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

Jade, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I always knew my path was going to be in Music, but if I had to choose the moment I decided that this was my true calling was just over 2 years ago when I started to work on my 1st EP “Giving Pressure”. Taking that step forward to finally put what I wanted to do first no matter how afraid I was definitely was that defining moment. I knew the possibilities of getting no support from family or friends but that no longer mattered to me. The only thing that mattered was choosing me and going for the life I wanted for myself!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My journey has always been a wild one starting at the age of 6. Here I am, a young girl growing up in an abusive home just wanting to sing was now being told what to do, how to sing and what to wear. Now, I’m a Young adult who took back control of her life and changing the narrative. Starting off I didn’t get into the industry on my own. I had others who dragged me along trying to find something that they believe I wanted for myself. And I wasn’t long until people saw my talent and little by little I became a local sensation. Although I loved it to a certain extent, Performing, singing, writing was my job. A job that wasn’t rewarding or fulfilling but I did it. I did it cause I was told to. I did it because I had no other choice. It was the only thing that would allow me to express myself just alittle.

This continued for years, even in my adulthood. It was until the passing of my brother when I was ready to quit and give up. But God has a mysterious way of pulling me back into my calling every time. Even through my suffering I would still sing. I would still write even if it was only a sentence. To me this means, My discipline comes from within. It’s something I was born to do. And I will never stop.

Now Fast forward to where I am now, I have done things I never thought would happen for me after finally letting go everything and everyone that was holding me back. I have won multiple Film Festivals for “Best Music Video”. I have been featured on NBC for sing with Grammy Award winning artist Kelly Clarkson. My EP is featured and now available to stream at the Fort Worth Public Library. I have a song a wrote and performed in a Movie, and I now have the Legend and Artist ‘Timbaland’’ attention and recognition.

All of these accomplishments in such a short amount of time has given me the confidence and the passion I so desperately wanted back for myself, and I now want to help others do the same!

Starting in the year 2024 I will be offering songwriting services, coaching sessions for performers, and classes on how to get started as an independent artist. If I can do it after all that was against me, then I know others can as well.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’ve been through so many hardships in my life that Its taken a toll on how I think, and how different my life is compared to others. So there will be times that I express myself that helps me move through my emotions differently than others. I want others to understand I am human and I go through phases that can change so drastically but it’s part of my self expression, self exploration, and allows me to creative in my art without feeling trapped. Being misunderstood and devalued as an artist, creative, performer and all the things is very common coming from Non-creatives especially when it when it’s different from the norm. People sometimes forget the creativity is a form of expression that we have to share with the world. If you don’t like something I/we do, that’s okay. Just allow artists such as myself to find themselves. Support us through the weird and the crazy stuff. There’s so much on inside the mind of a creative and we don’t want to suppress that side of us. We will always be misunderstood but we are still human.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I normally read very heavy and long fiction books. Reading is the only thing that allows my mind to focus on one thing. But just recently I seen “The Four Agreements” floating around and decided to sit with it. I will say I highly recommend this book. It has changed and solidified how I view myself and how I handle certain situations. As a creative the main problem that can set us back is how we view ourselves and what we say about ourselves to others and to ourselves. But This book has allowed me to see that I must be able to speak highly of myself no matter what, move through situations with love and always be “impeccable with your word”.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jademassentoff?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/massentoff?mibextid=kFxxJD
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JadeMassentoff

Image Credits
@massentoffphotography