One Year Anniversary: Return to LA

Today marks my one year anniversary of my return to LA.

It's hard to believe I'm back in my hometown, living here for a year now after having spent the previous 10 years in the Bay. 

My dad's pick-up truck loaded with some of my things on our drive down from SF to LA on September 5, 2016. I'm grateful for my family who helped me move to Berkeley in 2006 and move out of SF in 2016.

I’ve loved the journey of starting this newsletter to document the transition since the big move a year ago. Sharing my personal reflections, updates and music recommendations to land in people’s inboxes, from familiar faces' to complete strangers', was nervewracking and humbling. I was not only finding ways to connect with more people, but I was also building up my own courage to share my voice.

To my dear subscribers that have trickled through this past year, I appreciate your support and hope you’ll continue to follow along and keep in touch with me. If you're a recent subscriber, you can read all my past letters I've sent here. 

Apologies for the recent radio silence though. I realize I haven't sent a letter out since April. I’ve been heads down these past few months. More thoughts are below in the highlights. 

I've also been slowly working on my first website (for future reference, it'll be janeshin.co) where I'll write from a blog on the site moving forward. I'll still try to cross-share on TinyLetter, but I’ll have more flexibility to use the blog to share my words and express myself across different formats too.

This also marks a milestone for me because it’s the first time I’ll have created a website. Creating a website has been one of my goals for 2017. At this point in time, it makes sense to have my own platform to showcase who I am; highlight my work and my writing; and better introduce myself to my current community and potential future community. 

When it came time to create my domain, I started wishing I had secured the coveted janeshin.com. At the same time, I felt lucky I had snagged @janeshin on Instagram and Twitter.

I reached out to the owner of janeshin.com, who is a politician in Vancouver. As the first Korean-Canadian of her legislature, she was kind enough to respond. However, she said she wasn’t willing to give up the domain unless I’d be able to pay an amount that she’d feel comfortable retiring on. It was worth a shot, and it’s fascinating to meet and learn about people who share your same name–it turns out we had been in touch already because she was a member of the Facebook group I created in 2007 called "Jane Shin" to unite Jane Shins across the world (I really did create this group). 

In going through this process of figuring out my domain, I've been thinking a lot about identity in the online space and what of ourselves we choose to share. Depending on the platform, we can express ourselves in different ways and control how much we choose to share. Our usernames become highly coveted and in demand in their own right too.

How do you handle sharing across platforms? 

Anyway, 2017 has been a transformational year already. I just wrapped up a five-city world tour (haha) in August. I visited Miami, Atlanta, Stockholm, London and NYC. I'll share reflections from my travels in my next post. I’m grateful for the opportunities to create, explore and grow this year.

Here are a couple of highlights since the last letter I wrote on April 18, 2017:

• I’ve shared this in a previous letter, but I joined Spotify in February as a writer for videos on RapCaviar, Spotify’s flagship hip hop playlist. Videos have been recently introduced to elevate the playlist experience; new videos are released every Friday within the playlist. It’s been a great learning experience, collaborating with artists and their teams to write and pitch creative concepts and help produce videos. It feels good to support artists in a more creative role. My journalism background in researching and compiling interview questions is coming in handy though, along with my most recent artist relations experience. Many of the artists I’ve been fortunate enough to build with prior have been progressing in their own journey, which is exciting to see and keeps me going.
   
• You can see all the RapCaviar original videos that have been created since March here. I'll continue to share more updates around my work. Also, the team will be growing soon, so keep an eye out on spotifyjobs.com. If you see anything interesting across teams or offices, please reach out to me or help spread the word and put me in touch.
   
• I interviewed the incredible artist April George of the R&B duo April+VISTA and frequent collaborator of rapper GoldLink. April is an accomplished vocalist, violinist and pianist. I had the opportunity to meet her in person at GoldLink's show in SF more than a year ago, and I was curious to learn more about her contributions to his projects over the years and how she balances her collaborations. Read my story on OkayPlayer here.
   
• I was an honored featured guest on the incredible Natalie James’ NTS Radio show. We talked about being Women of Color in the music industry, our favorite albums of 2017, self-care tips and my journey navigating the music world thus far since my previous work at SoundCloud and my new gig at Spotify.
   
