Today we’d like to introduce you to Asia Jennings.
Hi Asia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started acting classes in high school as a scapegoat from being bullied by peers. I enjoyed becoming someone else and walking in other people’s shoes as a reminder that I am not alone. After high school, I auditioned for Howard university’s theatre program and got rejected and I allowed this to stop me completely from pursuing my dreams. So, I decided to attend a community college in my hometown to pursue a career in political science and I ended up tutoring for English as a work-study job.
I found my love for literature again through that job and took a creative writing class which required us to write poetry. I told my professor I’m not the greatest at writing and he said, “Are you sure?” In college, there were open mic nights and I signed up and did a monologue and placed second. I wanted to find another way to express myself and still act so I searched up spoken word and watched a few videos and put the pen to paper.
I took my poem to the next open mic and was super nervous cause it was my first time and I was literally shaking. When I went up people were agreeing with me and the room was silent and I didn’t have to become another person to get people to listen to me. I got open ears by telling my stories and I felt so liberated. I won that night in the first place but I felt like I won more because I didn’t have to pretend for the first time and to me, I faced my bullies through all those years.
The pandemic came and I started writing more like scripts, poems, raps, creative ideas, and a one woman show titled ‘Voyage to Peace.’ I performed in my hometown and I began to get booked and paid to feature shows, events, and so forth. I began creating sets and turning my poems into mini-concerts and I’d put a costume together and get props and it became a thing people wanted to pay to see. That’s when I knew that I had something and I wouldn’t allow anyone to take that from me again. Not Howard, not a critic, nobody.
It is now 2023 and I am preparing to take my one-woman show on tour, drop more visuals, and start an art program for underprivileged youths to have a space to express themselves. Being an independent artist is challenging because I push my own art, I create creative ideas, and everything is authentic because I don’t have a team or label. However, I love creating and I am determined to start new avenues for other creatives in the upcoming generations.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
In one of my spoken word pieces I say, “We crashed, but we didn’t burn. We crashed when we took the wrong turn. One thing about the right path is we can always return. Life lessons we learn.”
This means that in whatever you pursue it is always an obstacle but if you live to see another day it was a lesson and you learn from it and keep pushing.
Being rejected from Howard, being rejected from talent agents, and losing some competitions that I really wanted were huge blows to my self-esteem but I have learned to let it motivate me and keep going.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am most proud of myself for creating and continuing to create despite anything.
I am currently 25 years old and it’s so easy to quit and tell myself it will never work out for me. The fact that I’m still going strong even when I’m down is what I am proud of especially as an independent artist.
I believe my creative world is what sets me apart from others, but in the same sense, I believe that getting to know other artist’s worlds is just as intriguing and that’s what differentiates us all from each other. Someone may like my art but can’t relate to me and the same thing for another artist. There is somebody for everybody and that’s what I love about this art field.
What matters most to you?
I have the honor of performing for MLK Day next week and I can honestly say this is what matters most to me. Being able to honor those who contributed to history or black culture is a big deal to me. As an independent artist, I’m learning that you have to be thankful that someone loves your work enough to book you to speak to college students about Martin Luther King Jr. or to speak to a group of little girls and empower them. That’s what I do it for.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @groovygranmama
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gran.ma.77715?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@groovygranmama28
- Other: https://audiomack.com/aaproductions680/song/girl-holla-back
Image Credits
Clepproductions BlackElmo Films Lester Boykin
