Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Taylor (born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress, model and director from Harlem, New York City. In 2005, Taylor signed a record deal with American musician Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint, before making her first national appearance on MTV's My Super Sweet 16. In 2012, she signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music label through Def Jam, after asking for her release from Star Trak. As an aspiring songwriter, Taylor has worked with and written records for artists such as Usher, Chris Brown, and Omarion. Taylor has appeared on runways during Fashion Week and has also landed high-profile features, such as on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. She stars in the VH1 reality television show Teyana and Iman, alongside her husband, NBA player Iman Shumpert.

Teyana Taylor born and raised in Harlem, New York City. She is of African-American and Afro-Trinidadian descent. Taylor is an only child on her mother's side. She grew up in a single parent environment. On her father’s side she has 2 brothers and one sister. At age 4, she picked up a microphone in front of a crowd began performing. Teyana was enrolled in many different talent competitions, including the Apollo Theater National All-Stars talent search. Taylor had strong influences from Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Lauryn Hill. Before Taylor was officially signed she was a skateboarder and basketball player. The danger that the label saw in these activities was a huge concern which resulted in Taylor making a personal decision to give up her physical hobbies in exchange for the love of her career. The first time Taylor had ever stepped into a recording studio, she was only seven. She started out singing on the train to make money in order to finance herself. It was then that she had realized that she wanted to pursue music as a career as it was something she slowly started to enjoy more. She had also appeared in season 4 of MTV's hit show My Super Sweet 16.

Career 2007–2011: Career beginnings with Interscope and Star Trak

The Jackson, Ms native is a self-made all-around businesswoman who has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry. Taylor’s debut in the spotlight came about when she was featured on MTV‘s “My Super Sweet 16” in 2007. Before it aired, she signed to American recording artist and super producer Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint, through Interscope Records. In late 2007, Taylor appeared in the music video for Jay-Z's single "Blue Magic", where she can be seen dancing and popping.

Taylor released her commercial debut single "Google Me", in February 2008. The song was released as the lead single from her debut full-length project, a mixtape titled From a Planet Called Harlem. The tape features production from Jazze Pha, Pharrell, Mad Scientist, Frost, Shondre and Hit Boy. The tape also features a mix of throwback break beats, futuristic boom bap, and melodic renderings is the perfect backdrop for the starlet's musical mayhem. "Google Me" peaked at number 90 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. From a Planet Called Harlem was ultimately released on August 16, 2009, online for free download and billed as "the mixtape before the album".

She was a member of a band called U.G.L.Y., along with band-mates Mijo, Braxton and Ethan. A snippet of U.G.L.Y.'s single "Wasted" was released early 2010. No further releases from the band have since been mentioned.

In 2010, Taylor ventured into acting, appearing in the sequel of Stomp the Yard, titled Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming, which was released in August. She also made an appearance on the debut episode of House of Glam on Oxygen, which aired in October 2010.

In late 2010, just hours before Kanye West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, had be to turned in, West called Taylor to the studio to look at some fashion pieces. Taylor had struck up a friendship with West and the GOOD Music family some time before, first meeting West on his Glow in the Dark Tour, with Pharrell's band N.E.R.D. and Rihanna.

While in the studio, Taylor was determined to make an appearance on West's album. She purposefully hummed along with the tracks he played for her, enough to get his attention. He eventually asked her to put vocals on a few tracks, notably "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life." Upon recalling the experience of recording "Dark Fantasy," Taylor stated that "at the time it was pretty empty, just verses." She remembers that West "put her in another room by herself and said, 'Go'." Taylor came back with the "whole intro and chorus," and "did all the scratches and the cuts herself with her voice." She admitted that she was "nervous" upon letting West hear her contributions to the tracks, saying that "she hadn’t been in the studio for so long."

Towards the end of 2010, Taylor contributed to one of GOOD Music's GOOD Friday tracks, entitled "Christmas In Harlem". The track was released in a shortened version to the iTunes Store on December 17, 2010, featuring American rappers Cyhi the Prynce and Kanye West.

When not appearing on runways during Fashion Week Taylor is occupied using her talents for promotional use such as

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teyana_Taylor