The cousin of R. Kelly, Avant (born Myron Avant) is an urban contemporary singer and songwriter. Avant struck gold with his 1998 single, "Separated," which cracked the top of Billboard's R&B charts. His 2000 debut full-length, MY THOUGHTS, was produced by Steve Huff and released on Magic Johnson's label Magic Johnson Music. The album set the template for Avant's modern soul sound, which bears resemblences to R Kelly's, a sound refined on subsequent albums such as 2002's ECSTACY and 2006's DIRECTOR. Avant signed with Capitol for his 2008 self-titled release, which spawned the Top 20 R&B single "Break Ya Back."































