Chyna Tahjere Griffin: Music, Faith Evans, Education, and Songwriting

Have you ever heard Faith Evans talk about her children and wondered about her eldest daughter, Chyna Tahjere Griffin? Chyna grew up around recording studios before her mother became one of the best-known voices of 1990s R&B. Music was not something she discovered from a distance. It was part of daily life from childhood.

Chyna Tahjere Griffin later chose music for herself. She studied the subject at New York University, started writing and creating tracks when she was young, released her own work, and earned songwriting and performance credits.

Her story is closely tied to Faith Evans, but it is not only a family story. It is also about what happens when a child grows up watching professional music being made and then decides to build her own creative identity.

Quick Bio

Full Name	Chyna Tahjere Griffin
Birth Date	April 1, 1993
Profession	Singer-songwriter and music creator
Mother	Faith Evans
Father	Kiyamma Griffin
Education	Studied music at New York University
Debut Single	Grown Lady
Known Credits	Music as Chyna Tahjere and songwriting work under her full name
Siblings	C.J. Wallace, Joshua Russaw, Ryder Russaw

Who Is Chyna Tahjere Griffin?

Chyna Tahjere Griffin is an American singer-songwriter and the eldest child of Grammy-winning R&B artist Faith Evans and producer Kiyamma Griffin.

She was born on April 1, 1993. Her mother had Chyna before signing the record deal that would turn Evans into a major R&B artist.

That timing shaped Chyna’s childhood. She was there while her mother was building a career, not after the success was already established. She spent time in studios while Evans worked on early albums and watched professional singers, writers, musicians, and producers turn ideas into finished records.

By the time she was old enough to choose her own direction, music was already familiar territory.

Growing Up Before Faith Evans Became Famous

Faith Evans’ career story and Chyna’s childhood overlap in an unusual way.

Evans attended Fordham University but left after about a year as she became a mother. Biography.com notes that she had Chyna with producer Kiyamma Griffin before moving to Los Angeles and pursuing more professional singing work.

Evans later became the first female artist signed to Bad Boy Records and released her debut album Faith in 1995.

For Chyna, that meant the rise of her mother’s career happened during her earliest years. She was not simply raised as the daughter of an already famous singer. She grew up while that career was being built.

That difference matters because Chyna has described learning about music through observation. The studio was part of her environment, and she absorbed lessons before she ever had formal music training.

Music Started Early

According to People, Chyna learned to play keyboard at age seven and was creating tracks by the time she was a preteen.

In a 2024 conversation with her uncle Chike Evans, she explained that she used to put her beats on CDs and play them for her mother in the car.

What stands out is how ordinary that creative exchange seemed inside the family. Chyna was excited to show her mother what she had made, while Evans encouraged her instead of turning every experiment into a formal lesson.

Chyna later said that her mother taught her without deliberately teaching her. Simply being in the studio while Evans made her first albums gave her a close look at professional music creation.

That kind of exposure cannot replace skill or practice, but it can make the process less mysterious. Chyna saw writing, arranging, recording, and performance as real work carried out by people around her.

New York University Added Formal Training

Chyna eventually took that early experience into a more formal setting.

People reports that she attended New York University to study music. That choice is important because it shows that she did not rely only on family access or childhood experience.

Formal music study can add theory, composition, production knowledge, collaboration, and a wider network of artists. For someone who had already spent years around studios, college offered another way to understand the craft.

Her path therefore combined two kinds of learning: the informal education of growing up around working musicians and the structured education of studying music at a university.

That mix helps explain why her credits extend beyond singing alone.

Grown Lady and the Start of Her Own Releases

Chyna released her debut single, Grown Lady, in 2012, according to People.

That was an important step because releasing original music meant moving from private creation into public work under her own name.

Being Faith Evans’ daughter could open attention, but it also created an obvious comparison. Evans had already built a successful R&B career, so Chyna’s music would naturally be heard in the shadow of a famous parent.

Her response was not to recreate her mother’s exact career. She continued developing as a songwriter and artist, with a creative identity that included writing, production, and collaboration.

This is where a fuller look at her credits becomes more useful than a simple list of songs.

