K. Michelle is best known for appearing as a series regular on VH1’s hit reality show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta during seasons 1, 2, and 5. But come Wednesday, November 8, the TV star is stepping back into another beloved role — that of singer! She’s reportedly set to join country rap rising star Jelly Roll for a tribute to The Judds — Naomi Judd died by suicide in April of 2022. The pair will be performing The Judds’ 1990 hit, “Love Can Build a Bridge,” as a duet.
As she prepares to perform at the Country Music Association Awards, here are five things to know about the beautiful, versatile, and talented K. Michelle.
She’s a Tennessee Native
Now known as K. Michelle, Kimberly Michelle Pate was born in Memphis, Tennesse, on March 4, 1982. She graduated from high school there, as well, and was a Freshman Attendant of the Homecoming Royalty when she was 18 years old. She graduated from Overton High School back in 2000.
She’s a College Graduate
K. Michelle later attended Florida A&M University on a music scholarship, which she reportedly obtained by yodeling during her audition. “I sang other songs as well, but I yodeled and they gave me a scholarship,” she said in an interview in 2011.
Though she graduated with honors from FAMU and was accepted into law school at multiple institutions, she decided to go with her true passion — music.
She Was Trained by the Best in the Business
According to her Wikipedia page, K. Michelle took voice lessons from the late, great Bob Westbrook — a vocal coach who is also famous for having trained pop legends including Britney Spears, Lance Bass, and Justin Timberlake, among others.
She’s a Mom
K. Michelle is a mom of one, having welcomed a son, Chase Bowman, during her college studies in September of 2004. She once declared with pride that she finished her degree in four years — despite giving birth. “That’s why when people say they can’t go to college and the can’t finish college, I don’t hear them,” she told The Urban Daily in 2011. “I went to class everyday up until I had my baby, and I went back to school a week later. And I graduated on time, in four years.”
As for why she keeps him out of the spotlight, she once explained why. “I’ve kept my child very private,” she told HipHollywood during an on-camera interview. “And I don’t think Love & Hip Hop is the place for a child. I don’t think Instagram is the place for a child.”
She’s Worked with Missy Elliott
Kimberly has worked with iconic rapper Missy Elliott — Missy was featured on her first hit single, “Fakin’ It,” in 2009. She’s also credited disgraced R&B star R. Kelly with being her “mentor.” “I can’t speak on it. I do believe that in every piece of the story there’s something that is true,” she said of the shocking allegations that would eventually land him behind bars, in a 2017 interview. “I’ve learned so much from my mentor and it’s just the right time and place to say things, to do it properly so that the people you’re trying to help are actually helped instead of taunted so I’ll be speaking more about it but I’ll be doing it in the right way.”