Crystal Jeanell Johnson is a singer, songwriter, producer, composer, actress, and playwright from Brooklyn, New York. She has performed in a variety of stage productions and has collaborated with a wide array of well-known artists, including Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, Dr. Dre, Gerald Levert, Heavy D, Mobb Deep, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Usher, and many others. Crystal's career began at the age of seven, when she recorded with Pink Floyd as part of the Institutional Children's Choir. In 1980, Crystal was the first actress to be cast as the lead character, Doris, in the original musical Mama, I Want to Sing! where she starred in more than thirty performances. In 1982, Crystal performed in George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess, starring Theresa Merritt, at Brooklyn's Prospect Park. In 1988, Crystal made her Broadway debut at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Bob Telson's The Gospel at Colonus with the Institutional Radio Choir. The play featured Morgan Freeman, the Soul Stirrers, and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Crystal performed in the 2018 reunion of The Gospel at Colonus at the Delacorte Theater in New York'sCentral Park, where many of the original cast members were reunited. In 1992, Crystal co-wrote "Anything You Ask" from the Class Actsoundtrack. Crystal is the lead vocalist on "Lovin' You" from the soundtrack for the film Who's the Man?. She is also an arranger and lyricist for the album, which reached #8 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 1993. Crystal's vocal abilities are displayed on other albums that charted in the United States in 1994, including "Got Me Waiting" from Heavy D & the Boyz's album Nuttin' but Love, which topped the Billboard US Rap chart and reached #20 on the BillboardHot 100 and "Take You There" from Pete Rock & CL Smooth's album The Main Ingredient, which reached #76 on the Billboard Hot 100. Crystal performed "Take You There" with Pete Rock & CL Smooth live on the Jon Stewart Show. Crystal contributed vocals on Usher's album Usher which debuted at #187 on the US Billboard 200 chart in 1994. In 1995, Crystal was featured on "Temperature's Rising" from Mobb Deep's The Infamous, which reached #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Her vocal skills are also exhibited on the remixes of Mobb Deep's "Survival of the Fittest" and "The After Hours G.O.D. Pt. III". Crystal is the featured vocalist, co-writer and arranger on the "Temperature's Rising" remix. Crystal is a vocalist on the Heavy D remix of Gerald Levert's "Answering Service". Crystal co-wrote "The Message" featuring Mary J. Blige from Dr. Dre's multi-platinum second album 2001 which peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, "Never Let Go" with Anthony Hamilton from the album Back to Love, and "Cinderella Ballin’" with Angie Stone from the studio albumStone Love. Crystal is featured on the single "More of Me" with Mike City, released in 2015. Crystal's self-produced album, titled The Day Before Heaven, reached #1 on the UK Soul Chart in 2011. The compilation includes thirteen songs, plus one bonus track, which were all written by Crystal. In 2016, Crystal wrote, produced, directed and starred in her autobiographical play The Day Before Heaven. The play premiered on May 5, 2016 at the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts at LIU Brooklyn. Crystal released the "Elevated" Quarantine Promo Mix at midnight on 4/20/2020. Crystal is featured on "San Pedro Alley" from Sam Jonathan Johnson's Urban Life compilation released in July 2020.