Songwriting Credits Show a Wider Creative Role

Chyna’s work includes formal songwriting credits under her full name.

Apple Music lists Chyna Tahjere Griffin as a songwriter on the 2017 track Flexx by Tahj the Great. That credit gives a concrete example of her work on the writing side of music.

More recently, Apple Music credits Chyna Tahjere Griffin as a composer on Cory Henry’s 2024 song Live In Love.

Cory Henry is a Grammy-winning musician known for his keyboard work, gospel roots, jazz, funk, and collaborations across genres. A composition credit on his work shows that Chyna’s songwriting activity extends beyond material released only as her own artist project.

Credits like these matter because they show the part of music careers that fans do not always see. A person can be active as a writer or composer even when their face is not on the cover.

Working With Faith Evans

Chyna has also worked directly with her mother.

People notes that she has collaborated with Faith Evans and joined her on tour. Chyna described the touring experience as a learning process because she was now part of the show rather than simply traveling around it as a child.

That difference is easy to understand. Watching a parent perform is one thing. Becoming part of the professional production means learning rehearsals, timing, stage responsibilities, travel demands, and the discipline behind a live show.

AllMusic also credits Chyna Tahjere as a featured artist on Faith Evans and The Notorious B.I.G.’s 2017 album The King & I. It separately lists Chyna Griffin for composition, vocal arrangement, and background vocals.

Those credits show that their family connection became a working musical relationship as Chyna grew older.

What Growing Up in a Studio Can Teach

A studio can look like a fun place from the outside, but the work inside it is built on small choices.

A singer may try the same line more than once. A writer may change one word so the hook lands right. A beat may lose one sound and gain a new one. A good take may still need a new part.

Chyna saw that kind of work when she was young. That gave her a view of music as a craft, not just as a finished song on the radio.

It also meant she could hear how a song grows. A beat starts the mood. A chord can shift the feel. A vocal can be soft in one part and strong in the next. Each choice has a role.

That kind of time in a room with working artists can teach taste. It can also teach patience. The first idea is not always the best one.

Chyna Tahjere Griffin’s later choice to study music added a new layer. She had the feel of a studio from home, then took time to learn in a school setting as well.

Why Song Credits Matter

A song credit may look like a small line on a music page. For a writer, it can be one of the clearest signs of the work they did.

A singer gets heard in the track. A writer may not. A person can help shape the words, tune, or core idea of a song and still stay out of the main photo.

That is why Chyna Tahjere Griffin’s credits help tell her story. They show work tied to actual songs, not just a broad claim that she “does music.”

The credit on Flexx links her name to the writing. The later Cory Henry credit shows that her work did not end with a first wave of songs when she was young.

It also shows range. One part of her path has been her own voice and her own songs. Another part has been work that helps someone else’s song take shape.

Both sides count in a music career.

Learning From a Parent Without Becoming a Copy

It is easy to think a child of a great singer will sound or work just like that parent. Real life is rarely that neat.

Faith Evans gave Chyna a close view of the craft. She could watch how her mother used her voice, chose songs, and worked with a team. Yet Chyna still had to find the parts of music that felt like her own.

Her path has included keys, beats, song work, live shows, and school. That is wider than one role.

The value of her mother’s lead may be less about a fixed sound and more about a way of work. Chyna saw that songs take time. She saw that a career has long days as well as bright nights. She saw that skill grows through use.

That kind of lesson can stay with an artist even when the style changes.

The Notorious B.I.G. Connection

Chyna’s family is also connected to one of the most famous names in hip-hop history.

Faith Evans married Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., in 1994. Their son, Christopher Jordan “C.J.” Wallace, was born in 1996.

That makes C.J. Chyna’s younger half-brother. The family connection often causes confusion online, especially when short profiles blur the difference between Chyna’s biological father and her mother’s later husband.

Chyna’s father is Kiyamma Griffin. Biggie was part of the family through his marriage to Faith Evans.

Keeping those relationships clear is important because Chyna’s own musical roots already have a strong story without changing basic family facts.

Her Siblings Also Found Creative Paths

Chyna is the eldest of Faith Evans’ four children.