• Stem published this interview I did with Rhode Island-bred rapper Khary on how he self-sustains as an independent artist. If you haven’t heard of Stem, they’re a game changer in music. I've seen first-hand the headaches artists experience when trying to decipher publishing splits and how to properly monetize their content online. Stem makes it easy to not only help artists get paid, but also help them understand how much they should rightfully be getting paid across platforms.
   
• My friend, artist, designer and entrepreneur Theo Martins’s cereal bar Cereal & Such opened up in the back of Virgil Normal in Silver Lake. It’s become a spot where I've continuously met great, new people and have had insightful conversations, all over a bowl of cereal. Here’s a wonderful write-up on Cereal & Such by our friend Emily Berkey. Theo also just released his "TM" albumwith producer Thelonious Martin so make sure you cop it. I've mentioned him in a previous letter focused on "Lyrics as life's reminders."  
   
• I stopped by the tail-end of the lovely R&B sister duo VanJess’s video shoot for their fun summertime song “Touch the Floor” featuring Masego. Their latest song "Through Enough" featuring GoldLink was in the recent episode of Insecure. 
   
• I attended FYF for the first time and was happy to have caught Missy Elliott, King Krule, Solange and of course Frank Ocean. I cried tears of joy and gratitude during his set. I also got stopped twice for my look on day 2: I wore a silver velvet top, purple overalls and Vans Sk8-Hi kicks. One woman stopped me because she was doing user research for Nordstrom and another took a photo of me for the Vans Girls blog. I'll admit it was flattering to be stopped because it's never happened to me before.
   
• I turned 29 on June 3. I celebrated at the beach and went bowling with some of my favorite people. I was proud to have bowled a turkey too on my last frame. Three strikes in a row for the 3rd. Wow, last year of my 20's, let's go.
   
• New music I’ve been digging lately:
  • NXGN CBNT (pronounced "Next Gen Cabinet"): Brooklyn collective of bright-eyed, smart and talented friends who aren't shy about catchy wordplay and conscious lyrics. Their production styles range too, from instrumental to experimental. Each member of the cabinet bring their best selves that make up one whole–NXGN.
     
  • Ivy Sole: Talented Philly-based artist who writes, raps and sings all her own words. In her hit song "Life," featuring Seattle rapper Dave B., she sings, "Life is short / life is simple / life is joy / and life is pain / life is wonderful / and terrible / but it's beautiful and love's the same." What drew me into her music was her focus on her journey of self-exploration that invites gratitude and healing. More mental health awareness by artists like Ivy, please. 
     
  • iivrson: Atlanta artist who has only one song out so far called "Randy Foye," named after basketball player Randy Foye. Catchiness abound. iivsrson's tunes are some of my favorites to bump in the car. I've gotten to hear some unreleased music, so stay tuned for more heat.

Final thoughts: It’s been a challenge and a blessing returning back to LA and re-building from the ground up. I’m proud of the work I've done so far and look forward to what's to come.

Thank you for your support and I hope 2017 is shaping up well for you too. Drop me a note to let me know how things are going with you.

Much love,
Jane

"The deepest reality is always right here."

Current status at H Coffee House in Los Feliz: I'm seated outdoors, directly in front of a towering Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica) as the sun beams down in flecks because a large tree to my right is soaking up most of the sun. There's a slight breeze, and Sampha's Process is playing in my ears, providing the soundtrack for a mellow Spring day in LA.

*Breathes*

Life is good. Bringing awareness to simple moments like these makes me feel grateful to be alive. I took a hot yoga class for the first time this morning. It taught me to slow down, to focus on breathing and stay present. My worries and overwhelm from the past week melted away.

The teacher opened up the class by reading a part of a passage from a book called The Radiance Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and Delight:

Every perception is an invitation into revelation.
Hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching —
Ways of knowing creation,
Transmissions of electric realization.
The deepest reality is always right here.

The deepest reality is always right here.

