# Michel'le
**Michel'le** (Michel'le Denise Toussant, born 1970 in Los Angeles) is an American R&B singer and songwriter known for a squeaky, child-like speaking voice that contrasts sharply with her strong, full-bodied singing. She is best known for the songs she recorded from 1989 to the early 1990s, above all the top-ten Billboard Hot 100 hit "No More Lies."
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Michel'le Denise Toussant, born 1970 in Los Angeles, California[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/3046) |
| Signature trait | A squeaky, child-like speaking voice contrasting with powerful singing vocals[2](https://www.last.fm/music/Michel%27le) |
| Breakthrough single | "No More Lies" reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/you-oughta-know-michelle) |
| Debut album | *Michel'le* (Ruthless/Atco, 1989), produced entirely by Dr. Dre; sold over 1.5 million copies[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2265092/bio/) |
| Second album | *Hung Jury* (Priority, 1998), nine years after the debut, and far less successful[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437) |
| Notable guest vocals | 2Pac's "Run tha Streetz" (*All Eyez on Me*) and Tha Dogg Pound's "Let's Play House" (*Dogg Food*)[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/3046) |
| Screen work | Cast member of TV One's *R&B Divas: Los Angeles* (2013–2015); subject of the 2016 Lifetime biopic *Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le*[6](https://invocation.co/people/person/michelle) |
## Beginnings and distinctive voice
Michel'le grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where she came into contact with a cluster of up-and-coming musical artists.[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/you-oughta-know-michelle) Her first recording was as the featured female vocalist on the [World Class Wreckin' Cru](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-class-wreckin-cru)'s single "Turn Off the Lights," and by her own account the job came about at the last minute: singer [Mona Lisa](https://www.edgepedia.org/mona-lisa), who handled most of the group's hooks, did not make it to the studio that night.[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/3046) • [7](https://rapchive.com/news/michel-le-the-silent-partner/)
**The voice.** Her speaking voice is high-pitched and childlike, a quality that startled listeners in person and on the phone; in a 1990 Los Angeles Times interview she said people sometimes told her to have her mother come to the phone. Her singing voice, she said, is a different instrument, wide-ranging and full-bodied, which she called "a freak of nature."
## Ruthless Records and the 1989 debut
Michel'le signed with Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in 1989. Although Ruthless was primarily a rap label, home to N.W.A, the D.O.C., and J.J. Fad, [Dr. Dre](https://www.edgepedia.org/dr-dre) and Eazy-E wanted to branch out into urban contemporary singing, and Michel'le, while heavily hip-hop-influenced, was very much an urban contemporary singer. Her records were released through Ruthless/Atlantic, while N.W.A. went through Priority.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437)
Her self-titled debut album, released in 1989, was produced entirely by her then-boyfriend Dr. Dre, with Eazy-E as executive producer and mixing handled by Dre and [DJ Yella](https://www.edgepedia.org/dj-yella).[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2265092/bio/) Despite the N.W.A. participation, the album did not sound like that group's gangsta rap; it mixed hip-hop, dance, and R&B in what AllMusic's review described as post-new jill swing, several years before [Mary J. Blige](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-j-blige) and [Faith Evans](https://www.edgepedia.org/faith-evans) perfected that blend.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/album/michelle-mw0000202412) It sold over 1.5 million copies and was certified Gold in 1990.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2265092/bio/) • [9](https://www.splatterly.com/where-is-michel-le-now-2/)
The singles carried the album. "No More Lies," her debut single, reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/you-oughta-know-michelle) Follow-up singles "Nicety" and "Something in My Heart" rose to No. 5 and No. 2, respectively, on Billboard's R&B singles chart, according to a 1997 Billboard retrospective on the label.[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-08-09.pdf) At a time when radio stations rarely played rap music in regular rotation, "Nicety" and "Something in My Heart" helped make Ruthless a commercial success, and Michel'le credits manager [Jerry Heller](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-heller), who also managed N.W.A., with a strategy that made the crossover work: he coached her to describe herself as R&B rather than rap, and introduced Dre to radio and television outlets not as a member of N.W.A. but as "my producer."[11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/)
In 1991 she drew fire from East Coast rapper Tim Dog, who insulted her and Dre on his West Coast-bashing single "Fuck Compton."[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437) She also appeared on the all-star single "We're All in the Same Gang" with the West Coast All-Stars, and the single earned a Grammy nomination.[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/you-oughta-know-michelle) • [14](https://www.grammy.com/artists/dr-dre/2199/)
