Jada Brown Q&A
By Macy Harder and Avery Wageman
University of Minnesota alum Jada Brown is a soul vocalist and spoken word poet based in Minneapolis. Her music combines alternative, R&B, and hip hop genres to create a unique and captivating sound. Keep reading to learn about her songwriting process, experience with the local music scene, and more.
Q: How long have you been making music?
A: I've been performing since I was 13. When I started performing I did lots of covers. I have been playing piano since I was 10. I try to transcribe songs by ear, and then I started making my own songs. When I was like 16 I started writing and composing.
Q: How would you describe your music?
A: It's my shy girl observations. I grew up very shy. It's kind of about all these inner feelings I observed, that I was very aware of, I'm putting into music. I hope others find relatability or healing with my music, so people feel seen. I think a type of art that I'm really drawn to is truth seeking. I feel like truth seeking is kind of what makes artists who we are, because we speak on it in different mediums and speak on silences, or speak on things that people don't bring attention to, but matter a lot.
Q: Are you originally from Minneapolis?
A: I grew up in St. Michael, which is right by Buffalo. I grew up there, that's where I graduated high school, but I moved to Minneapolis to go to the U. I've been living here the past three-four years.
Q: How has your experience been being a part of the local music scene here in the Twin Cities?
A: Minneapolis has made me into the artist I am, especially south Minneapolis, so specifically south Minneapolis has made me into the artist I am, depending on who I perform with and who was mentoring me, and just overall. There’s a big scene, and we’ve helped each other grow creatively.
Q: Which song is your favorite to perform?
A: I have a few favorites. One of them is titled “Last,” and that's probably one of my favorites off the album. It's not online yet. Another one that is online is called “Like I Do,” and I have a music video to that on YouTube. It’s the first music video I did. It’s a summer bop about being empowered on a bike. I have some of my friends with me and we're just doing our thing and living our lives.
Q: Do you have a favorite experience from your career thus far?
A: My freshman year at the U of M, I lived on the music and art floor of Middlebrook. That was super neat because I was around a bunch of cool people. People were studying theater or music or some form of art. I met some really awesome people that I’m still close to today. That's how I met my friend and bandmate, Collin Peters, because we were in a band called Willows together at the U. Our freshman year we performed at Northrop, and Dessa was performing later that day. She walked by and complimented us, so I thought that was really cool.
Q: How has being in quarantine impacted your music or your career as a whole?
A: First of all, just trying to stay safe. It's hard because I love performing. I’m more of a performer than a recorder. It really gives me that sense of who I am. Not being able to perform is hard, because that's where I get my energy and everything from. I've been able to do collaborations, so I'm being safe and not being around a bunch of people, just working on the music behind the scenes. Speaking personally, I think it gives the artists and creatives a time to really work, and think about why we do the art we do. You know, building our brands, kind of diving into the artist development stuff. That's what I'm trying to focus on with the quarantine.
Q: Are you currently working on any projects?
A: I'm just finishing my album that I've been finishing this year, it’s my debut album. I've just been working on some singles besides that, and my next goal is to do a live band-feel, more R&B, like a backing group. That's what I'm leaning towards with my next project. This past one is just me solo over some beats, but I still love the project and I put a lot of work into it.
Q: What or who do you draw inspiration from in your songwriting?
A: I have so many inspirations. I have my women powerhouses that I draw inspiration from, Amy Winehouse, Erykah Badu, in their lyricism and style of singing. Also, [my dad] put me onto some alternative rock—even though I'm not really doing that genre right now—Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, punk rock stuff that really [encourages] how you express yourself being like, “Oh, this is who I am,” being raw with those emotions.
Q: Where is your favorite place to write?
A: Really, it’s wherever that comes to mind, I'm like “go off.” Music is just an expressive outlet for me. When I'm feeling overwhelmed with emotions, whether that's out of joy, sadness, fear, longing, desire; whenever I have that extra feeling, and some music. I don't necessarily say there's a time I sit. Sometimes I sit down and say I should write just to get some words out. But usually, I'll just listen to beats or live music and freestyle too. It depends.
Q: If you could collab with any artist, who would it be?
A: Probably Princess Nokia and Nitty Scott, one of those two.
Q: What’s your biggest career goal?
A: I think it's important to look into the future and of course, know your goals and where you want to go. A goal of mine is to keep challenging myself musically, by genre and expression, just trying to push myself in music as much as I can. I want to not just be doing the same type of project, always in the same style with the same stuff. I want to push myself creatively. I do spoken word too, really just seeing how much I can do. Also finding mentors, just solidifying those relationships with my craft.
Keep an eye out for Jada’s debut album, “Admiration,” which will be released in early 2021. Until then, you can keep up with her on Instagram, @DowntownJadaBrown.