I want to thank anyone who's subscribed to this newsletter. I remember when I first thought of writing on a semi-regular basis to people who cared about what I had to say. It was August last year, and I was still living in SF, figuring out the steps I needed to take to make my big leap back to LA. I felt like I was at the top of a rollercoaster, ready to plunge downward. I remember running through potential newsletter names to a wonderful mentor and one of my former SoundCloud managers Diana Kimball (who runs an awesome podcast called Should We). Questions and doubts raced through my mind as I quickly jotted notes of things to consider as Diana shared her advice and experience in writing publicly.

It's April 2017 now. With all this said above, I'm proud of myself. As someone who is more so a listener, an observer and absorber of information, I've been challenging myself to share more of myself and my voice since I've moved back down to LA. I'm still working on it, but it feels good to know I took a chance on myself to do this, to try.

These words of gratitude were sparked because of a tweet last week from April George of the lovely duo April + VISTA and a frequent collaborator of GoldLink; we met at GoldLink's show in SF in March 2016. April's words warmed my heart and was motivating to read and to keep going with this, however this newsletter evolves overtime. As I mentioned in my last letter, I may soon migrate this into a full blog, so it's easier to read and share. 

I'm learning not to be afraid to make my own moves in my own way. That's what living authentically is about for me personally. If you're embarking on a new project yourself or chipping away at one now, whatever it is, keep going and stay focused on your own progress. Don't forget to look back to see what you've accomplished so far. Pause and be proud of where you're at too. Full disclosure: I won't ever stop repeating this as the main theme of my letters.

In line with this reflection, I had the honor of participating in the first annual Women in Music Bay Area festival two weekends ago, April 7-9. It was co-founded by two incredible women in music who are making big moves in the Bay: Evangeline Elder and DJ Red Corvette (Carmena Victoria).

Back in September, Evangeline and I were introduced via email by my former SoundCloud colleague and friend Amy Nguyen. They both went to college together and organized music events on campus. In December, Evangeline and I met in person at Sylvan LaCue's show at Los Globos in LA. In January, I made a quick weekend trip to the Bay, and the two of us met for coffee as we talked about our journeys and navigating the world of music. In February, Evangeline reached out to let me know she was organizing a music festival for women and wanted to know if I'd be interested in participating in the "Women Behind the Scenes" panel. I was thrilled to be invited because it signified a milestone I'll cherish in my career. Plus, I'm always down to revisit the Bay, which has been my second home and where I've done the most "growing up." I then connected Evangeline to singer-songwriter and producer Tiffany Gouché and her manager Vatana Shaw who have become great friends of mine. Tiffany and Vatana remind me that vulnerability is essential to connection, and I'm grateful to have their support in both music and in my personal life. 

The three of us road tripped from LA together. Tiffany spoke on a panel called "Breaking The Mold" along with DJ Red Corvette and artists Tia Nomore and Siri. It was focused on the careers Women of Color have in the music industry and how they as Black women challenge the mainstream standards imposed on them. It was an intimate, powerful conversation between them and the attendees with great energy in the room.

The "Women Behind the Scenes" panel I was on went well, and I was in the company of some extraordinary women behind the scenes: Cristela Rodriguez who manages Chicago rapper Saba; music publicist Marina Harrison who also manages Bay Area rapper Locksmith and singer-songwriter Mara Hruby; and my former colleague Jen Hayes who handles Community Operations at SoundCloud. 

My initial nerves went away once I realized I've worked hard to gain and speak about the experiences I've had up to this point. No smoke and mirrors. I also thought about what I would have wanted to hear if I were in the audience. I was grateful for the young women who came up to me afterward to say they were inspired by my story and words. I was also grateful to have some incredible people show up to support me, all of whom I've met throughout different points in my life and career: Audrey, my best friend who I first met in middle school; Cary, my great friend and first coworker at my first job at Sparkart in Oakland; Genesis, my first intern ever during my SoundCloud days; Kimu, my new friend I first met in Atlanta at A3C in October; and Tiffany and Vatana who I've been connecting with more since I've moved back to LA.

The entire weekend was a blessing, a learning experience and a celebration of women in music. I even cried tears of joy at the closing party at the Starline Social Club. Here are a couple of snaps from the weekend.

