Check out Erika JaNaé’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika JaNaé.

Erika, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up in a pretty artistic family, so music has always been second nature to me. My cousins and I used to sing all of our kids’ books, and we spent so much time watching so many movies just for the music–side note, “Big Water” and “Friends for Dinner” from Land Before Time V are JAMS. Anyway, I didn’t completely delve into being an artist/musician until I was in high school because as a child, I just wanted to be everything! I just knew I would be an Olympic skater one day! Every instrument I’ve picked up since I was about 7 years old just came to me, but the day I saw that I could reach people’s hearts and emotions with music was the day my life changed. I didn’t know that this young awkward girl from the small state of Delaware could impact anything, let alone a room full of people (and possibly the world). I turned down a huge scholarship to Albright College to attend the world-renowned Berklee College of Music, and I am so glad I did. Fast forward to today and I’m a Georgia State School of Music grad (B.S. in Music Business Management), growing in my craft every day, taking on the audio engineering world, and just overall ready to heal some souls one note at a time.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I create music that speaks to the true hearts of people. So many of us are afraid to be honest with ourselves when there’s so much freedom in living in your truth. When I’m able to have honest moments with God and scream, cry, point out my own beauty AND bad decisions, my life grows. I just want people to feel that same freedom I feel. I write, perform and produce pretty much all of my music (besides collaborations), mostly because I want listeners to get my authentic self and understand who I am through a musical lens. I also draw a little so we’ll see if my art can slide on in there too!

Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
We’re basically living in a world full of microwavable dinners, when so many of us present perfectly seasoned full course meals that deserve to be slow cooked and savored. Today’s culture is also damaging to the human psyche because of the personas that are created just for artists to grab onto some type of relevance. Being an artist is possibly most vulnerable “profession”; we put ourselves out there in our music, so watching how our world moves makes it hard to push through the façades.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I’m currently working on a new project called “Freedom in Blue” which will be out on platforms very soon! In the meantime, I’m on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes (YOU NAME IT!), wearing cute outfits, playing cool songs and strumming my strings around Atlanta!

Contact Info:

• Email: erikajanaeg.ent@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh_9WuUDaV6/?taken-by=erikajanaeg
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErikaJaNaeG/
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/ErikaJaNae

Image Credit:
Zach Deloach, Tyrone Webb, Melondy Sinquis

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