Jhené Aiko
Jhené Aiko is an American R&B singer-songwriter and rapper. She began her music career in 2002 as a backing singer for R&B group B2K before embarking on a solo venture. Although she was expected to release a solo album in 2003, Aiko instead decided to focus on her education. She returned to music in 2011 with the release of a mixtape, called Sailing Soul(s). In 2014, Aiko released her first full studio album, Souled Out, and followed it up with Trip and Chilombo in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Chilombo reached number three on the Billboard 200 and received three Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year.
In 2019, Aiko became the global face of the Kat Von D’s vegan True Portrait lightweight medium coverage foundation.
Aiko originally adopted a vegan diet to help overcome some health problems. In a video on Fuse’s YouTube channel, Aiko says she turned to a plant-based diet after suffering from gall bladder problems, but over time she embraced the ethical reasons for veganism too. She has spoken out against the fur industry and all animal exploitation:
“As human beings, we have the power to speak up for animals. The way they are killed for fur is very inhumane. The animals are cramped up, there’s no veterinary care, they’re electrocuted, they’re beaten, they’re drowned, they’re skinned alive. And once you know that, how could you think that wearing fur is cool? It’s not.
I feel like we really have to wake up and educate ourselves on how these animals are treated. It’s not fair that we take advantage of them by using them for food, using them for fashion, for beauty, even for little trimmings on jackets or on shoes. I just hope that everyone is encouraged to become more educated.” – Jhené Aiko
