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Grammy Award-winning singer Chrisette Michele admits that the first time she met Kanye West, he was a little . . . salty.
“Kanye was stuffing saltine crackers into his mouth . . . they were having a contest to see who could stuff the most in without drinking water,” recalls Michele, who was featured on a West-produced track for Nas’ “Hip Hop Is Dead” album.
“He was the top guy,” she recalls. “He put in 12.”
That was back in 2006, when Michele was still an industry newbie, cutting her teeth singing hooks for bigs like Jay-Z and The Game.
Fast-forward seven years, and she’s got her fourth studio album, “Better” (released earlier this month), a 2009 Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance and an arm party’s worth of chart-topping singles.
Michele, who grew up on Long Island, now lives in a waterfront two-bedroom high-rise in Williamsburg decked out with Furbies, a Disney Princess phone and sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline.
It’s not just the 30-year-old’s digs that have been upgraded — “Better,” she says, is indicative of her new state of mind.
“I’m in the best space that I’ve ever been,” says Michele, who in 2010 — at the time of her last album — was suffering through heartache, exhaustion and weight gain.
“I’ve written a lot of broken hearted love songs . . . I took some time to cleanse. I needed some therapy. I needed some vacation and I needed time to heal,” says Michele, who proudly displays a collection of self-help books in her Zen-like living room, including “Christianity for Dummies” and “The Go-Girl Guide: Surviving Your 20s With Savvy, Soul and Style.”
In the three-year hiatus since her last record, Michele’s gone vegan (she’s penning her own cookbook, “Fat Vegan,” due out this Christmas), landed a boyfriend and moved to Brooklyn (where most of her family is from) — a life-changing decision featured on her new album.
“My spirit feels good in Williamsburg,” she says.
One of the most buzzed-about tracks on “Better” is “Rich Hipster,” a phrase Michele coined to describe herself.
“It’s against the law to call yourself a hipster. You will be hung by all the hipsters. So I had to make up something a little bit different. So I put ‘rich’ in front of it. It’s also against the law to call yourself rich. So I’m in lots of trouble right now,” laughs Michele. (The singer’s second bedroom exclusively houses her designer shoe collection.)
But, she says, there’s no shame in her game.
“To me, it’s just a person who doesn’t like boundaries, guidelines, boxes and is rich in culture, rich in art,” says Michele, who has seven tattoos and keeps two bikes parked on one of her balconies.
“I think that’s the reason for the Williamsburg moment. You can just chill out. Be whoever you want to be. No one’s ever going to look at you funny.”
But Michele wasn’t always a hipster — way back when, she was just a deacon’s daughter who sang in the church choir.
The R&B artist grew up in Patchogue, LI, with her dad, choir director mom, two biological siblings and “about 1,000” other ones.
“My mother raised us up in a therapeutic home where we would have young people come and live with us,” explains Michele. “Sometimes for weeks, sometimes for years, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
“It taught me to hide my things or to be prepared to give them away,” she says. “And that’s my attitude with life now.”
Michele got sidetracked from her studies at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, LI, when she landed a recording contract with Def Jam in 2006 (she eventually received her degree in vocal performance in 2008).
Her big break came courtesy of none other than Jay-Z when she was tapped to sing on his 2006 single “Lost One,” and perform alongside Hova at venues like Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art.
“At our first show, I was all by myself up [on a platform at Radio City Music Hall] in the sky while Jay-Z did his thing. And I just was like, ‘Do I wear Timberlands and jeans? Do I wear a gown?’ You just hope that you’re doing the right thing.
“It was surreal,” she adds. “First of all, I’m from New York. He’s Jay-Z . . . he could replace the Statue of Liberty, and no one would be upset. So I just felt like I was performing with history,” she says.
Michele’s performance was up to snuff — shortly afterward, she was asked to play at a New Orleans birthday party for Solange Knowles, the sister of Beyoncé.
“Freakin’ Beyoncé is in the crowd, in front of the stage, throwing her hands in the air, singing my song. And I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ ”
But despite it all, Michele says she’s not one to get star-struck.
“I really wish I could be more nervous, it sounds better,” she says.
That’s not to say she doesn’t get surprised.
“I expected Jay-Z to be how people expect rappers to be,” admits Michele. “But Jay-Z is like a cousin, an uncle.
“His hands are soft. I didn’t expect that.”