We were lucky to catch up with Nyjo Brennen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nyjo thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I’m fortunate to have different crafts but their origins are all diverse. It was a marriage between studying my crafts intricately, phenomenal mentors and figuring it out on my own. First was music specifically singing. Singing started very naturally. My father is a musician. Both my parents have always been supportive and sacrificed a lot to make sure I recieved exceptional training. Also I’m grateful that all my music teachers from elementary to high school identified that my voice was special enough to spotlight. I think they also seen how I genuinely loved music theory. I can sightread music, write notes on a staff…etc. Great music teachers/mentors did that for me. Originally I only just wanted to be a Broadway actor who sang in his productions. But life has a way of evolving you.

I think every performer hits a Janet Jackson ‘Control’ moment where you want to do your own thing. After only singing the lyrics of others in countless musical theater productions and choral recitals, I wanted my own. I attempted to write my first song at 13, it was terrible. I knew nothing. I returned at 17 and wrote 13 in one week. Now I have over 300. Writing is therapeutic to me, it relaxes me. I’ve recorded less than 10. (Laughs) Very picky. I studied the lyrics of artists that inspired me. A lot of 70s, 90s and even 00s singers. I graduated with my B.S in Broadcast Journalism at FAMU. That gave me my early Producer film experiences. If you can produce a newscast, you can produce a film set.

Acting, we would be here all day with the amazing talents and beings that invested in me. Many teachers, directors and mentors but I’m glad that I was what they called ‘a natural’ then. Like I’m classically trained in music, I’m a Thespian in acting. I studied it and also majored in it. I have my fave directors and actors that I studied in Film, TV and Stage. Nowadays, I notice it’s more people with less training than I’ve had but give amazing natural performances. One of my mentors/acting coaches was the late great Burt Reynolds. ‘Never get caught acting’ he said. At 18, I won a scholarship to have summer training with him before college. It was life changing and probably something I should brag about more, especially now that he’s gone.

Lastly all these are infused in my job as a Content Creator now. Unlike my other crafts, I had zero mentors. It was brand-new. I found a niche that was my own with News, UGC Lifestyle and Laughs. Before Tiktok got rid of hashtag tracking, my #ItsBeenReportedByNyjo hit well over 100M views. I’ve had many viral posts that hit 1M, 3M and 5M. I don’t keep track of the viral posts numbers now. Across different platforms, mainly Tiktok with over 109K followers and 11.6M Likes. I get to conceptualize, write my scripts, edit, use my knowledge of music for selections and act. The most essential skills are to be confident, trust your instincts, read the room to stay on the pulse of things and lean into your fears to overcome them. My speed of learning to do all this was destined, I don’t wish it was ever faster. When I’m dry in one season of a craft, I jump into another that’s blooming. Thankful that I never had any obstacles that stopped me from learning, the internet has everything.

Nyjo, 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?

My name is Nyjo Brennen. I was born in The Bahamas and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. I have a twin sister. I’m an Actor, Singer-Songwriter, Film Producer, Content Creator and Editor. Cliffnotes version of my start (Laughs) I always wanted to be an entertainer or creator. My father is a musician who played with my Godfather, who had the 1st million selling album out The Bahamas. My great-grand uncle is famed Bahamian guitarist, Joseph Spence. I attended the Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, which was very much like the tv show, Fame. The curriculum was designed for us to learn our crafts and inspire us. I majored in Vocal Performance and minored in Drama. I started taking professional acting lessons when I was 12. This was around the time of my first appearance in a R-rated film. It was The Last Marshal starring Scott Glenn. I was the determined extra who made it into the shot of him arriving at a train station. You can spot me with my suitcase following him. (Laughs) Watching him act and get the star treatment made me crave it. A year later I booked my first campaign/music video for a Kids Against Tobacco campaign by The American Lung Association. As a mandatory watch for learning, it made me a local celebrity in schools as it was Mickey Mouse Club inspired. We had to sing, act, dance and rap. I had my name on a chair, a makeup artist and we felt like we made it.

In high school, I was a standout in my Musical Theatre & Drama departments. I starred in 13 productions in 4 years. I went to Music and Acting districts to compete for my school, I brought home Superior Gold Medals. I was chosen to compete for my school in senior year for a statewide Drama competition. I lost but unbeknownst to me the legendary Burt Reynolds was in the audience. Months after my graduation, his team contacted me to invite me to take acting classes by him in his museum. I was college bound and didn’t have the money for the classes. They contacted me and said Mr. Reynolds believed in my talent and decided to waive the fee for me. The rest is timeless, amazing experiences on how he was my acting coach and mentor.

