Born Myron Avant in 1978, in Cleveland, OH. Education: Graduated from Cleveland School of the Arts, 1995. Addresses: Record company–Geffen Records, website: http://www.geffen.com. Website–Avant Official Website: http://www.avant-music.com.
R&B singer/producer Avant launched his solo career at age 22, quickly drawing comparisons to fellow new-style R&B crooner R. Kelly. He was the first act signed to former Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Magic Johnson Music, a subsidiary of MCA. Avant, like Kelly, took an increasing interest in working behind the scenes. He collaborated with producer Steve “Stone” Huff on his early recordings, but by his third release, Private Room, he was handling a significant portion of the writing and production duties himself.
Born Myron Avant (he uses only his last name professionally to avoid being confused with the R&B artist Myron) in 1978 in Cleveland, Ohio, Avant was the youngest of six children, and was raised in the city’s 110th St. and Woodland Avenue neighborhood. He sang in the choir at the now-closed Union Hill Baptist Church, and listened to the music of Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, the O’Jays, and the Isley Brothers. “I love the old-school music, but I don’t like to call it old school. I like to call it great music,” he told John Soeder of Cleveland’s Plain Dealer. Avant won numerous talent shows, including the Cleveland Black Expo, and studied music and drama at the Cleveland School of the Arts, graduating in 1995.