Closing party at the Starline Social Club in Oakland.

Candid of the lovely Vatana Shaw and Tiffany Gouché. 

Carmena aka DJ Red Corvette and me. Thank you Carmena, Evangeline and everyone involved in organizing an incredible weekend.

Siri and Vatana dancing at the closing party.

My main takeaways from the Women in Music Bay Area festival weekend:

• Let's uplift each other as much as we can, particularly women in music. We can be stronger together if we bring our forces together. 
• Don't take the people who support you for granted. They help ground you and keep you moving. Show them love and gratitude often.
• Trust yourself and believe in your story.

Much love,
Jane

Springing forward

Happy Saturday, it's been a while since I've written. It's officially Spring, a new season, which means new opportunities to set goals, let go of things that are holding you back and start things anew. You can choose to at any moment in time of course, but I love how the changing of the seasons is an opportunity to step back, make the changes you need and move forward. "To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose..."

How's everything with you?

At this point, I feel that with every letter I write, I'll be celebrating the next anniversary of my return to LA. It's nearing 7 months so far. It only feels appropriate to mention until it gets old and/or I feel more settled in. There are a lot of moving parts, but suffice to say, I'm loving it and learning a lot. Here's a recap with the latest on my end.

I wrote a few things in these past few months:

• Most recently, I interviewed Little Simz for Mass Appeal. I wanted to capture her reflections on the growth she's experienced over the years, in light of the release of her second album Stillness in Wonderland and as she continues to remain independent. She's a star. I'm grateful to continue to support her as I reflect on my own growth over the years.
• I wrote about and premiered a track "Sleeping on Gold" by producer Park Ave, notably known for co-produing Isaiah Rashad's single "Park" from The Sun's Tirade. Check out the story and interview compilation.
• I contributed a post on setting up your first online release for Stem's blog which is geared towards articles on artist development and support. If you haven't heard of Stem, they help make it easier for artists to get paid online. Check it out.
• I wrote artist profiles on my good friend and artist Mark Redito and Seoul-based singer-songwriter and producer Neon Bunny in support of the recent Likido showcase that happened at the Globe Theater last weekend.

New beginnings:

• I started a new gig at Spotify as a creative writer and producer on their Video Originals team. I write, pitch and help shape creative concepts for videos centered on artist content. New videos are delivered every Friday to the Rap Caviar playlist on Spotify which is where they're starting to test out videos. I'm excited to flex my writing skills in another way and use more creative muscle.  Shows and events:

I've been to a handful of shows since I last wrote to you on Valentine's Day (it's been a minute!) 

