Jhené Aiko will no doubt have her biggest audience yet when she takes the stage at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday (Feb. 13) at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The 33-year-old R&B phenom will be gaining a new legion of fans as she gives her own unique spin on the patriotic classic “America the Beautiful.” The performance will go down before the championship game between the Cincinatti Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams kicks off and will also come prior to the Pepsi Halftime Show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. Keep reading to find out all about the six-time Grammy nominee, below!
Jhené was born on March 16, 1988 in southern Los Angeles. The family moved around the neighborhoods of View Park–Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, and Ladera Heights. She was homeschooled up until high school. Jhené’s musical career began when she contributed vocals to several B2K releases. While working with the hitmakers, she was known as the cousin of one of B2K’s rapper, though she had no relation to anyone in the group.
In 2013, Jhené worked on Big Sean’s single “Beware”, which also featured Lil Wayne. She appeared on Saturday Night Live with Drake and toured with The Weeknd! The young talent even collaborated with another Super Bowl LVI performer: Kendrick Lamar.
“I am studying and practicing sound healing using these crystal bowls that are infused with precious gems,” Jhené told Byrdie in 2019. “Because I write music from such a personal place, and I write it to heal whatever it is I’m going through, the more that I’m getting into my purpose, the more I realize that it is healing for other people. So, I started studying sound healing and using the singing bowls in my music, tucking them into the track. Sound healing actually promotes healing on a cellular level.”
When asked if she lets criticism affect her, Jhené said if depends on who is throwing the shade. “If it’s someone I’m close to, then it matters to me,” she told AskMen. “Strangers, it’s like, whatever. I have a crazy sense of humor so if someone is just trying to be rude to me, or if you can tell that someone is angry for no reason, I like to entertain them.”
At the age of 20, Jhené gave birth to her pride and joy, Namiko Love. The singer constantly gushes about her baby girl on social media. For her 10th birthday, Jhené took to Instagram to share photos of her daughter, with the caption, “Namiko Love was born 10 years ago today around 12:01am. i will never forget that day, she is my dream come true. 10 years old?! i’m at a loss for words. excuse me, i’m just gonna stare at her in awe and cry all day. Happy Birthday Baby Love.”