Fast forward to college, I graduated from Florida A&M University with my Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism. During my time in Tallahassee, I modeled for Epicurean! Fashion Experience and starred in an award-winning popular web series called, My Brother’s Keeper. It was my first lead role on film. I portrayed the character Dallas Wright for 3 seasons. I was a Producer for 2 seasons. It’s multi-hyphenate creator, Lamont Pierre, became a mentor and close friend of mine. He helped mold my acting, producing, directing and story editing skills. He hired me to produce his 1st feature film, Talking With The Taxman About Poetry. My production company, The J is Silent Productions, made it’s debut then. I’ve produced other side projects for him after. He’s the best. After him, my IMDB best chronicles my many projects. I’ve been very fortunate.

When you are a Producer, your job is get your projects from pre-production to post successfully by any means necessary. No role is too small or too big. It can feel thankless at times, you can’t have a huge ego and you have to be a team player. What sets me apart is I understand that and strive to have the best morale on set for all my projects. You have to be a person that clients want to be around for how ever long the duration of the project. This applies to crew, actors and vendors. You may not have all the answers to the problems but your job is too find someone always who does. Solve it immediately. I love producing.

I’ve always been quality over quantity. For The J is Silent Productions, my motto was ‘When you are the best…you can remain silent.’ I let the work speak for itself. People respond and cling to what serves them and feels right. My Second Act as a Content Creator has been so rewarding. To build my audience from nothing to over 109K followers and 11.6M Likes is nothing but the Grace of God. I started in late 2019 and by 2020 I went viral. We were all stuck inside and the USA was dealing with social unrest after George Floyd was murdered. I joined the many voicing their frustrations but incorporated dancing. I started #ItsBeenReportedByNyjo as it was a tagline we learned to say in journalism school when we worked on the news. ‘It’s been reported that blah blah blah.’ It became my catchphrase and it took off. But something odd started happening. It was like Tiktok seen the journalists as liabilities. If a person just joined the app, they rather their 1st video be a kitten purring to Doja Cat not our news stories. Suddenly we were getting kept off the For You Pages.

Many lost their accounts, I was fortunate to pivot into UGC Lifestyle content. I’ve worked with many different huge brands and collaborations. I’ve made close to 300 paid ad videos that run. When I booked my current multimedia Ancestry campaign that really raised my visibility. It’s everywhere and it was a great contract guaranteeing it will be around for some time. I still share news sporadically on my Tiktok but it’s nothing that would jeopardize my account. I’m at a place where I make money (regardless of the amount) in my sleep and I’m a trusted Influencer. Brand integrity and trustworthiness means everything to me. I have to sample and try everything myself before I recommend. If not, I can’t. I wouldn’t appreciate that if someone did it to me. It has to fit with my brand and my audience. I study my video analytics carefully. I know my audience very well. I love and appreciate all of them. From Tiktok, Clapper, Youtube and even IG…who I neglect honestly.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a successful audience on social media is like building relationships IRL (in real life) it requires patience, being genuine and reciprocity. It’s about you but it’s not ALL about you. You are the main character but no great worthwhile film only stars one person the entire time. If you want to be in it for the long haul, you have to play the long game. You do not have to follow everyone who follows you. Yet in the beginning, it would be best to curate your mutuals with people you enjoy or constantly support. These Day Ones become your Die Hards and Confidants. A huge part of social media is interaction. Leaving comments on others posts and not just liking. Commenting back or liking comments of people in your comment section. I spend designated hours just dedicated to supporting others content and interacting. Their comments (even the haters) help boost your post in the algorithm.

Don’t be so viral thirsty. Desperation is a nasty cologne to wear. People will push their mom in front of a train if it means getting 1M likes. But guess what? People get 1M likes daily. I’ve lost count of how many viral posts I’ve averaged but they don’t change your bank account like you expect. It’s like Vegas, the house always wins. To be paid, you have to be enrolled in a Creator Program of some sort. Once you are in, you are now accounted for and at the mercy of the app’s gaming. A person who isn’t in a paid program per view will get 30M in Likes. It helps the app but a person IN the paid program…could take money away from it. They won’t get a week of 30M paid view posts back to back. It’s not that the app is shitting on you…it’s just being…strategic. The majority of the money I make in my sleep does NOT come from any views from posting across my different platforms, it’s in sales of things I endorse.

