out the interview below and let me know your thoughts or who you’d like to see next. Also, check out www.myspace.com/syleenjohnson for more hot tracks. 

Check out the video of her performance and an interview from her album release at Rumba on West Hubbard.