## Death Row years and the long gap
When [Suge Knight](https://www.edgepedia.org/suge-knight) allegedly intimidated Eazy-E into releasing Michel'le and other artists from Ruthless, Heller was forced to sign over Dre, the D.O.C., and Michel'le; she moved her distinctive sound and commercial weight to [Death Row Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/death-row-records).[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/you-oughta-know-michelle) • [11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/) During the mid-1990s she appeared as a featured vocalist on major West Coast releases: 2Pac's "Run tha Streetz" on *All Eyez on Me* (1996) and [Tha Dogg Pound](https://www.edgepedia.org/tha-dogg-pound)'s "Let's Play House," a single released in 1995–1996 from their debut *Dogg Food*.[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/3046) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437)
Her second album, *Hung Jury*, a Priority release, did not come out until 1998, nine years after the debut, and it was not nearly the smash of its predecessor.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437) Her most recent recorded contribution cited in her discography is the 2003 *Dysfunktional Family* soundtrack.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2265092/bio/)
## Television, the biopic, and the abuse allegations
Between 2013 and 2015 Michel'le was one of six members of the TV One reality show *R&B Divas: Los Angeles*.[6](https://invocation.co/people/person/michelle) In 2016 she told her story in the Lifetime movie *Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le*, which premiered October 15, 2016.[6](https://invocation.co/people/person/michelle)
**Allegations against Dr. Dre.** Michel'le has maintained that she suffered brutal physical violence from Dre for years during their relationship, which began before N.W.A. existed and made her the mother of one of his children.[11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/) In a 2015 interview she described the abuse as routine and said the two never discussed it afterward.[11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/) Dr. Dre has denied her claims; in the documentary *The Defiant Ones* he said, referring to the 1991 alleged assault of journalist [Dee Barnes](https://www.edgepedia.org/dee-barnes), "Any man who puts his hands on a female is a f-ing idiot... I was out of my f-ing mind at the time. I f-ed up, I paid for it, I'm sorry for it, and I apologize for it."[12](https://time.com/6992188/hip-hop-metoo-reckoning-essay/) After her relationship with Dre ended, she became involved in an abusive relationship with Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records, with whom she also has children.[11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/)
She has connected her later struggles, including years of depression and a suicide attempt, to the deaths of her mother and grandmother, who died three months apart while she was filming *R&B Divas*.[11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/)
## Assessment
AllMusic's biography argues that Michel'le was ahead of her time: before Mary J. Blige was crowned the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and before the rise of Faith Evans and [Lauryn Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/lauryn-hill), she was a young vocalist with strong ties to the hip-hop world.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437) The same review credits her, alongside "Nicety" and "Something in My Heart," with giving [Ruthless Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruthless-records) one of its most distinctive sounds and, arguably, its breakout commercial success.[11](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/) She continues to perform; concert listings show dates in 2025 and 2026, including a September 2025 show at Webster Hall in New York.[13](https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/michel-le-2c20f09c-b91d-4f3b-b157-8d8af9c14744?year=2025)
## References
1. [WBSS Media – Michel'le](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/3046)
2. [Michel'le – Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Michel%27le)
3. [You Oughta Know: Michel'le – Rhino](https://www.rhino.com/article/you-oughta-know-michelle)
4. [Michel'le Biography by Alex Henderson – AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michelle-mn0000890437)
5. [Michel'le Biography – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2265092/bio/)
6. [Michel'le – Shefik presents Invocation](https://invocation.co/people/person/michelle)
7. [Michel'le: The Silent Partner – Rapchive](https://rapchive.com/news/michel-le-the-silent-partner/)
8. [Michel'le: Michel'le Tracks & Reviews – AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/michelle-mw0000202412)
9. [Where Is Michel'le Now – Splatterly](https://www.splatterly.com/where-is-michel-le-now-2/)
10. [Tenth Ruthless Anniversary – Billboard, August 9, 1997](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-08-09.pdf)
11. [Michel'le Opens Up About Her Abusive Relationships With Dr. Dre and Suge Knight – Elle (2016)](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a39955/michelle-biopic/)
12. [Hip-Hop Needs a #MeToo Reckoning – Time](https://time.com/6992188/hip-hop-metoo-reckoning-essay/)
13. [Michel'le's 2025 Concert & Tour History – Concert Archives](https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/michel-le-2c20f09c-b91d-4f3b-b157-8d8af9c14744?year=2025)
14. [Dr. Dre Grammy Awards and Nominations, Song & Bio](https://www.grammy.com/artists/dr-dre/2199/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 1990s and 2000s › R&B singers of the 1990s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license