C.J. Wallace has worked as an actor, musician, and entrepreneur. He portrayed a young version of his father in the 2009 film Notorious and later pursued projects in entertainment and business.

Joshua Russaw, another of Chyna’s younger brothers, has worked as a DJ, singer-songwriter, and producer. He has performed under the name Jahad.

Ryder Russaw is the youngest.

People has described the older siblings as growing up in an artistic environment. That helps place Chyna’s story in a wider family context. Music was not a single career choice made by one child. Creativity became part of how several members of the family developed.

Faith Evans Chose Family Alongside Music

One reason Chyna’s childhood stands out is the way Faith Evans has spoken about balancing music and motherhood.

Evans told People that she was never a heavily touring artist because she had children. She had Chyna before her first record deal and made choices about work that allowed her to remain present as her family grew.

That context matters for Chyna’s story. The closeness she describes to studio life did not mean her mother was always away working. Evans has said she sometimes put professional opportunities on hold for her children.

Chyna therefore saw both sides of a music career: the creative excitement and the family decisions that happen around it.

Building an Identity Beyond a Famous Last Name

Children of famous musicians often face a difficult question. Are listeners hearing their work on its own, or only because of the family name?

Chyna Tahjere Griffin cannot separate her story from Faith Evans, nor does she need to. Her mother was one of her earliest musical influences, and Chyna has spoken openly about learning by watching her work.

At the same time, formal study at NYU, original releases, songwriting credits, touring experience, and composition work show a creative path that requires her own effort.

The strongest way to understand her career is not to claim that she has escaped her mother’s influence. It is to see how she used that early exposure as a starting point and then developed skills of her own.

A Career Can Grow in More Than One Way

Not every music career follows the same plan.

One artist may tour each year. One may write for other acts. One may make songs at home, then step on stage when the right show comes up.

Chyna’s work has touched more than one of those lanes. She has made her own songs. She has joined her mom on the road. She has also earned song credits that put her work behind the voice we hear.

That mix can make a career less easy to sum up, but it can also make it more real. Work in music often shifts with time.

A person may sing on one track, write on the next, and help shape a song for someone else. The key point is the work itself.

For Chyna Tahjere Griffin, the thread is clear. She started young, kept learning, and stayed close to the craft as she grew.

Her path also shows how skill can grow with time. A child can learn by ear. A teen can test new sounds. School can add new tools. Live work can add more skill. Song work can teach new forms. Each step can shape the next one. That is how a long life in music can take form. That work still counts. Work can last.

Chyna Tahjere Griffin’s Work Today

Chyna’s career is not built around constant celebrity coverage, which is one reason readers may find fewer mainstream interviews about her than about Faith Evans.

Her documented music credits, however, show continued creative activity. The 2024 composition credit on Cory Henry’s Live In Love is a recent example.

That credit comes more than a decade after the release of Grown Lady. It suggests a career that has continued to develop behind the scenes as well as through her own performances.

For music readers, this may be the most useful update. Chyna is not only a name from Faith Evans’ family history. She has continued to participate in music as a writer and creator.

Why Her Story Connects With Music Fans

Chyna Tahjere Griffin’s story is interesting because it shows how musical knowledge can move through a family without producing an exact copy of the previous generation.

She learned by watching Faith Evans work. She started creating tracks as a child. She studied music in college. She released songs, toured, and added formal writing and composition credits.

That progression is more meaningful than rumors about private relationships or invented estimates of wealth. It gives readers a clear picture of what she has actually done.

It also explains why her name continues to appear in searches. Some people arrive because they know Faith Evans. Others are looking for songwriting credits, family connections, or information about the next generation around Bad Boy-era R&B.

Her life connects all of those interests.

Final Thoughts

Chyna Tahjere Griffin grew up close to professional music, but she still had to decide what to do with that access. She chose to study music, make her own work, collaborate with her mother, and develop as a songwriter.

Her family history includes major names in R&B and hip-hop, yet her own credits give readers a reason to look beyond the family tree. From childhood keyboard lessons to later composition work, music has remained a steady part of her life.

For more clear, people-first profiles covering entertainment families and creative careers, explore the Biography section on LakewoodScoop.co.uk.