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

Tanajsia, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

One thing that my parents did right was that they did not let me join the business as a child. I wanted to be a performer since I was a small girl. Only then, I wanted to be a singer. I wasn’t on my first film set until I was in high school when I got the opportunity to work with Greg Taylor on the set of a music video for the book he had ever written, “Killer Pizza”. The video is still on YouTube.

All the way up through my first two years of college I pursued music and my parents just would not let me go pro because of how gnarly the industry can be. At the time I didn’t understand and was resentful. I was like, I know I can do this and performing is what I love the most but they were right.

Now that I’m an adult, I know who I am, what I like and don’t like and am aware of the dangers that potentially lurk behind the curtain because truthfully people will try to take advantage of you sometimes. I thank them for instilling a hard work ethic into me because as an adult I train hard, I stay diligent in my pursuits and stay motivated towards goals.

When you are young you don’t understand the reasons behind certain decisions people make but as time goes on it will begin to make sense and you’ll be glad that you waited.

Tanajsia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an actress, singer, model and artist. My first major film that I got to be a part of was, “The BlackWood” directed by Chris Canfield. That gig came about because I was part of a Western photo shoot and the artist had forwarded the director to me. I lived in Montana and South Dakota for a major portion of my life and so my projects have been westerns so far. It has influenced my art immensely.

My music, I play with rough tracks and have performed for large audiences at semi pro sports games singing the national anthem and performed originals in front of large crowds. I hope to record a fully original EP professionally within the next few years and do shows in a few states. It’s on the artistic checklist.

My art, my work and my life, essentially are influenced by my diverse background. I embrace all parts of who I am and do what I can to carry my ancestors with me through my work and how I carry myself. My latest modeling gig will be this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the SWAIA fashion show. This will be the largest runway show I’ve walked in. I have TikTok and instagram and plan to grow my social media platforms over the next year.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of people of being an artist is having people tell you that you impacted them. When people come to you and tell you that their lives have been changed by you in some kind of way it means so much. I’ve had people tell me that my singing has touched them in their heart. Or when they saw the Blackwood they resonated with my character. To me, that’s everything as an artist,

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Creative people are always developing and evolving. Just because we start out one way does not mean that we stay the same our whole career. And literally every artist I know does multiple things. We dive into other paths that bring us fulfillment and purpose. Creatives are important to society because we help foster new ideas and bring art into the forefront. With out creatives, society would be walking in a straight line, down a tunnel with no windows, no source of imagination.

Contact Info:

• TikTok: @ladytae3
• Instagram: @tanajsiaevolving
• Youtube:  tanajsia slaughter