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

Jaylawn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

As a music artist, there are so many things that go into mastering the craft. While I have not reached mastery, I am well on my way and I continue to work towards mastering my craft everyday. As a younging, I took a lot of music classes in school. I learned to play instruments such as the flute and even the piano. I continued on in college by taking a music theory class that furthered the foundation that had already been built in my previous school career. While these gave me a strong foundation in music, I built my flair and style off of the influence of Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim, Biggie, and also my brother, Brixx Belvy, who is a battle rapper. I pulled a lot of influence from the New York rap scene and mixed it with the influence of being born in Atlanta!

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?

I began making music in 2022, channeling my emotions into words and writing them on paper. It came natural to me because it was coming from an authentic place, not from a place of trying to prove. I didn’t know I had it within me, but it came so naturally that it felt as if it was always inside of me, just dormant. My discipline of continuing this craft for three years is simply because I want to continue to improve and I have a clear vision of where I want my talent to take me. I see myself on big stages, with my name in headlights and crowds screaming my lyrics back at me. I believe my vision is what sets me apart from everyone else. Majority of artists lose sight of the purpose of music and become too hellbent on money, but music is meant to move people, to make them feel something. While the money comes with the talent, it doesn’t come immediately, so it’s important to understand why you are doing what you are doing, so that you can continue to push forward. I am most proud of continuing to share my gift, regardless of the support that I may or may not receive. I know that the support is something that comes with time and as long as I have this gift, I will continue to exercise it and provide it to the masses.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the freedom that I have created for myself to freely express myself. I don’t view myself as an average human being, but an out of this world artist. My mind thinks in ways that the average human doesn’t and this is why I can come up with lyrics on the fly. It intrigues me when I can take a beat and write a complete song in an hour. It’s such an amazing talent and I really appreciate it.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2024, I began a career as a retail store manager. This was the highest up I had ever been in retail, but after being in retail for a long seven years, it felt well deserved. The company that I receieved the promotion from was going through bankruptcy so there was an ongoing restructuring within the business. Due to this, my DM was let go and I was left without having the proper training or guidance during this time. I was drowning and doing what I could to maintain my store and do the best in my position. However, what I was doing wasn’t by the standards of the company, so unfortunately, I was let go as well. This was a month after moving into my very first apartment as well. I moved out on a whim, no savings or anything, but God worked everything out for me. I was provided with government assistance and was able to maintain my apartment and every other obligation that I had. Three months went by and I began at another company as a Assistant Store Manager and was put under a development plan and got promoted within a month. I could have turned this down, but I knew I was capable despite my first experience. Next month November makes a year that I have been with the company and I’m proud to have come this far.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaylawnn?igsh=ZmF5MTRuY2ZxNjEx&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jaylawnn?si=YbnHxrCxZqdE6JkQ

Image Credits

QueenTut