We recently connected with Jeyhan and have shared our conversation below.

Jeyhan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

A recent risk I have taken is deciding to include more of my Turkish culture into my music. After a few years of deeper self-reflection and soul-searching, I realized that I wanted to feel more connected to my culture and upbringing, so I knew it was time to include more of that in my music. I released a two-song project called DIVINE back in March, which was a musical synthesis of hip-hop, R&B, and Turkish folk music. I was a little nervous to do this because middle eastern music still isn’t widely accepted in western culture and I didn’t know what the reaction would be to the music, but it ended up being such a freeing experience and people seemed to really love it! If you’d like to listen, DIVINE is out now on all streaming platforms and there is an official music video for it on my YouTube channel (look up “jeyhan divine” on streaming platforms or YouTube)!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a R&B/soul-influenced pop artist originally from the Washington D.C. area. I like to describe my style as: powerhouse vocalist, introspective songwriter, & vibrant performer with a goal of bringing back the “triple-threat” superstar quality of artists popular in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. My sound is a mixture of 90s R&B, current trap beats, & Turkish folk music. Some of my favorite artists that have influenced my sound are Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, and Turkish singer Tarkan. With my music, I hope to reflect the beautiful dichotomy of my upbringing as a first-generation Turkish-American in which I learned to balance influences of eastern and western culture.

My 2019 release, “Tease,” is an early example of this blend of styles & was regarded as “an impressive twist on modern R&B and Turkish folk music” by hit producer Oak Felder (Rihanna, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, etc.). My latest release “Divine” is the definitive example of this synthesis of culture & musical influences.

As a first generation Turkish-American, I have learned from my family that a strong work ethic leads to success & embracing individuality is crucial in fighting for one’s voice to be heard. In simplest terms, I am an entertainer that, through my music, urge people to champion diversity, encourage transparency, & love deeply.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I actually have a funny story about that! On Tik Tok, I have around 13,000 followers and most of those came from a viral video I posted that now has over 3 million views. What made it so popular on the app at the time was the fact that I accidentally put a filter on my face before filming that makes your face into the shape of a rat. I know…ridiculous! It looked really funny, so I ended up just posting it without thinking too much about it and in the next few days, it got almost a million views. It kept growing over a few weeks until it hit 3.1 million views. I gained a lot of followers from that video who followed me on Instagram and streamed my music as well, which was great!

Advice for building a presence would be to just make content you love and show your personality through your posts. My rat filter video is the perfect example of doing this. I was able to show my goofy personality and tendency to not take myself too seriously, which ended up translating to audiences while also providing a funny and entertaining short video to make them laugh.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The most important thing is to support artists and creatives in your inner circles as much as you support mainstream artists. I think it’s so important to show support for your friends or family that are grinding to make their careers take off. We all love to support our favorite mainstream artists, but it is crucial to support people you think are talented while they are on the come-up because it shows them you truly care about what they do and value their art just as much as those that are already “successful” or have already “made it.” This will help foster a healthier and more supportive environment for independent artists and creatives!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jeyhan_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeyhanturker
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeyhanturker/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jeyhanmusic
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@__jeyhan__

Image Credits
Emma Gladden