Since I know this is directly connected to the consumers (followers) I make sure I listen to them, interact and see what things they may need. What is beneficial to them? The only way you are going to build your audience successfully is to KNOW your audience. What’s the demographics? Where are they located? Find out what’s happening in your largest audience and spotlight that. This will also bring gratitude into your engagement. I’ve been thanked so many times for doing this. Also, real recognizes real. If you are a person with a heart to serve (helping) others… people can sense that. They mirror it back to you. If you disappear for a week off socials, the person who interacts and genuinely cares about others will be sought out more than the vapid thirst trapper who follows no one back.

My mutual friend list now ranges from celebrities like Paris Hilton, musicians I love like JoJo, actors and actresses like Jessica Marie Garcia, politicians, athletes and fellow fave Tiktokers with GIGANTIC followings. But my friend list also has the faceless accounts with no posts but supported me from day 1 and share countless memes in my DMs daily. Those accounts tell me about their days, ask for advice, have dialogue with me and listen to my music on Spotify when I don’t even ask. My 6 singles had under 200 listens each just last year. Their release dates were 2013-2022. Now one song just hit over 10K plays, followed by 8K, 5.9K, 3.7K and 1.5Ks. I’m added on playlists internationally and being played worldwide. I track it on Spotify for Artists. My Clapper family (Country singer-guitarist Rob Georg) and many faithful friends breathed life back into my music. He added me to my first featured playlist. Clapper is awesome. People Are People. Not Red & Blue People. We are not perfect but are more alike than different. Certain apps do a great job at separating us. If you want to challenge yourself, find an audience on an app like Clapper. I have almost 30K followers there and they have been the most welcoming beautiful surprise. Come say HI. It’s @Nyjo.Brennen on all socials.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve known since the age of 17 that I wanted to be a recording artist. When I finally got the chance to become a recording artist, I was in my late 20s. This was a dream come true but it definitely took a longer time for it to come into fruition. When I finally released my debut single, That Thing Called Love and music video, it was 2013. The day I plan to release both of my completed works on December 3, my aunt passed away. It was a very tragic moment that understandably overshadowed my music career. I had to mourn my aunt while I had to accept that my rollout for my debut single was forever changed. I couldn’t promote how I wanted to without feeling like a dirtbag. The future anniversary of my debut single would also be the anniversary of her death. The experience rattled me and shortly after I lost another aunt the same year my sophomore single, Six Missed Calls, came out. My music career felt ill fated so I took a step back.

I didn’t return to music for 3 years. In the period of my hiatus, I was actually signed to a indie record label, Nub Country Records in the UK. I was very much a completed project that signed to a record label, meaning they didn’t have to fund recording. They only had a wealth of clout and distribution for me. They rereleased my debut single in 2015 by coincidence on the day that gay marriage was legalized. That Thing Called Love was now out on the day of equal love. But I still struggled to find my audience. I was a black man singing Alternative music with Indie-Pop and Funk undertones, it was a struggle. I was never dropped from my label but I definitely wanted to find my way before using up their resources.

In 2017, I returned with my 3rd single, The Concept Of Getting You. It was filmed in Amsterdam and Norway. I was working as a Flight Attendant for a private charter company. I took advantage of the European backdrops. Shortly after that, I filmed my last 2 singles, (C.U.M and Passport 2 Paradise Revoked) in 2019. The motto was to always stay ready so I wouldn’t have to get ready. I didn’t know when I would release them. Covid hit and I was sitting on unreleased music. I released them and still didn’t find my audience. I started a series during the pandemic called ‘The Lightning In A Bottle Sessions.’ I performed my songs live on mountain sides reimagined and covered others songs. It gained more views and followers. I joined Clapper and my cover songs caught the attention of International Country recording artist, Rob Georg. He invited me to join his group of talented musicians and I found my tribe. As I grew my following on Clapper, my numbers grew on Spotify. I had 0 plays and went to 1.5K monthly streams. My 1970s inspired song, Passport 2 Paradise Revoked, has over 10K streams worldwide. It’s huge and humbling since I remember what it was. I never take a single stream for granted. I listen and support other musicians. It excites me and makes me want to return to music. My last single was in 2022, It’s Been Real. We shall see what the future holds.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Nyjo.Brennen
• Facebook: Nyjo Brennen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nyjo.brennen
• Other: @Nyjo.Brennen on TikTok
  @Nyjo.Brennen on Clapper

Image Credits

Ancestry.com