Growing up, singer/songwriter Cha’s (pronounced “Chase”) Kimbro recalls her mother’s solos in church and admits she thought she was Janet Jackson until she saw the international star live. With childhood memories of the melodies from her mother and grandmother, the Chicago native says singing was used as a learning mechanism for her. That seed for learning cultivated over the years and inspired Cha’s to find her own voice. It was a performance by the late Whitney Houston that shook her to the core, and that twinkle in her eye ignited a spark in Cha’s to pursue music.

In the Hype Williams directed film Belly, the gritty, drug-fueled urban drama features a scene in which the lead character (played by Rapper Nas) has a conversation with a 12-year-old boy that would’ve led many to believe he was someone at least 15 years his senior.