Daily Inspiration: Meet Tanajah

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanajah

Hi Tanajah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My music career started from a baby thank to me growing up in a musical family. My mother was a singer and was the person who introduced me into the world of performing. My dad was into Hip Hop and introduced me to Tupac (Ironically, we share the same birthday!) and a number of 90s and 00s rappers. I loved Hip Hop and learned to love the art of freestyling. I was always a freestyler throughout middle school and high school, but I didn’t start taking rap seriously musically until college. I was a Percussion Performance major at NCCU, but towards the end of my degree, I realized that being a percussionist wasn’t enough for me. I would always say that, “I am learning to be the best percussion in the world, so I can be Beyonce’s drummer,” but I realized that didn’t want to be behind a star, I wanted to be a star! I started attending open mics in Raleigh in the winter of 2017/beginning of 2018 but I didn’t have any songs written, so I would only freestyle. I began researching how to book venues, I reached out to Pinhook about doing an EP release show! I really appreciated Kym because she booked me even though I never had a show before. I had my EP release show in July of 2018 and t’s been nothing but musical blessings since! In 2019, I returned to Pinkhook for a Femme Hip Hop show hosted by DJ Gemynii, and that was where I met Justo Gambula, a musician from Denmark who was visiting NCCU. In January of 2020 he invited me to Denmark to perform with his band, Athletic Progression, and perform at SPOT Festival, a big festival in the country. Unfortunately, covid happened, the project was never released and the festival as cancelled. Fortunately, I made connections with a lot of bookers in the country and I was invited back in 2021. In 2021 I met with Rune Lak, CEO of BlikFlak, an indie label in based in Aarhus. I signed with them in 2022 and released my EP, “What if Dreams Came True?” through the label. With the help of bookers and the label, I’ve had three successful International Tours!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I can tell you from experience that his has been the hardest journey I have ever encountered! I have failed more times that I have ever succeeded. I started my music career from scratch; I had literally no idea what I was doing! It was me Google, YouTube and my thoughts against the world! In almost every part of my journey, I made mistakes; some small, some HUGE! From booking shows, booking artists for shows, studio session…you name it, something always went wrong. For a very long time, it was only a team a me, so everything was on me! No matter what I did, I was planning, organizing, and executing everything by myself. I wish I could say it has been easiest, but being a performing artists has not been easy. I am thankful for the obstacles I encountered because it only made me become better artists and entrepreneur, but it did not feel good going through the storm!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I call myself a Hip Hop artist, but recently, I’ve been wanting to just call myself a musical artist! While I love Hip Hop, and at the core of my music, Hip Hop will always be the base, sometimes I don’t feel like I belong solely in the category of Hip Hop. I don’t stick to just one genre, so it seems kind of different to only call myself a Hip Hop artist or rapper.

I’m most proud of my connections overseas! I went to Denmark knowing one person, and have grown that one connection an dedicated fanbase in Europe. I’ve had the pleasure of performing in multiple countries and going on multiple tours overseas. I’ve also built a family of people in Europe that mean the world to me.

I believe what sets me apart from others is that I am truly myself! While I know that I’ve grown over the years, I have continued to be myself. I haven’t had to talk down or about someone to keep climbing! I have always been my most authentic self. I want my music to sell for greatness that exist in the art, not for the image I can portray. So far, being myself has worked, and I plan to keep it that way!

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can support my work by buying my music! My music is available on all streaming platforms, as well as bandcamp! Purchasing the music on Bandcamp is a great way to support artists directly! You can also keep up with me on Instagram @tanajahraps.

Subscribing to my YouTube would also be a huge help! I’ll be releasing a lot of visuals next year!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tanajahraps.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanajahraps/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanajahraps/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tanajah14