Pop Princess Nenna Yvonne is famous for turning heads. Her style is Grace Jones meets high fashion with a twist of 90s style. Nenna Yvonne is known worldwide from the U.S, Europe and to Japan for her fun electro-pop songs and uptempo funky beats. This Nigerian-born/New York-raised songstress is bold, colorful and confident. Born to business-minded parents, Nenna Yvonne took a different route for her career. Loving music and fashion, Nenna Yvonne’s high energy, creative style and catchy lyrics is what got her big breakthrough in the pop industry. She is just experimenting, having fun, and enjoying life. We can learn a thing or two from Ms. Nenna Yvonne.
I got a chance to chat with Nenna Yvonne about her upbringing, short and long term goals, and her definition of success.
Lawanda Johnson:Tell me more about your upbringing and your inspiration of becoming a musician.
Nenna Yvonne: I grow up around really strong business-minded people. My mother saw me take an interest in art at a very young age. My father is an attorney, so they [parents] both kind of have a different approach when it came to growing up here in the States. For them it’s like, you go to school and become a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer and that’s how you make your living; that’s their American Dream. As for me, I wanted a different occupation. I wanted to be in the music industry.
LJ: Your style is quite different from the rest of pop artists. How did you develop your own unique style?
NY: Umm…my style is really high fashion, fun pop and anything that is really related to pop culture. I read a lot of high fashion magazines. I am constantly mixing fashion with art decor, something you would find in street wear. Something like that retro fun idea that you might pull from music videos during the 80s and 90s. So I mix what I found was interesting from those fashion styles.
LJ: That’s great. So you have a contest with your sponsors, Bucket Feet. Talk more about how our readers can enter?
NY: Actually I have two contests going on at the moment. One is a remix contest for my song We Came to Rock. We recently shot the video and it’s up on YouTube. I have about 30,000 views already. It’s pretty great for an indie artist! This means that fans are really taking an interest in it. So for the contest, producers and DJs can remix my song and create their own version.
The second contest is more geared to spring break; I am getting ready to go on tour. So I asked my fans to create their special design for a poster–We Love Nenna Yvonne–and the most creative one will win some of Bucket Feet sneakers, MAC products, since MAC sponsors me too, and free tickets to see one of my concerts during spring break.
LJ:Sounds cool! So what’s your writing process like?
NY: I write all of my own music. I really didn’t have the right approach to write when I was younger because I didn’t have someone to explain to me like the proper way to write songs. So a lot it was just hearing or going off my idea of how a song is supposed to sound and feel like. Sometimes I don’t follow the mold. Sometimes it’s better to take little elements of what you feel the song should feel like and try to make it your own. First it started out as poetry to ideas from films and previous conversations I had with a friend or a family member. Then I started structuring and following the pattern to create a song. It’s the same way you would write a book or a story. And before you know it, I enjoyed doing it. It was almost natural!
LJ: What are some of your short term and long term music goals?
NY: My short term music goal is to getting ready to go on tour. Also possibly getting a record deal. We have been working on a follow-up single. Recently, we released a single in Europe and it charted along Lady GaGa on iTunes and on American Dance charts. Now I’m hoping to do a follow-up single with that.
In the long run, I would really want to do a world tour. To take on collaborations with artists that I really respect like Kanye West and Jay-Z would be great.
LJ:What’s your definition of success?
NY: My definition of success would have to be creating a lifestyle that makes you comfortable and happy. I mean if you follow your dreams and is passionate about it, then you have found success. You will naturally find success when you have happiness and unconditionally love from someone you might want to spend the rest of your life with. A lot of people think that they have to work so hard and do the 9 to 5 thing, which is definitely something you want to do to make money to survive, but following your passion and doing things that you love to do on a daily basis is what is going to keep you happy. It will keep you going as a person. Life is all about experimenting and trying new things. So if you learn to do that for yourself, you will learn how to also grow and be a well rounded person.
LJ:What is some advice you would give to upcoming artists who want to work independently in the pop industry?
NY:Keep growing. They will have to keep experiencing things in this world. You will learn to define yourself in different elements in art. You will become more successful and more comfortable with who you are as an individual. You will eventually grow with your art form, whether you are a singer, dancer, actor, model or a visualist, it doesn’t matter. It’s all about finding your creative niche that helps you to continue to grow.
For more information on Nenna Yvonne:
www.facebook.com/NennaYvonneArtist
|
|
|
BIG UP MY DEAR SIS…YOUVE GOT ALL IT TAKES DEAR:KEEP RYDING AND TIME WILL TELL. I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST AND PRAY YOU GET BIGGER…ONE LOVE