We were lucky to catch up with Yana Gibbs recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yana, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

From the age of six, I was always singing. at first it started off with Disney Channel musicals and Nickelodeon theme songs, then later, trying to sing the challenging high notes of the gospel singers, such as Mary Mary, that my mother used to listen to, and making up dances with my cousins to perform in front of my family. I was a military child so we did move around a lot. when I turned nine years old we ended up moving to South Carolina. My dad was a real southern country man, so I was raised around horses and the country life became my passion. But that did not stop the urge of me continuing to sing and write. living in South Carolina I was closer to my dad side of the family in which my cousin was considered the singer of the family, and she would always come over and have me do tasks, such as make a beat on my keyboard, or write a new song or practice doing vocal exercises. Fast forward to me being 13 I wrote one of the best songs I ever made at the time and made the beat on my little keyboard, and my cousin was so surprised she decided to take me to the studio that she was always recording at..she recorded my voice, and she also showed me how to create background vocals and harmonies. She then mixed the record and bounced it out and once I heard it, I couldn’t stop listening to it, and I realized the feeling that I had listening to what I just recorded of a song that I wrote and produced by myself. I want that feeling for the rest of my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Yana Gibbs, and I am a singer/songwriter from South Carolina. I am a country girl who was raised around horses, bailing hay, cleaning out horse stalls, and assisting my dad with managing his horse ranch. Even though I am a country girl at heart ever since I was a little girl always knew I wanted to be a singer. I always knew my purpose in life was to be heard around the world in front of hundreds of people on a stage with the microphone in one hand. being from South Carolina, it almost seemed impossible to dream that big. But being a military child, and working on a ranch has always taught me hard work, motivation, faith, and determination will always come with a reward. after I graduated high school, I left South Carolina and the horse ranch behind to go to Orlando Florida to FullSail university to study recording arts. I graduated FullSail with a bachelors degree in recording arts and on that day I saw my dad cry, and that’s when I knew how much my dad as well as my family believes in me, and I made a promise to myself that I will never stop.

What I am most proud of is that no matter how many times I fail I never want to quit. I always want to keep going. I feel as though if I quit the biggest failure will be failing myself. I watched my parents make sacrifices, so me and my sister could live a comfortable life, now I feel as though it’s my time to prove to them that their sacrifices, although may have been hard, but it was all worth it to make them proud.

What I want my music to represent is to bring back the feeling of the early/mid 2000s music… That good music when you felt the emotion and the words that the artist were singing, or rapping. The good music where the creativity an song structure was just as important as the passion in an artist voice. The type of music that you can close your eyes and listen to, and pretend that you’re the one performing that song on stage, the type of music that sparks every emotion within our bodies, the type that sparks imagination. That is what I want my music to be known for.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is hands-down, when my supporters take the time out of their day to listen and explore this journey with me, as I learn to grow as a creative and a artist. It truly is a privilege to have people that you may have never met a day in your life support and share a piece of work that I have put my all into. Whether it is five people or 1000 people I will forever be grateful for the support and love that they show.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Honestly, social media is one of the biggest resources. I wish I would’ve utilized earlier on. I am a true country girl so being on social media was definitely not at the top of my list. I still find myself to be a little shy when it comes to making myself vulnerable Within social media but I am still continuing to learn how to utilize all my resources and to stay consistent

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yanagibbs_music?igsh=MXVpdzE4cDg4ZzZsNQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@yanagibbs_music?si=TECiN3qoc3uneSjT