We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aria Lanelle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

After I released my last EP “My Name Is”, I moved to Brooklyn on a whim and it changed the course of my life and music career. Before I moved, I’d still been living at home in Massachusetts making music. But after my grandmother passed, my mom decided there wasn’t anything left for her in Mass anymore and moved back to Texas. I didn’t want to go back to Texas (where I was originally born) at that point, so I saw a listing on Facebook from one of my old classmates to sublet a room for the summer in BK and took it.

I found work at a coffee shop, and ironically enough, the owner of that coffee shop became a good friend and was very well-connected with creatives (especially musicians) across the city. He welcomed me into the crew, and I’ve made so many friends and also amazing music as a result. Moving to Brooklyn like that gave me the courage to know that I could survive on my own in a big city, and that I could be resourceful and land on my feet, both music-wise and just as a person.

When I moved to Atlanta on a whim a year later, I took the tools I’d learned from Brooklyn and used them there to similar results. I began producing for other artists, recorded amazing music of my own, and began overcoming my social anxiety at industry events. I also started creating a relationship with my fans online, and solidified my artistic image and sound. I knew what people were listening to in the clubs because I was in them taking notes. I knew how to talk to fans because I’d been studying how the artists around me cultivated relationships with their listeners. Risk-taking is almost like an education for me.

Every time I take a risk, I grow stronger, become a better artist, and learn more about myself in the process. Each risk propels me to a new level in my career, and it’s to the point where it doesn’t feel right if I’m not taking a risk. I feel like if I’m not risking something, I’m not pushing myself hard enough and need to go back to the drawing board. I guess I’m a little bit of a thrill-seeker now.

Aria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve known that I wanted to do music almost as long as I’ve been alive. I first heard Whitney singing “I Believe In You And Me” and immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. So the entirety of my life has been in pursuit of that goal. I performed all through middle school and high school, went to Berklee College of Music (graduating with honors), and immediately started pounding the proverbial music pavement.

I write and produce the vast majority of my own music, so you know when you’re listening to my music that you’re getting my comprehensive artistic perspective. I think that’s so important as a young Black woman because so often people speak FOR us without letting us speak for ourselves. It hits different when you’re hearing the real and not filtered through someone else’s opinion.

I’m so proud of my work ethic, how I never give up, and how I’m constantly evolving into a better and better artist. It’s led to some amazing opportunities that I already look back on in shock. When I was in college, I got to sing with Richard Smallwood and Dorinda Clark Cole. Right after college I won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the R&B division. My very first collab (a House remix of the classic “Saturday Love”) has been streamed millions of times and is distributed through a major label. I’ve performed at iconic venues like Rockwood Music Hall and SOBs. I’ve gone viral online, and have gained the most loyal and supportive listeners and artist could ever hope for. I model now! I co-wrote a song for an Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival Official Selection production called Closing Doors! I have the incredible Durand Bernarr as a feature on one of the best songs I’ve ever released called “Last Lovers”! I’ve been featured by R&B Only! The list could go on!

Lastly, I want people to know that between hard work and keeping God first, you really can’t lose. I think half the reason I’m so blessed is because I’m just too stubborn to give up.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is honestly hearing people tell me they can relate to my lyrics. I’ve literally had people be like “where you there?? Because this is too real,” and it’s just the best. I’m almost always writing directly from my real-life experiences or the experiences that I’ve observed from others, so my lyrics have that true-to-life, empathetic feel to them. There’s so much nuance that happens when you write authentically from life, and listeners connect with that. The more truth I tell, the more people seem to resonate with my work.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I’ve honestly had a tricky experience with social media. At first, I fought it. All my peers were focused on building their numbers and growing their audiences, but I was very stubborn about it. I romanticized the days of yore where great artists would just drop music without having to do the whole social media thing, but then I got tired of feeling unseen and tried to figure out the digital world. I had to start over from scratch on my Instagram, which is why I have a smaller following on the new account, but also everyone over there is so tapped in and authentically supportive that it’s even better than the large vanity metrics of my old account. I also got into TikTok over quarantine (like everyone else), and I enjoy the wild Wild West aspect of that platform. You can do pretty much anything over there.

But my favorite platform has to be Twitter. If you want to find me online, I’m 99.9% of the time going to be on Twitter. I’m a writer first and foremost, so it’s easy for me to get some quick tweets off about the inspo for my lyrics or nerding out about a music history fact. I worked really hard to create an engaged following over there too, folks who genuinely talk to me and give me their opinions about my music and stuff, so I’m not just tweeting into the void. Twitter has literally changed my life, and I’ve gotten so many good looks irl off of that digital platform.

So as someone who went from hating social media to loving it and embracing being a content creator, I think you just have to think about how you’d make friends irl and just apply that to whatever platform you’re on. Say hi to people, comment on their stuff, support their projects, etc. Often we go onto these platforms selfishly thinking about what we can get out of them, when really, we should be thinking about how we can sincerely connect with others through them. Express yourself authentically and be a good friend to others and you’ll build! But honestly that applies to anything in life, in my opinion.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.arialanelle.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/arialanelle
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/arialanelle
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Arialanelle

Image Credits
Klare Perez