Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eryn Lanaie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Eryn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I knew I wanted to pursue music professionally in 2019/2020. When I first started recording in a studio in 2016 I was just getting my feet wet and developing my sound with no knowledge of the music business and that I could actually make real money from being a musician. I kept practicing and progressing from 2016-2019, even while being pregnant with my son in 2017, until I felt I had enough basic knowledge of the music industry to actually put myself out there. For 3 years I focused solely on becoming just as strong vocally as I was lyrically and essentially taught myself how to sing so that I could compete with my peers in both categories without question. Once I put in well over 10,000 hours of research and practice, I knew it was time to introduce my music and sound to the world and take my career serious. I dropped a mixtape on SoundCloud titled ‘Toxic’ in 2020 and followed up with an EP titled ‘Triggers’ on all platforms in 2021. The emotions evoked from my fans and the feedback I received from my first release in 2020 really let me know that I was supposed to be doing music on a larger scale and that this was indeed my path. The rest has since been history and I’ve just been riding the creative wave.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a 25 year old Arizona native, born & raised and I am a new R&B/HipHop/TrapSoul Artist. I grew up listening to every genre of music like Blues, HipHop, Soul, Rock, R&B, NeoSoul, Pop, Country and many more which helped to shape the artist I am today. At any given time the artist playlist on the way to school could easily switch from Evanescence to Ghetto Boys to Prince to Dolly Parton and the vibe would still remain the same. I started rapping before I even thought about taking singing seriously and that was simply because I was fascinated by the way Slick Rick, Left Eye, Biggie, Tupac, ODB, Nas, to name a few, could flip their words around and paint pictures while providing a vibe and an unmatched rhythm and cadence to bop to. I started to get into singing years later starting with classic artists like Tank, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé & Destiny’s Child, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, The Clark Sisters, Kirk Franklin & Choir, Paramore, Avril Lavine & Many more singers that helped me find the voice I have now. It wasn’t until I heard Lil Wayne then Drake that rapping with melody became more fused together and I could begin to play with intertwining the two genres. Now in 2023 it’s very common to find an artist who can do both but not often do you find one like me with the chops to go against singers & rappers separately and dominate in both fields.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
There have been plenty of times during my musical journey in which most people would have thrown in the towel but for me provided more fuel to my fire. As soon as my first Ep was finished, I set up a mini tour across the country with cities such as Dallas, Atlanta, Jackson, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc.., and it was all paid for by myself out of pocket ahead of time. I paid for flights and hotel accommodations ahead of time as well as extra studio time to get my performance tracks customized and polished so that my shows would go on without any issues. Less than a month before I was set to go on this tour to promote my new EP, I experienced a total loss apartment fire that included all of my studio equipment and every possession I’ve ever owned. Most would have cancelled the tour and took the L, but for me I took it as a test of my strength and my resilience and went out and out on a great show every night as if I hadn’t just lost everything because at least I didn’t lose my life and I could never lose my voice.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the impact I’m told my music has on my fans. The direct messages and feedback regarding the emotional response my music evokes is enough to keep me going and creating. Knowing that my fans relate to me through my music and cry to my music means the world and it’s amazing to be the vessel of healing for those who need it. 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/eryn__lanaie?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/erynlanaie98/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eryn-lanaie-78a02219a
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErynLanaie
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@erynlanaiemusic
Image Credits
Candie La’shay MUA Memphis Kidd Photographer Suede Williams Photographer JunoVxrse Photographer