Hey Nya, how are you?
Good! How are youu?
I guess you've been doing interviews all day, I'm the last in line, huh?
I've been doing interviews all day, but I'm still excited to talk to you!
*Laughs* I've been looking online for information about you, like previous interviews or whatever. I think I came upon probably the best question of all.
Okayyy.
It was actually on a messageboard, here it is.. "I just watched this Nya Jade video and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about her or if the rest of her CD is good. I read some interview and it said she went to like, Stanford or something. But does anyone know if she's a good artist?" .. That's the question. People want to know, are you a good artist?
Wow. I guess my answer to that would be I stay true to myself, so that's about as good as I can get in terms of being an artist.
Yeah I know, what kind of question is that?.. it's just umm, clarification for people.
*laughs*
About this Stanford thing..
Uh huh.
Was there really a chance that we could have been calling you Nya Jade M.D.?
*big laugh* Yeah if I would have made it through med school that would have been great.
How far did you get?
I was just a pre-med student in terms of just getting the requirements together to apply for med school. So I didn't go to med school or anything like that; I switched in the middle of that whole process when I had a car accident. I just kind of had a new perspective on life and decided to do what I was passionate about.
Are there any doctors in your family?
Yes, my dad's a doctor he does public health. So I definitely was drawn to that field and I think I just always wanted to be helpful, you know, the whole cavalier idea of saving the world, but there is just several other was to do it. So I'm learning to do it through music because you can raise awareness, you can raise funds and all that stuff through music also.
What was your specialty going to be?
I wanted to do pediatrics.
So somewhere in between there was this car accident. What happened with that?
I was crossing the street on campus with a friend on a rainy night and.. I didn't see the car coming. I think she saw it come out of nowhere and was able to move in time, and I got hit. So I suffered a lot of injuries and during the recovery process it was just one of those times you reevaluate life saying, "Well you've got one ticket, what do you really want to do with it?"
Were you doing music before the accident?
Yes, I sang in an acappella group on campus and so that was my musical outlet at the time.
What kind of music did you sing?
It was a combination of r&b, gospel, and African music.
You've said part of your therapy involved taking guitar lessons, is that something that you just picked up at that time?
Yeah. I actually decided to pick up the guitar at that time. I picked it up mostly to have an instrument to write on. Like something that was just flexible, I could take it anywhere. But actually performing with it came later, it's just something I decided to work on developing to add to the live show. But it was definitely one of those behind the scenes things: an instrument used to write.
Were you self taught?
I started teaching myself and then I realized that I'd probably teach myself bad habits that would be hard to break later. I've met people that played guitar here and there, people have showed me different techniques and stuff. But it's something that I really want to sit down and focus on, have someone to really teach me.
Were you writing songs with the group?
No, we sang other people's music. We would find gospel tunes here, an r&b song here, find an African song from a musical or something and learn them. So it wasn't about writing music in that group.
Part of your change in perspective, you decided that you wanted to sing and do all these things, then you say you needed the guitar to accompany you with your songs. Which came first, the decision to sing or did you just start playing the guitar and the songs came out of that?
I think, to sing. I had always been writing poems and writing thoughts down and all this stuff, so I kind of drew from there for lyrics. It was just hard to.. I couldn't explain to other musicians the ideas that I had in my head for music. So I figured the best way to do it was to find an instrument that I could learn and be decent at to write.
I guess before you knew it you were making a complete song.
Right. Yeahhh.
So after that you hit the open mic clubs.
There were places in San Francisco that had open mic nights, so I would just go and get a chance to play one or two songs. But I also started on campus, our coffee house would have a music night and I'd get some friends together who also played instruments and teach them the songs and we'd go play. So people were actually paying attention *laughs* so I was like, 'Ok, let's see what else we can do with this.'
So they basically gave you an outlet for what you were doing?
Yeah. Definitely.
Did people approach you about signing you?
Yeah, word started spreading, I started meeting people who were interested in recording and getting studio time. So this album was kind of recorded in different stages, using different people and putting it all together.
And you decided to start your own label.
Yes.
Did you try to get signed first?
Yes and no. I think the industry right now is at a point where they kind of just like to watch people and see where they take things before they decide to come in and do something. So in order to get the album in stores and to get press I decided to put together my own label so that people know the contact company when stores need something. It's definitely been a journey with both creative and business in terms of moving things forward.
Do you think there will ever be a point, say if an Interscope or a Universal, they wanted to sign you, that you'd except the deal?
Well I guess it depends on what kind of deal they're offering. *laughs* But you keep doors open, you keep open minded, because obviously, like if you can hopefully enter into a partnership with someone like that, it could be mutually beneficial. Especially since I've done a lot of leg work and stuff on my own.
The name of your label is Katako Records.. is there a meaning behind that name?
I just took the first letter of the names of my family members and I kind of kept arranging them until they formed a meaningful word.
Well it worked because it looks like it could mean something else.
*laughs* Yeah.
Have you ever, or at the time when you started, did you ever think to go on American Idol?
No. You know, everyone is like, "You should do American Idol." I love American Idol. I'll watch it and all that stuff, but based on what I've read.. I don't know, I just wanted to see what I could do on my own, in terms of writing my own stuff and putting it out there. And with American Idol there's not necessarily a guarantee, you could make it to the top 20 and then you get cut. :(
Well.. with your voice you would have had a good chance
THANK YOU *laughs* I'll write the producers and tell them you say so. :)
Since you're the boss of your own label, how do you decide which songs should make the album. Is there any kind of mental filter or do you kind of just put everything down?
