A contemporary R&B artist who debuted in 2013 and released the
DJ Mustard-produced single "Collide" the following year, singer, songwriter, and model Justine Skye is known for her dance-oriented R&B and hip-hop-influenced sound. She released her first full-length effort, Ultraviolet, in 2018, followed by the Timbaland-produced Space & Time in 2021.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1995, Skye first gained notice in her teens when she tagged along with her mother, an entertainment lawyer, to a music panel held by performance rights organization
BMI. During the question-and-answer session, Skye surprised everyone in attendance by asking to sing. In front of various music executives, she performed a cover of
Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold." She subsequently took singing lessons and honed her songwriting, then worked with August Rigo (
Justin Bieber,
One Direction,
Musiq Soulchild) and Eric Hudson (
Kanye West,
Diddy,
August Alsina). Their sessions led to Everyday Living, a confident contemporary R&B EP released on
Atlantic in August 2013. The brief collection featured a cover of
Aaliyah's "I Don't Wanna."
A year later, Skye returned with the slow-jam single "Collide," a
DJ Mustard production that involved a guest verse from
Tyga. Her second EP, Emotionally Unavailable, appeared in 2015. The following year, Skye returned with her third EP, 8 Ounces, featuring songwriting collaborations with
the-Dream and Tricky Stewart. The EP included the track "Fun" featuring
Wale. In 2018, Skye released her debut full-length, Ultraviolet, which featured the single "Lil' Boy." A stand-alone single, "Build," featuring
Arin Ray, arrived in 2018. Parting ways with the
Roc Nation label, Skye returned in 2020 with the independent EP Bare with Me. The following year marked the release of her
Timbaland-produced sophomore long-player, Space & Time, which included features from
Justin Timberlake and
Rema. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi