The truth about Truth Hurts is that she was destined to be a top recording artist from a young age. Her real name is Shari Watson and she was born in St. Louis Missouri. As a youngster, she was already singing in church, and her parents had her in vocal lessons with a Broadway pro by the time she was 10. Her father was no stranger to the music scene as he was concert promoter. She was singing in a jazz band by her teens and was also winning many vocal competitions. Her talent was recognized in high school, which set her up for a music scholarship to the University of Chicago.Before she could accept the scholarship, however, her parents moved to Los Angeles, which led to her meeting a female rapper she teamed up with to form a duo. They released one single, but their record label closed and they were left without a deal. Watson was trying her hand at songwriting by this time and started writing for other artists like Eve and Eric Benet. An audition with the legendary artist Dr. Dre set Watson up first for a writing contract with him and later a recording deal. She took her current moniker and started touring with Dre as well as artists like Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.She released her debut album, Truthfully Speaking, in 2002, and the album reached number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number five on the Billboard 200. Watson ran into some problems, however, when she was slapped with a copyright lawsuit and one of her song producers, R. Kelly, dealt with legal troubles as well. She switched labels and started working on collaborations before releasing her sophomore album, Ready Now, in 2004. The album charted on three different charts and set herself up for more top releases.