Nya Jade "Live" on Associated Content

Nya Jade was a pre-med student until a car accident changed her life forever. Now,she lives up to the meaning of her name "Illustrious & Purposeful," by bringing a whole new vibe to music. USA Today, says that she is a "young female troubadour worth keeping your eyes and ears on," VH1.com defined her as a "Superb New Songstress" while The LA Times concluded that "Nya's cool singing voice recalls Sade...the latest voice of multicultural bohemian self empowerment." Nya says there is no real description to her sound; she simply says that her songs are an "ecclectic mix of POP, ROCK & SOUL."

Whatever you describe her music as, one can definitely say that it is cathartic. She channeled pain and suffering into the determination to follow a dream. Graduating from Stanford with both a bachelors in Economics and a masters in Sociology, a near death experience led her to follow her passion for music. Guitar lessons, became a means of therapy which ultimately gave her a way to interpret her sound through instrumentation.

Nya was born in the West African country of Ghana and was raised around the world. Her early global experiences most certainly explain her universal translation of music, evident in her debut album "My Denial." When I asked her about the album title, she said that it is "an acknowledgment of the human condition." According to Nya, "at some point in life, we are all in denial." This album certainly addresses an assortment of experiences that everyone can relate to. And this, is precisely what Nya Jade wants to accomplish through her music.

To achieve her dream, she secured funding from a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist which allowed her to create her own label, Katako Records. After that bold move, she contacted Ron Shapiro, Manager and former President of Atlantic Records to join her team. Armed with great management and a label, she released her debut album which is currently on Vh1.com's Top 20 Albums list. Riding high on her much awaited dream, Nya is also celebrating the success of her new video "Live" which has been added to VH1 Soul.

Here's a little bit of my conversation with Nya Jade, clearly not in "denial" of her own dream.

Saba, Ink: Tell me about "Live." It seems almost autobiographical in a sense.
Nya: It is certainly by Carpe Diem Song! It speaks about the process of "smelling the roses" and
music as a healer.
Saba,Ink: It is definitely an anthem for those that are thinking about leaving the safety net of one experience and pursuing a purposeful life.
Nya: I'm so glad you think so. Thank you.
Saba,Ink: What would you say to bring folks to your music?
Nya: It has value and is honest. I bring in raw emotion to my music. I don't dumb it down with irrelevant lyrics. I write want people want to hear and tunes you can remember during a period in your life. My travels, being African and a woman, I bring all that to my music.
Saba,Ink: Your image is very clean. It doesn't look like we'll be seeing you doing too much booty shaking or dressed in scanty outfits.
Nya: (laughs). No not at all. I believe that you can still be sexy and classy at the same time.
Saba,Ink: Your base is in the San Francisco Bay Area. How can the rest of us see you?
Nya: I am doing a series of in store concerts with Borders and such.....
Saba,Ink: I see that Walmart.com had selected your album as an "Editor's Choice." That is huge and shows you are certainly getting around.
Nya: I know that was really exciting. A friend of mine googled me and found that out. I wouldn't have known otherwise. It is great!
Saba,Ink: With your diverse music repertoire, who would you want to collaborate with?
Nya: Wow! That is a tough question. Let me think (pause). Let's see: Prince (his live shows and how he performs with his band), Bono (U2), Outkast (They don't dumb down their music either), and if I could bring Bob Marley back from the grave, him.
Saba,Ink: Ghana has a lot of entertainment talent that could benefit from your success. Do you see yourself working with folks back home through your label?
Nya: It would be good. They have music back home called Hip Life. It is a combination of Hip Hop
And African High Life Music. I would love to expose some of that.
Saba,Ink: That would bring alot of light to the continent.
Saba,Ink: Well, this has been such a nice conversation. I don't won't to end it but of your time, I say thanks and wish you lots of luck. I look to your continued success.
Nya: Thank you Saba. I will keep bringing it for the continental girls (laughs).

I ended my conversation with Nya Jade feeling very empowered by her movement. She is certainly one to watch in the ever changing landscape of the music industry.

Check out her inspiring video Live right here.

Direct link to 'Live' video stream:
http://www.redmusic.com/streams/NyaJade/nyajade.asx

Check out 'Live' video on VH1.com:
http://www.vh1.com/vspot/player.jhtml?vid=138253&launchedFrom=/artists/az/nya_jade/artist.jhtml