We were lucky to catch up with Asha Mae recently and have shared our conversation below.

Asha Mae, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I’ve always been very creative but I became a single mother at a young age. I felt that I owed my child stability and the best that I had to offer. Of course, for me, that meant getting a traditional 9-5 and working my way up. I did that just that but ignored my true, creative self. Here I am decades later and finally doing what I love. I’d love to say that I should have done it sooner. That’s definitely what my heart says, but I also believe in divine timing. My time is now.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Although I grew up singing in the church, as I grew older I didn’t really see myself as an artist. That life was for someone else, not me. Then a series of events just happened. I decided that I would follow God, the universe or whatever else you want to call it no matter how uncomfortable it made me. Doing so caused me to join the choir at the church that my youngest son’s daycare was in. I was very uncomfortable. To be blunt, the choir wasn’t exactly what I was used to, but I made a promise that I would follow the path laid out for me instead of the one I was trying to create for myself. A year or so later a grammy nominated producer who had many years in the business became the music director at the church. For quite a while he would suggest that I go to his studio and record, but I kept brushing it off thinking that that life was for someone else. Years went by and my family found itself stuck in an RV during Covid. (We were RVers and would often travel south during the winter.) There was a nagging sense that there was something that I needed to do. There was a shift that needed to happen in my life but I was too scared to take the step. I sat down and wrote the song “Lord Make a Way.” Right after I sent it to Donald and his response was “let’s record it!” I’ve never been a person who was only one foot in, so I couldn’t just record one song. I recorded and entire EP and 2 more since! All of this was done in my RV. I was able to purchase all of the equipment since the pandemic shut recording studios down. That enabled me to learn so much about recording and just the creative process. I’ve since performed and have been told that I’ve touched many people with my message of love, self acceptance and freedom.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I believe that artists have a responsibility. There is so much negativity in the world, but there is an equal if not greater amount of positivity. Sowing light is what drives me. If I plant seeds of light in this world, they will grow.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing that society can do is to listen. There is so much great music out there, so many talented artists that aren’t often heard because they aren’t mainstream. But, we are out here. Find us, give us a chance, you may like what you hear. And if you do, there’s music to be downloaded, merch to buy and shows to see. As much as we love to do this, we need money to fuel the machine.

Contact Info:

• Website: ashamae.com
• Instagram: @asha_mae_sings
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashamaesings/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi0rYrgDi4sWJNbaTfCXfTg