Dynamic Duo Bring the Spirit of Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, and the 2000s Aesthetic to R&B
By Shelah Moody
Chrystal and Chyna Johnson are divinely connected in the music industry.
Being divinely connected is a phenomenon where, throughout life, you are placed in the right place with the right group of people and you rise to greatness. Some people call it luck, some call it blessed.
ChrystalChyna merged not only their names, but merged their talents as creators, bringing new energy to R&B, infused with the spirit of their godmother, multiple Grammy winner Natalie Cole, and their aunt, multiple Grammy winner Chaka Khan.
I recently joined ChrystalChyna for a Zoom interview; at press time, the soulful and vibrant, identical twins were quarantining in Baldwin Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, with their mother.
As identical twins, Chrystal and Chyna are also divinely connected in terms of consciousness; they often answer questions in unison and finish each other’s sentences. We began with a discussion of their latest single, “Rain.”
Streetwise Radio: First, tell us what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been keeping busy during the pandemic.
Chrystal: Trying to stay sane!
Chyna: We’ve been trying to take care of ourselves, first, because of the quarantine games; they got to us (laughs). We’ve been trying to take care of our health and stay busy as far as writing and putting together different things…
Chrystal: And ideas.
Chyna: So that when we do come out of this… whenever that is...
Chrystal: We’ll have everything ready!
Streetwise Radio: Tell us about your new single, "Rain."
Chrystal: So, we have been wanting to do “Rain” for a long time —since we were kids. We would always sing that song, plus SWV songs in general. They are one of the main groups we grew up on; that we could actually see ourselves in, just based on their appearance and how they carried themselves. They reminded us of us. We could relate to SWV and their voices and we were really big fans of Coko, the lead singer and we would try to mimic her voice. We love how diverse they are with their vocals and their look.
Chyna: We love SWV. With “Rain” being a song. we’ve always wanted to do; we wanted to do it right. We didn’t want to record it and not have it come out sounding as clear as the SWV version. With a cover, you have to do it right; you can’t make it unrecognizable. Thanks to our manager, Celeste Butler, it was tight. Originally, Chrystal and I were not thinking big enough on it; we thought we would practice it really well like we always do, and film a video in front of the fireplace. Celeste was like, no, this is too good of a song, we’re gonna record it, do a video, and do some choreography.
Streetwise Radio: Your class and soulfulness shine through on “Rain” and you remind me of your godmother, Natalie Cole. Please share some memories with us.
Chrystal: It is so funny because there are certain things we do that will make people who were employed by our godmother- her hairstylists and wardrobe team- say, “that’s a Natalie picture there.” We didn't realize how much impact and influence she had on us because she was just God Mommy. There are certain things we do, and mannerisms we have that are exactly like hers. That’s how close we were. She was really our other mother. She was literally the person we were going to if anything happened to our mom. We picked up a lot of things from her. Not intentionally, but because of how close we were. We really looked up to her. She really did impact us a lot while growing up.
Chyna: Right.
Chrystal: I act a lot like her. People say that a lot, that I act like Natalie. I can feel her near me all the time; I can feel her arms around me. There’s just something about her; like, certain scents remind me of her. I think about her every day. She had a certain laugh when she was telling a story. I can still feel her energy.
Streetwise Radio: What kind of perfume did Natalie wear?
Chyna: There was a distinct scent that she would always wear. It was fresh but spicy. She just smelled expensive.
Chrystal: I know that both she and my mom would wear Alfred Sung perfume. And when we were younger, she would always buy us this special perfume called…
Chyna: Mariella Burani.
Chrystal: Now, it’s hard to find in stores, but this past Christmas, our mom gifted us with our own Mariella Burani perfume. She knows how much it meant to us.
Chyna: We even have old bottles…
Chrystal: That our godmother gave us; we kept them as memorabilia. We still have them on our dresser.
Streetwise Radio: How did Natalie become your godmother?
Chyna: Our mom, Benita Hill-Johnson, was 19 when she met our godmother, Natalie Cole. Our mom met our god mom through our Auntie, Chaka Khan.
Chrystal: Our mother met Auntie Chaka when she was 17. This was before Rufus and Chaka Khan blew up before they had their first big hit. Our mother was Auntie Chaka’s first Los Angeles friend, and she lived with our mother and our grandmother. Our grandmother is Chaka’s daughter’s godmother. We’re all connected. My mom lived with our godmother when she was around 19 and she was helping with our godbrother, Robbie Yancy. She was in the room when a lot of the songs on our godmother’s album, “Thankful” were written with (husband/producer) Marvin Yancy. Our mother and our godmother—they had a relationship— basically being like sisters through Christ. That’s why they were divinely close. Our mother was our godmother’s, right-hand woman. Our mom was there for everything, from the beginning. She saw everything.
Chyna: Our mom was doing “American Bandstand” for a little bit, but she started off as a “Soul Train” regular dancer.
