Story by Stereo Williams
Images by DeWayne Rogers
Grammy winner Chrisette Michele needed a break — so she took one. The release of her new album, Better, comes three years after her previous LP, 2010’s Let Freedom Reign. That lengthy hiatus was just a case of her needing to take care of herself for a little while.
“I’m big on taking some time off to figure things out,” she says matter-of-factly. “I’m never in a rush, unfortunately for other people. So the years that I took off weren’t necessarily for music, but for media. I never want to say the wrong thing; I never want to feed people the wrong kind of energy. I wanted to make sure that I came back super positive and supercharged so that I could empower people to do the same.”
“’Better’ in this particular moment means that I can get through anything,” she explains. “I’ve been through the industry and all of its crazy ups and downs. I’ve put together an incredible album. I have a beautiful home and beautiful cars. I have a beautiful family that’s well-fed and taken care of. That just means to me that God is good.”