• 2/19: Noname and Ravyn Lenae at The Regent. Noname's Telefone was one of my favorites last year, so it was a treat to see her live. In the middle of her set, she donned a glittery, red custom cape and wore red sunnies. I felt like I was in the presence of a queen. Ravyn Lenae was lovely as well. I particularly liked that she took the time to share the significance behind each song. She also envisions color ways for each of her songs, so it was a treat to imagine them while listening and watching her perform. 
• 2/25: (Re)present: Black women in front of and behind the camera: Dana Washington, Kayla Reefer, Oriana Koren and Sophia Nahli Allison. I appreciated the time and energy these incredibly talented women took to share about their work, perspectives and the challenges they face in the industry where they are underrepresented, highlighting the importance of raising visibility of black women in media, both in front of and behind the camera. Representation matters. This was held at Las Fotos Project, which is a great non-profit photography program in LA geared towards positively influencing and supporting teenage girls facing adversity in LA. 
• 2/25: Quentin Miller at The Airliner. Quentin Miller is an Atlanta-based rapper who's collaborated with Drake on If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Check out this recent track produced by Childish Major called "Darkside" that's a good one to bump to in the car.
• 2/26: Good Posture turns 1.5. Artist Theo Martins, whom I've written about in a previous letter, celebrated 1.5 years of his line. He's also opening up a cereal bar at an awesome shop called Virgil Normal worth checking out if you're ever visiting LA.
• 3/7: Isaiah Rashad at The Observatory. Drove down to The Observatory in Santa Ana for the first time to catch Isaiah Rashad on one of his last stops of The Lil Sunny Tour. Cheers to Zay for selling out every single one of his shows on the tour that started in January.
• 3/19: The Laundromat at Lock & Key - This is a little party that happens every Sunday evening at the bar Lock & Key in Koreatown. My friend Modi just recently made his DJing debut as Coach Bombay (if you know the reference, you know what's up) so I had to come out to support. It's a chill, kick-back style where you can hear good tunes, eat and drink to your heart's content to conclude the weekend on a good note.
• 3/20: Little Simz at The Echoplex. What more can I say about Little Simz? If you haven't seen her live yet, please do yourself a favor. She blows a lot of rappers out of the water when it comes to live performances. As she mentioned in her interview with me about her spare time, she truly uses her spare time to tour all over the world. 
• 3/23: Yeek, KeithCharles Spacebar, and DUCKWRTH at The Bootleg Theater. This was a fun show. Yeek is one of my new favorite artists because of the way he blends both indie and hip hop together. His songs will both get you in the feels and make you want to dance. One of my favorites from Awful Records' KeithCharles Spacebar is the song "About Me" in what I feel is a statement about our interactions on social media–"You heard about me but don't know nothing about me." DUCKWRTH's energy draws you in immediately, and he was truly made for the stage. 
• 3/24: Likido showcase with Princess Nokia, Seiho, Bae Tokyo, Neon Bunny, DJ Clickbait and Mark Redito at The Globe Theatre. Likido's mission is to promote underrepresented groups and build an inclusive space within the electronic and dance music scene. This particular showcase was special because of the different acts on the lineup, from rappers like Princess Nokia to Japanese dance music producers like Seiho. The diversity of the lineup was reflected in the crowd as well. Hats off to Mark for creating and organizing these important showcases in music.

Health and wellness:

• I've been cruising on the skateboard whenever I have a chance to. I'd like to expand my skills and land some tricks, but for now, finding balance is good too.
• I heard on a podcast recently that a good trick to relaxing and letting go is to wish other people happiness and you'll feel lighter. Think of some people that may have frustrated you or stirred some of your emotions. Wish them happiness and you'll feel your mood uplift instantly.  

And finally, everyone's seen Kendrick Lamar's new video, "Humble," right? 

All right, this is a substantial update since I hadn't written in more than a month! I hope to find a good rhythm to keep this going. I'm contemplating whether it makes sense to move this content to a blog for ultimately better reading. Let me know if you've got any thoughts on that and feel free to drop in to say hey.

p.s. You can also find me on Twitter, SoundCloud and Instagram.

Lately in LA

It’s been 5 months since I’ve been back in LA. I checked in when I hit 3 months. One of the things I last wrote was, “It's okay for you to take the time you need in your own pace, because your journey is yours, and my journey is mine.”

Here’s the latest with me on my journey:

Since I’ve been mostly writing on Medium, I set up medium.com/janewave to have my music-related stories populate in one place. I’ll be publishing more stories soon. I’ve also been branching out in terms of writing in different formats, including writing for video (more details on that soon), and currently in the process of figuring out how to pitch to other publications. I'm also trying to connect more emerging artists and producers together to create. I started putting together a list of everything I hope to accomplish in music.

It's all very exciting and overwhelming. Truthfully, I've been a bit hard on myself because I haven't pushed out as much content as I'd like to at this point. But I’m also reminding myself that it’s okay to shift gears from time to time especially when opportunities come up when you least expect it. There are seasons for things, and life is never linear. 

Aside from writing, I’ve been going to shows and events on the regular (scroll below), and I can’t help but think about high school Jane. Revisiting venues I hadn’t stepped foot in since high school has been propelling waves of nostalgia. I’ve been finding a lot of weird parallels between my high school life and my life in the present. I'm trying to embrace things coming full circle and paying more attention to signs that I've made the decisions I've made for a reason.

Anyway, onto the music.