I have a whole bunch of songs and some songs I just wanted to live with for a bit more, maybe go back and re-record with a different approach. So they didn't make the album. I put songs on there that I thought were ready and fit together well as a group.
And the name of the album is My Denial. Do they all fit under the umbrella of that title, what does My Denial mean?
My Denial is an album that took awhile to write, there's just something moody about it. And I think again with this subject of My Denial and the cover, people are kind of curious, "Well what does that mean?" You know, as opposed to love songs or something they're just like, "Oh, this is an interesting title." So it's just like you asked me about it a lot of people have been asking me about why it's called My Denial and I joke about saying at some point we're all in denial about something.
The song "One Pill" that's the song most people have heard or seen the video. In the song you say let's take things back in the days and let's get back to those good things, but I didn't understand what the one pill represented. Could you explain that?
Sure, "One Pill" was written after I watched TV. I was up late and saw a whole bunch commercials advertising medication for different things: arthritis, headaches, insomnia, all this stuff. I thought it was funny at the end of each commercial they'd say in a softer voice.. may have side-effects that cause dizziness, nausea, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I thought it was just ironic that you could take just one pill to cure something, but it can give you ten other things, which you didn't have before. So it's like what's the point? So it was just like a social commentary. I just looked at those commercials and thought, "Wow! There's one pill for everything."
So I kinda just scribbled it down and then I was wondering what did we do back in the days when we didn't have access to so much medication. People are so quick to turn to a drug to help fix the problem as opposed to turning to family and loved ones and working things out, if that is a possible route.
So I guess the one pill can also be people taking the quick way out of the problems in their life in general.
Yeah. Everyone wants that quick fix. No wants to work through things anymore they just want to fix it now.
Your influences.. Bob Marley.. Tina Turner.. which of their songs would you put at the top of your list?
Oh my gosh. With Bob Marley there are just so many.. From Bob Marley I like his song "No Woman No Cry" just because the chorus, the hook just draws you in and then you could just like hypnotically sing that. Then you pay attention to the lyrics and he's talking about social observations in his hometown. And like "Redemption Song" I could just tell that he was really into his ability to write about politics and social situations but it was still good commercial music.
And then for Tina Turner I've always loved her songs "What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Private Dancer." I was just inspired by her interviews when she talked about wanting to do rock and roll because it was in her blood. I was just really inspired by that. Just kinda like it's okay to be who you are, through music and all that stuff.
So Tina Turner is really your influence to go toward the rock side of music..
Yeah. She was like my first exposure to a black female artist doing rock & roll, and that was just fantastic! But also I listened to other rock bands. You know, bands like U2 or you can take an artist like Michael Jackson, his song "Beat It" and he's got the rock guitars in there. Prince is never afraid to be rock & roll, so there's a whole slew of artists who are really exciting to watch and see what they do through their music.
Did you listen to soul music or r&b and able to enjoy it, but still say within yourself, "I really want to do the other thing?"
Oh yeah. I love soul music and r&b, all over it. It's just one of those things, like this particular album is a reflection of what I wanted to do as an artist at this point. And who knows? The cool thing is I tell people it's kind of introduced the fact that I draw from different influences. So if my next record is all soul, people aren't going to be shocked and say, "Why did she do a soul album when her entire first album was rock?" This album is a combination of some rock and some soul and some pop. So it doesn't throw anybody off if the next album is completely pop, because I've already shown that side of me. You know what I mean? I think it opens the door for me to go in any direction or continue to just mix it up.
Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Everybody keeps asking me this. I keep saying it's like asking if you have a favorite kid. *laughs*
It's possible to have a favorite kid..
Oh nooo. Well I think it depends on my mood. I like the love song "Next To You" just because it's pure and it's just piano, vocals, and some strings. I kind of just stripped that way down to those elements, so people have been gravitating toward that song. I like the song "Live" because in the chorus/hook, we've got like a really soulful guitar part going on in the background. Which is fun, kind of reminds me of a lazy summer type of thing.
At this point in the interview I'm going to link people to the video. Is there anything additional that they should pull out of the video?
Just the cool, visual imagery of San Francisco. I think people like it because they haven't seen a video that kind of showcases San Franciso like that. A lot of videos are done in LA, maybe on a soundstage, you get a lot of videos that are done in the streets of New York. So people are kind of excited to see the San Francisco Bay area in a video.
I guess I can ask you.. Have you checked out the album?
No. I haven't listened to the album yet, just the single.
Ok. Because I was gonna ask you, "What song did you like?"
I'm actually gonna buy the album off of iTunes and will encourage people to do the same.
Yeah. Thank you! So what are your tastes in music, who do you listen to these days?
I listen to a mix of everything. I grew up on hip-hop, but I'm able to listen to just about anything.
That seems to be the theme today. I've been having a lot of interviews today, talking to a lot of urban websites and it's interesting to listen to hip-hop and r&b people say, "Oh, I loooove Coldplay" or "Alanis Morrisette is my jam!" And I'm like, "See! We all have our stash of alternative music."
Well I think true hip-hop is a mixture of everything. That's how it started. Taking bits and pieces from everywhere, listening to all types of music. Growing up I listened to Bob Marley, Yellow Man, there were some rock records I liked.
Yeah, that's awesome. Like I liked Outkast's last album how on Andre's side he had his alternative stuff on there. Like he had Norah Jones singing on a track and I was like, "See, that's just really cool."
Exactly..
Awesome. Thank you so much for your time I really appreciate this.
Not a problem. I'm glad to contribute.
Thanks. Bye.
*Visit her site Nya Jade.com and do what I did.. buy the album on
