Born in Gabon, West Africa, Christelle grew up listening to French, African and American music, but the music that struck a chord in her was the American R&B and Hip-Hop of artists like Beyonce, Ashanti, Brandy, Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey. As Christelle recalls, “Even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics back then, no other music made me feel as good.”
Determined to make a better life for herself, Christelle immigrated to America in 2006, initially with the goal of becoming a dental hygienist. Settling in Las Vegas, she immediately faced an enormous challenge – the language barrier. She explains, “It was a very difficult transition. It was horrible to not be able to communicate with people. I gained a tremendous amount of respect for the millions of immigrants that make up so much of America.”
Undaunted, Christelle was determined to learn English as soon as possible. Enrolling in an intensive English school, she graduated in December of 2007, qualifying her for the university system. Finding herself even more inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of some of her favorite R&B and Rap stars, she dropped her desire to work in dentistry and enrolled instead fashion design, where she is currently a second year student looking to create her own clothing line, in conjunction with her music.
Excess Vibration (sultry soul) was #1 on the Top R&B/hip hop single sales chart and #2
(behind Mariah Carey "obsessed") on the Hot 100 single sales chart ("pop chart") for the week of August 22, 2009. Wonderful work by producer DJnumbawun and the songwriters, Neil Ebanks and Don McGann.
For more information on the COREDJ's Retreat being held November 14-16th, 2009 at the Stratosphere Hotel, visit http://coredjradio.ning.com.
You can hear her music at www.christellemusic.com. You can also register on her fan site at http://christellemusic.ning.com
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