A few things in rotation for me lately that I want to shout out, beyond Process from Sampha, Fin from Syd and Culture from Migos that I've been playing back to back:

Childish Major - Mad Hatter

Childish Major released "Mad Hatter" last week. He also produced rapper Quentin Miller's latest, "Darkside" that dropped yesterday.

In "Mad Hatter," Childish Major recounts the journey of creating music and the reality of staying above it all. It’s honest and somber–“Demons come, want demons to die, but they stay with me.” 

His album Apples Don’t Fall has been in the works for a few years now, but it's now completed and coming soon. His track, "Happy Birthday" with Isaiah Rashad and SZA released last July is one of my favorite songs that I always come back to, so I'm looking forward to hearing his new work. 

Childish Major got his first big break producing rapper Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O” which features Rick Ross and Future. It later got remixed by Black Hippy (Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q). He's also recently produced J. Cole's "4 Your Eyez Only." With all this being said, Childish Major needs to be on your radar if he isn't already. 

Kari Faux - Lost En Los Angeles

Kari Faux has been on the rise with her music featured on HBO’s Insecure soundtrack and her features with Isaiah Rashad (“Bday” from The Sun’s Tirade) and Childish Gambino ("Zombies" from Awaken, My Love!). Childish Gambino discovered Kari in 2014 with her video "No Small Talk" which he ended up remixing.

Lost En Los Angeles was released in April, but this whole album has been speaking to me more lately in terms of my transition back to LA. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Kari wrote the album in reflection of her own move from Little Rock, Arkansas to LA as she navigates the world of music out here.

She’s a great writer and rapper, her tunes are smooth and groovy, and she just makes you feel damn good about yourself. I caught her Instagram Live the other day where she was hanging at home and talking about her love for puzzles. I love puzzles too, so that made me happy, and she just seems like a cool person to kick it with, period.

Mini recaps of the shows I’ve hit up recently

As mentioned, I’ve been hitting up a lot of shows since moving back to LA. My love for shows is rooted in my past of going to them with my brother when we were in high school, so I figured why not give you a mini recap of my time attending them.

1/24: 6LACK at The Roxy

It was a trip being back at The Roxy because I hadn’t been there since I had seen some of my favorite emo bands perform there. Seeing R&B singer 6LACK (pronounced “black”) was a treat. It’s incredible to see the growth and progress he’s been making since being free of his previous label deal that constricted him. His album Free 6LACK has been on repeat for me since he dropped it in November. He’s also managed by a smart, savvy team and label called LVRN (Love Renaissance) home to other great artists like D.R.A.M, Raury and MeLo-X. 6LACK is not someone you should sleep on, and if there’s further proof, he brought out The Weeknd as a special guest for a surprise performance at the end of his show.
 

1/28: Soulection 6 Year Anniversary at The Microsoft Novo

For their six year anniversary, label and collective Soulection sold out the massive Microsoft Novo in Downtown LA, which holds over 2300 people. They had a full drumline, a sound clash and more. 

Here’s an old photo I snapped of the team when I first met them back in 2013. I'm proud of them, both past and present members, for bringing people together through their music.

They've been a major part of my past journey at SoundCloud, and they're a big reason why I have the relationships I have today in music. There's often a one degree separation between someone new I meet today and from someone at Soulection.

I also strongly believe that when people say “SoundCloud producer,” they're often thinking about Soulection because of the massive impact they've had on the platform. 

1/29: Daniel Caesar at The Echoplex

Daniel Caesar holds a special place in my heart. His music uplifts me and can make me cry in an instant. It’s been amazing seeing his progress as well. I remember uploading visuals for his 2015 EP Pilgrim's Paradise. His first show at The Echoplex was lovely. I held my heart and swayed to his music. He brought out Kali Uchis for their hit song "Get You," which should definitely be in your Valentine's Day playlist if it isn't already.

The energy was warm and inviting. You could tell Daniel was blown away by the support of the crowd for his first LA show. He recounted that two years ago he was homeless, and that he feels like he's in a dream now. Today he's making moves (Mary J. Blige stopped by his and Kaytranada's studio sesh) and deserves everything that's happening for him right now and in the future. Daniel also shouted out that this LA show was the best show he's ever done, even beating his performances in his hometown of Toronto. 