Chrystal: Our mother was a singer as well, and she got to sing with Bobby Womack. In LA, at the time, the gospel scene was big, so she was in some choirs. She was divinely connected but not on purpose. It’s not like she sought out the chance to be around celebrities. She loved music. She became a celebrity hairstylist; at one time, Robert Townsend was her boss; and she was one of the key hairstylists on the sitcom “A Different World.”
Chyna: On the last season of “A Different World,” she was responsible for Jasmine Guy and Cree Summer’s hair.
Chrystal: After “A Different World” ended in 1993, our mom became our godmother’s full-time personal assistant for 15 years, until our father passed away when we were 11. Our mom was more than a personal assistant; she handled a lot. She also helped with our god mom's comebacks.
Chyna: She never missed a beat.
Chrystal: Even after she stopped working for our godmother after 15 years, people would still approach her and ask her to do stuff for her because they knew she was the right woman to get things done.
Streetwise Radio: Tell us about the influence of your Auntie Chaka Khan.
Chrystal: She’s our mentor. She definitely put us in a lot of rooms, and we are very appreciative. She’s always given us pointers and has been very supportive.
Chyna: We performed with her at the Microsoft Theatre in LA.
Chrystal: That was our first big thing…
Chyna: Yes! She’s always been very supportive of ChrystalChyna in everything, like helping us figure out our group name. I remember when I first found out (Chaka) was my auntie.
Chrystal: You know the movie, “Nutty Professor?” We were watching the sequel in our parent's room and “Tell Me Something Good” was playing in the movie. Our dad came into the room and said, “you know that’s your auntie, right?” We were like, really? When we were around her as children, we really weren’t thinking of that.
Streetwise Radio: I love ChrystalChina’s harmonies. Have you taken vocal lessons?
Chrystal: Yes, we started vocal training when we were 14, in 2011. March 5, 2011. I remember making it a big deal because I knew I wanted to do it. We started out being classically trained, and then we moved up, and we’re still being trained.
Streetwise Radio: What's it like working together, not only as sisters but as twins?
Chrystal: It’s fun! I love it!
Chyna: We feed off each other! We just have fun together every day. It’s just like, your best friend is coming over, but she lives with you.
Chrystal. Exactly. I have fun with her every day.
Chyna: We’re always doing something!
Streetwise Radio: Tell us about your upcoming projects. I love your video, “No Pressure.”
Chrystal: We wrote, “No Pressure” in 2017.
Chyna: We started recording “No Pressure” in mid-2018. We decided that it would be our debut single; because it’s really vibey and jazzy, at the same time, with a groove. It’s not too overwhelming. We decided to release a video; we filmed it here at our house. We live in the Crenshaw district of LA; and one of the areas is called Baldwin Hills, one of its three black, affluent neighborhoods in the hills. In Baldwin Hills, we live in an area called “the Dons.” Generations of LA kids; including our mom when she was young, went to parties in the Dons.
Chrystal: The streets are called Don Miguel, Don Luis, Don Mariano, etc. Our mother was raised in the Crenshaw district as well and we were raised here.
Chyna: We wanted to pay homage to that because it means a lot to us that people from different places become aware of the black history here in LA. A lot of people don’t know about it. We wanted the video-based in the early 2000s because I love the early 2000s aesthetic. We wanted a storyline: party in the Dons like it’s 2001.
Streetwise Radio: Tell us more about the early 2000s aesthetic.
Chyna: Personally, Chrystal and I really love old-school music. I don’t really consider the 90s and early 2000s music old school, I say it’s a throwback. I love the way they filmed videos back then; the coloring, the lighting…
Chrystal: Everything was kind of futuristic, new millennium.
Chyna: We wanted to keep that aesthetic because Chrystal and I would always watch “106 and Park,” “Rap City” and “TRL.” When we were kids, we had access to things; our parents sheltered us but they did not censor us. We made the video and we did our own treatment. We took a lot of screenshots of videos that we love from years past, recreated them, and made them come to life. We were inspired by different eras and different films.
Streetwise Radio: What is the first thing you would like to do when the world opens up?
Chrystal: Party. (laughs).
Chyna: Party (laughs). I can’t wait to like, go out with my makeup on, and you can actually see my own face. When we drop our project, it would be nice to have a release party. And just to be able to feel safe.
Listen to ChrstalChyna here on Streetwise Radio, and follow them on social media and other streaming services:
IG: -https://www.instagram.com/chrystalchyna/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/chrystalchyna
FB - https://www.facebook.com/ChrystalChyna
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtDiATqGCWqDu4sz_kGDhXw
Debut Single, “No Pressure”:
Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoVJKbGl590
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4zZKq1r36fL1hQgkTX9JF8?si=nnelwRNuR92n3 zbqWlFTFA
AppleMusic: https://music.apple.com/us/album/no-pressure-single/1466474561
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