Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenna Camille. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jenna, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
My goal as an artist has always been, and will continue to be, to educate and inspire both artists and non-artists alike. I’ve been a piano and music teacher for over 6 years and I’ve found it incredibly disappointing that for an art form as popular and universal as music, it is so undervalued in American society.From the educational side, music programs, if offered in schools, are often minimal. On the artists side, Lord knows how hard it is to be an artist in an industry that is all to often reliant upon subjective and sometimes superficial metrics to determine our worth and the worth of the work that we do. I hope that as a teacher and a working artist, I can help my community and others to develop a greater appreciation for the art and culture that helps shape our lives.
Jenna, 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 got into the music industry professionally around 2013. I was trained as a musician since elementary school so it was natural and expected that I would transition into the professional world of music. I went to the renowned Duke Ellington School of the Arts and attended Michigan State University, and later the University of the District of Columbia, as a Jazz Studies major. During this period, I had also been studying songwriting on my own. I entered into the DC open mic scene performing my own music and that eventually led to my work as a performer. I’ve written a bit as a featured artists for folks like Sinitus Tempo(MD), Seven Jackson( DC), Belve (MI) and many other folks. Right now I’m writing and singing in an amazing band named Golden Browne with my good friends from production trio Columbia Nights. On the other side of writing and singing, I also produce.
I would say something that sets me apart from others may be versatility and honesty withing my music. I’m not afraid to write about difficult topics nor am I afraid to write from a vulnerable point of view. I think a lot of popular music is mainly braggadocious and I think that’s great! It’s important to speak well of yourself. But i honestly feel like it can sometimes silence the complexities of the human experience. There’s a lot to us people and we feel a lot of things and my hope is to create music that everyone can see themselves in. I also do a lot of stuff myself! I write and produce everything myself. I often even do my own artwork myself. When I first started, I shot my music videos by myself. I’m kind of my own production company I guess lol.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
There was a time where I felt like it was important for my schedule to be as packed as possible. I needed to be gigging every month at least, attending every event, going to every show, etc. But then came the burn out lol. I realize that its true that sometimes it is better to work smart, not hard. That’s not to say that you don’t exert large amounts of force and energy to move that pendulum closer to your goals, so to speak. It simply means, to me at least, that you take every opportunity and you make the most out of it so you don’t have to work as hard in the future, For example, if I had spent one show spending more time connecting with “fans” (I have a difficult relationship with that word), maybe I wouldn’t have had to work so hard trying to build or maintain those connections after the fact. Don’t wear yourself out. Just use the opportunities you have to your advantage as much as possible.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Man, where do I begin lol. FIrst of all, I resent resilience as a goal because all it reminds of is the fact that I had to survive things that I shouldn’t have had to. It seems kinda like the Squid Games or something lol. Our society values “hardness” over ease, but then rewards us for surviving all of it. But i digress.
My story of resilience is long so I will try to address it as easily as I can. When I started out, I was young and suffering from major depression, which was not openly discussed as it is now. Because I was dealing with it at a time when it was still rather stigmatized (as in, it wasn’t as openly discussed), I struggled a lot with dealing with it. I had dropped out of Michigan State and returned to DC. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life so I had rested with this idea that I was going to be unalive by 27. Eventually, I decided to go back to school to finish my degree in Jazz Studies. Around this time I was broke, and made about $400 a month working for my uncle on Saturdays. I played and sang on the street at times, and would make maybe just enough to get back home and get some pizza and a can of soda. Thank God for Judith Corey at UDC because she would allow us to go back and make sandwiches from the faculty fridge when we didn’t have cash. She and the rest of the faculty were diligent in getting us through school, and I wouldn’t have made it if it hadn’t been for them. I eventually double majored in English and Jazz Studies, graduated after being on the Dean’s list twice and began to reach a point with my music where i was able to make a living for myself from shows. I was also a music writer for Capital Bop, an organization based in DC. I toured with jazz-spoken word group, Heroes Are Gang Leaders. I’ve performed at almost every venue in DC. My music has been featured in Vibe, BBC, Soulection and more. In my eyes,I’ve made it. Life is still life and it still isn’t easy, but I’m 32 years old not 27. I guess you could say I”m doin alright.
Contact Info:
- Website: jennacamille.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: @jennacamillesmg
Image Credits
Jenna Camille Henderson Timoteo Murphy Kevin Chambers