R&B vocalist Deemi, hailing from Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, took singing seriously as early as high school, attending Manhattan's Talent Unlimited High School. In 1998, she crossed paths with producers Chris Styles and Bruce Waynne. The two helped her craft a demo, but she later realized that she should sing more about her own life (including physical abuse at the hands of her father, as well as being the mother of two children prior to turning 21) than merely interpret common relationship themes. Eventually signed to Atlantic through a partnership between organizations run by Styles and Waynne (the latter is one half of Midi Mafia), Deemi was set to release her first album, The Soundtrack of My Life, in 2007. ~ Andy Kellman