A native New Yorker, R&B and Afropop singer, songwriter and rapper Jameella Jè can trace her passion for music to age 3.
Saturday mornings, in particular, were special for Jameella. Those were the days upon which her father would wake his children by playing music—everything from jazz to the oldies. Music would fill the air from dawn to dusk, and Saturdays grew important to Jameella because she knew she would hear a new song every weekend.
The love of music that Jameella’s father instilled in her manifested itself when she was 9, and she began performing in public.
“I started killing stages at talent shows all the way through high school,” she said. “I began recording cover songs in small closet studios in 2013. I officially began to record my own professional music in 2019.”
And since she began recording her own music in 2019, Jameella has gained traction in the New York City Metropolitan Area, becoming one of the most popular recording artists among those emerging from the African Diaspora.
Her love of music is illustrated by her love for R&B and Afropop.
“R&B is such a soulful, rich sound, and Afropop is beautiful and fresh,” Jameella said. “Blending the two gives a feel of music that’s almost indescribable. I enjoy being able to be who I want to be through R&B and Afropop. I’m able to evoke any character, almost like an alter ego in my music.”
Formerly known as Jamilla, this compelling musician has graced billboards in Times Square and Africa.
“Seeing myself on a billboard in Times Square was surreal,” she said. “It made me believe that I made the right choice in following my dreams. And most importantly, it reaffirmed my belief in myself as an artist and reminded me that everything I desired was attainable.”
Musically speaking, Jameella’s fourth single, “Hold Me,” generated 350k streams within 48 hours of its release. Click here to give her music a listen.
Her musical influences include “the one and only Lauryn Hill,” as she described her; Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Kojo Antwi and Sade.
“What inspires me as a musician are life experiences and the experiences of others,” she said. “I have the ability to take other people’s experiences, make them personal, and translate them into relatable music.”
She is now pivoting to rebrand her image.
“I am rebranding my image to be a more relatable artist and to be myself—unapologetically,” Jameella said. “I was so focused on playing it safe in the past, but this time around, I need to be the voice of our women. If a woman is unable to voice how she feels, I want to be a translator for that woman through my music. That can’t be done with trying to display perfection because, let’s face it, our lives are not perfect. And I cannot achieve that without peeling the layers and being the realest version of myself as an artist.”
Jameella Jè launches her next chapter Nov. 4, when her new single, “Come Thruu,” featuring BET-nominated artist Kwesi Arthur and award-winning producer KaySo, will be released. The music video to the new single will be released on Nov. 18th.
As she focuses on her own career, Jameella Jè works to inspire women to become musicians because she sees a lack of female representation among recording artists.
“More women would be motivated to enter the industry when they see other women attaining success,” she said. “Oftentimes, women’s talents are silenced in this male-dominated industry. If women are reaching higher heights that seemed impossible, it would encourage rising female artists to take a chance and enter.”
