We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Janssen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Janssen below.

Janssen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I think that your well-being is very important and that everyone should take care of themselves. I like to sit and think about my personal growth as an individual. Life experience is an indispensable catalyst in my creation of meaningful projects. This serves as the wellspring from which I draw inspiration, emotional depth, and perspective. Mixing my personal encounters, triumphs, and challenges infuses the creative process.

Janssen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Im a recording artist that intersects genre between rap, alternative, pop, and soul. It all started with my family and particularly with my parents. They use to play us music when we were younger. From the Beatles, Elvis Presley, ABBA, the Beach Boys to name a few were some of the records that played constantly in our home. I fell in love with hip-hop shortly after attending high school. It was when I lived in Chicago that sparked my interest in getting into music. From there, I started writing and participating at open mics around the city when I moved back DC. I learned a lot from my peers who were coming up and we fed on that energy to elevate each others strengths and weaknesses. In 2022, I released my first EP, Lucky, after dropping “5 minutes” and “Rough Week” in 2021. Navigating a hiatus in the wake of the pandemic was a challenging endeavor, one that involved not just a pause in the music but a reassessment of self and purpose. Im really proud of my EP, Lucky, because I got to reconnect with some old friends and really work hard on re-inventing my sound. I think one of the things that set me apart from others is that I value my privacy much more than promoting myself to the public which at times can be defeating but that’s why I enjoy creating music for myself first because its honest work and people will notice that.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when my family, friends, and strangers find out I make art and the reaction I get from them when they hear my music and the like it is the best feeling. Knowing that my words have found kindred spirits, that the stories I tell strike a chord with the experiences of others, is a powerful affirmation.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the biggest thing that non-creatives will struggle to understand is all the moving pieces that’s involved to releasing music. There’s a lot of process that goes into it from writing a story, to working with producers, engineers, to studio time, mixing and mastering, to promoting strategies, and licensing. Non-creatives just press play but we have to think about everything else before its gets to your hands. So shoutout to everyone who’s pursuing art, making music is so complex I have the utmost respect to each one on that path.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mynameisjanssen.net
• Instagram: instagram.com/jansseniam
• Facebook: facebook.com/jansseniam

Image Credits
Tina Carzon