1/31: Huneycut at Mandrake Bar

 

I stopped by Mandrake Bar on Tuesday evening on the last day of January to see my friend and Seattle native Huneycut spin an all vinyl set. 

My friend Laretta who's also in music was there with another friend in tow too. It turns out it was a woman named Michelle Zei who has been a subscriber of this very newsletter. She said she found me through my 5 Years at SoundCloud reflection post on Medium. The world is so small. We talked about writing and journalism, and it was great to meet someone in real life who happened to be connecting with me online first. She’s an incredible multimedia reporter and works in film among many other things. Check out her work here. 

2/2: The Juice at The Regent

The Juice is organized by Mike Pak who unofficially runs @Koreatown and a collective from some good folks out of Rhode Island called Good Sport Creative. The Juice's purpose is "the intersection for like-minded individuals to congregate and collaborate within a cohesive and progressive ambiance."

The line-up was ridiculous, the music was bumpin’, the place was packed, and I ran into several different groups of people I had been in touch with in some way or another over the years. I also met a couple of new lovely women that I want to shout out real quick: Audrey, Madison Rose and Londyn Douglas.

Audrey is in music and wears different hats: she works at the Recording Academy, works with Andre Power of Soulection and is a writer. Upon introducing myself as Jane, she said she liked my name and that it sounded like a writer’s name. That made my night.

Madison Rose is a talented singer-songwriter whom I learned was JMSN’s back-up singer for a part of his tour last year. She’s got a lot of great things in the works, and we've already shared the sentiment that we need to be talking as much about the challenges and lows in music as the wins and shiny stuff.

Londyn Douglas is a stylist and creator of a vintage shop called Shop The Club. I had met her back in the green room towards the end of the night when she mentioned that there were hardly any women in the room. I agreed, and she mentioned a couple of her friends were still in the main floor unable to get in because they didn't have wristbands. We decided then and there that it was worth going back out to get them in hopes to diversify the room. We made it a mission, walked in and out with confidence, and it worked as the security guard let us through. That felt empowering.

2/4: FLYGRLS at The Regent

FLYGRLS's mission was to celebrate women with portions of the event going to the Downtown Women's Center. It was a beautiful event with an all-star line-up: Madame Gandhi, artist, activist and formerly M.I.A.'s tour drummer; Eden Hagos, DJ of Soulection and creative consultant; Coco & Breezy, twin sisters and eyewear designers from NYC; Huneycut, my friend and DJ as mentioned above; Bella Fiasco, DJ from Long Beach who's also an ambassador for Beat Junkies; and choreographer Ellen Kim who provided some serious dance moves with her crew. 

The energy of the room was felt in the packed space. I'd love to see more events like this happen and in general, it would be great if promoters could be more mindful of representation in their lineups.

2/7: Khalid at The Roxy
 

18-year-old Khalid from El Paso, Texas is sure to move your heart. He’s got an incredible voice and is another one destined for greatness. You know when you see someone perform, and they just have it down–voice, moves, vibes. That's how it felt. For it to be his first LA show, I was blown away. I could already picture him in an arena like the Staples Center. His debut album American Teen is coming out in March, but hear his breakout song "Location" which was produced by Tunji Ige and Syk Sense and engineered by Tiggi aka Ktoven.

2/7: starRo Grammy Nomination party at The Regent

 

This was a great celebration for starRo's Grammy Nomination for his remix of "Heavy Star Movin" by Star Lake Chorus. A highlight was seeing Jarell Perry and starRo perform a remix of Frank Ocean's rendition of Aaliyah's "At Your Best (You Are Love)." I’ve worked with starRo over the years, and it's been a joy to be a part of the early milestones of artists like starRo who have worked so hard to get to where they're at. He immigrated from Tokyo almost 10 years ago, selling his instruments to survive. Today's he a Grammy nominee, and his future is looking bright.

All right, that's it for now. This was a long one, so I appreciate your reading all the way through if you clicked on this. Feel free to hit reply to say hey and let me know how you've been.

Much love,
Jane

p.s. You can also find me on Twitter, SoundCloud and Instagram.