Jhené Aiko on herself-love journey thus far

Jhené Aiko’s background, inner work and spiritual growth has led to music that not only heals her, but others too.

Jhené Aiko has a silent presence that demands attention. It goes far beyond her unique physical appearance and speaks louder than the lyrics in her songs. She’s deep, she’s spiritual and she’s always growing. But what drives her to be as authentic as she is?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Balanced Life (@balancedlifesa)

Unearthing her roots

Behind her sweet appearance and calm voice, there’s so much more to Jhene Aiko Efuru Chilombo. Turning 38 in March, she’s the youngest of five siblings, who she said were “teaching me stuff I wasn’t supposed to be knowing”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by New Branches (@newbranches)

“I can be pretty vulgar,” she admitted in a 2017 interview with Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM. “All my friends and everyone who knows me knows I’m inappropriate a lot of the time and I like to say things that people are like, “Huh?!”

“Since I was a little girl, I’ve been getting in trouble for having a dirty mouth because I used to recite Lil’ Kim’s ‘Hard Core’ in elementary school,” she said. For someone who started out as a backing vocalist for B2K, Jhené has done well in her own singing and songwriting career.

She shared that her 2020 album Chilombo — taken from her surname — means “wild beast” or “monster” in an African language. In an interview with Billboard News, she said, “I really resonated with that because as I come into my womanhood, I feel extra strong and confident. I’ve always been a little wild and a beast. There’s lots of meaning behind me naming the album Chilombo: number 1 is stepping into that confidence.”

“I’m 33% African, 34% European, and 28% Asian,” she shared with the Breakfast Club team, saying that she did a DNA test through an ancestry site. Both her parents are mixed race, her great-grandmother was born in Hawaii, and she grew up with her Japanese grandfather who was the man of the house. She’s also spoken about how her spirituality has been shaped by Christianity and Buddhism. There’s absolutely nothing vanilla about Jhene’s background.

A few years after revealing her genetic makeup in the interview, she spoke on the Jay Shetty Podcast about how important her roots are to her. “I have been studying my family history, and I feel like most of us only know what our parents and grandparents have told us, and, you know, some families do have more information about the family and the roots and where everyone comes from. But my family is from all over, and I just remember hearing so many different things,” she said.

When going through her family history records, she recalled learning so much about them and being able to look up and contact people who are related to her. “It’s just such a fulfilling feeling being able to connect with people who are your family who you didn’t know about,” she told Jay Shetty.

“I think part of me feeling more grounded today is discovering that my roots are so deep and so widespread,” she added.