Meet Ianaa | Singer/Songwriter Music Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ianaa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ianaa, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
As most of the legends have started out, my love for music started in the church! My grandad was a pastor so we were in church allll the time. Growing up in the church, I remember being obsessed with the idea of music, singing, and instruments in general. I wanted to learn how to sing like them, play instruments like them, and truly learn how to express myself through music the same way as they did on Sundays.

I took to instruments well before I even discovered my passion for singing, playing both violin and self-taught piano for years. I even got my family nickname “P” because I used to be so fond of the piano and they found me countless times sleeping under the piano.

Through high school and college, I really began to shift my focus from just “music” to becoming a singer/songwriter and discovering how much I really enjoyed it, and embarking on a mission to really find my voice. From that point on, things quickly began to blossom and my dream to be an artist was born. Fast forward to today I can say that my deep church roots definitely add to my soulful sound today. More importantly, my core values and faith learned early on are what keep me going 200% daily to keep striving to reach my dreams and goals.

I have been fortunate enough to work with some pretty amazing people thus far and have gained respect and support from some even more amazing people in the industry such as NE-YO. The best is yet to come for me as an artist and I am super excited for what’s in store!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Getting where I am today was by far in no way shape or form easy. I have faced many challenges both physically and mentally along the way that has made me want to completely give up. My faith has gotten me through so much in life and continues to be a staple behind my continued success. Without having a positive mindset, hope, my faith, my supporters and my family I would not have made it this far. One of the biggest lessons I had to learn with being an artist is that timing is everything and when one door closes the next one that opens tends to exceed your expectations of what you initially had for the first. Never give up is an affirmation I have to tell myself daily because it is so easy to get sucked into the negativity of the industry and get discouraged and disappointed leaving you wanting to just quit. My story definitely has some highs and lows in it but I want people to get to know me for me and be one of those artists who strives to be as transparent as possible as I can with my fans in the future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being that I am from Savannah I would definitely show you all the ins and outs of my city. River street is beautiful and offers so many cities, shops and places you can visit along with a great view. Tybee Island is another great place to visit in the city and is a great tourist beach. If you’re looking for night life, City Market is definitely the place to be on the weekend, offering multiple different restaurants and bars along the strip/square area.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family specifically my mom and uncle Bryan have always pushed for me to continue pursuing my dreams. They have always been 100% supportive and there for me and my art since I went head first into the deep end in the music world. Even when life threw its worst at me and I took a hiatus from things and wanted to quit and just give up they were there. They were the ones telling me to get back to it and that my God given talent should not go to waste.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianaasoul/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianaasoul

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn_UuFMSmFu1BLKTyxXSwJA

Image Credits
Shots by Somi Studios