Mitchelle'l Sium was born in Houston, Texas, to a father from Eritrea, a nation on the Eastern coast of Africa, and a mother of Creole descent.
Musical career
Career beginnings
In late 2007, Sium capitalized upon the promotional capacity of the internet and used Myspace as a platform to expand the reach of his music. He captured the attention of Hannah Kang, general manager for Atlanta-based record label Grand Hustle Records and was introduced to American rapper and Grand Hustle label-boss, T.I. In 2008, Sium had signed a recording contract with Grand Hustle Records. In 2008, Sium was featured on a song titled “Collect Call”, which was included as a bonus track on T.I.’s highly acclaimed sixth album, Paper Trail. He teamed up with T.I. again in 2010, alongside Scarface, on the song "How Life Changed", from the No Mercy album. On September 23, 2011, he released a song titled "Only a Few". In 2011, he appeared on Jeezy’s long-awaited album, on a song called "Higher Learning." His debut single "Irene" features Maybach Music's Wale, production by Grand Hustle record producerC-Gutta and co-written by actor Omar Epps.
Artistry
Voice and songwriting
The in-housedisc jockey of Grand Hustle, DJ MLK, has described Sium as "sound like a young Maxwell." In 2012, American radio show host and internet celebrity B. Scott, wrote in a review that he "sounds a bit like Maxwell meets Van Hunt". Also in 2012, after the release of a song titled "Irene", from Sium's mixtape of the same name, grownfolksmusic.com wrote "Mitchelle’l already has a smooth, soulful vibe going that is reminiscent of artists like Maxwell and Robin Thicke and works just fine without a guest rapper. Hopefully there are more sensual, smoothed-out tracks like this one coming down the line from Mitchelle’l."
Influences
Mitchelle’l grew up listening to and was deeply inspired by the kings of soul music, including Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Otis Redding. He later gravitated towards more contemporary R&B offerings from R. Kelly, Jodeci and D’Angelo. As he began to create music, he incorporated the elements that had inspired him from a musical sense along with the things he experienced in the world around him.
