Zaïe of Marietta on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Zaïe shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Zaïe, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I loose track of time when I’m either writing or recording music. I think that’s when I find myself the most satisfied and at peace, is when I’m making music and just doing what I love. I can either be writing a song for 5 or 10 minutes; or be recording for hours and I will never get tired of it. Even if my voice does. *laughs*
Music is where I’m home and happiest.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Zaïe or Zaie, which means “Gift of God” in Hawaii. I am 24 years old born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I am an independent singer/songwriter, podcaster, aspiring model and entrepreneur. My former artist name was Zay Explicit; where I released a lot of my older music prior to 2023. In 2022, is when I first announced my new artist name. I released my first single “ROTTEN” in September 2023; and followed up with other singles released in 2024, ahead of my upcoming album this year titled “COSMOS”. This year I collaborated with another artist named Qalai and released our collaboration called “ Meet Me On Mars” which is also on my upcoming album.
What is most interesting or unique about me and my brand is that I literally started from nothing. I was homeless several times throughout my childhood while my mom was doing the best she could to take care of my brother and I. I did not grow up with much but made the best of what I had. I have been writing songs since I was 8 years old and have been singing and performing since the same age. I have always had an affinity for music. I have lost several family members in the last few years and suffered numerous financial hardships. However, throughout all of the obstacles I have remained diligent as far as writing music and am able to be creatively expressive; and use my social media to connect others who have been through similar struggles. I provide a community and space where anyone and everyone can feel welcomed, loved and accepted as they truly are. I am so excited for this era and all that is in store for my amazing fans, friends, family and followers. I am releasing a new single soon that will accompany a music video; also featured on my upcoming album!

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
If I’m thinking back WAYY to the earliest of times and memories, then I would say my middle school chorus teacher Dr. Messer; she was the first person I think that truly saw me. I know that she was my teacher of course so it’s not that same as family or friends or something but honestly, middle school was such a roller coaster (as I’m sure it was for most people that age) that she made me feel safe in her classroom. That was the first place in my childhood where I felt like I could be myself and I felt like I had a purpose (and destiny) for music and for life.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
Wow, that’s a great question. Honestly, I think I’m still working on this daily in my life. However, I have made tremendous progress when I start to think about it. I guess I stopped hiding my pain just a couple years ago. That was something I was still struggling with, where I would just ball up all my feelings and thoughts and ignore it until it all came crashing down on me at once. When I allowed the breakdowns to happen though, and stopped fighting and resisting so much; it allowed me to get through them, which later gave me time to heal and learn. I think the best thing to do and what I learned is to stop running away from yourself. You are human and it’s ok to BE human. It’s ok to feel human emotions even when we don’t want to. And it’s ok to breakdown and even to do nothing sometimes. As long as we are using it and working towards a positive goal then the outcome is aligned, and is much better. So to answer the question, I’m still working on this; but I truly feel like I made the most effort back in 2022. And I will continue to make this effort everyday.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, I would say that the visual representation of me and how I choose to creatively express myself and my appearance, definitely changes. If you follow me on instagram then you can definitely see the differences and the evolution over time. However, for the most part I do believe that the public versions of me are definitely me. I have always been very outspoken and confident with my brand and my look. I have also had the same socials for quite a while so I feel like my feed has been very consistent; even with the types of captions I use. In person I would say I’m the same too; even as I’ve gotten older my personality has relatively remained the same.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop doubting myself and just go for it, in all aspects of my life; for sure. I would also just travel and spend less time on my phone and more time experiencing life (when I’m not working). I would spend the most time with friends and family that I could and just focus on the positives and making memories instead of trying to work so hard. Also if I knew I only had 10years left I wouldn’t even finish school at that point; I would just drop my degree. *laughs*

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zaiemusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaiemusic/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/zaiemusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zaiemusic
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@zaiemusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zaiemusic
• Other: Podcast: www.funnyenoughpodcast.online

Image Credits
Ashton Dean