Anyone who has heard her music could tell you that Jada Imani knows how to groove. She rocks, you lean. She calls, you respond. She raps and you feel – for just a moment – that maybe you, too, are cool enough to spit some bars. That is the greatest gift of Jada’s work: it is, above all else, an invitation. One that if you accept, you walk away from freer than when you came.
Belleville born and Oakland raised, Jada Imani currently lives internationally. She mixed most of her most recent EP, “I Been Away, But…” in Cuba alongside local producer jonnychang. Drawing from Black musical traditions across the diaspora, Jada Imani gifts listeners an escape to an island where glass-clear water laps against white sand beaches, the sun shines – but never in your eyes – and the wind sings you to sleep whenever you choose.
Can you start off by telling us about yourself? Who you are, what you do, and why you love it?
Sure! I’m Jada, I go by Jada Imani. I'm an artist, vocalist, songwriter, performer, lover of freedom – both personal and collective. I make music, travel, and try to bring people together by staying creatively involved in my community. I love what I do because music and gathering with people is the closest thing that I’ve found to freedom. And [music] is the only thing I've ever wanted to do. It's the thing that stirs my soul the most.
How would you describe your musical aesthetic? Whose influences do you see in your own work?
I make soulful Hip Hop and R&B music. It's sometimes hard to pinpoint specific influences, but I can say I heavily admire Black musical traditions in general. Namely Afrobeats, Jazz, Gospel, and Funk.
Are there people or forces in your life that you channel through your art?
Well, I really like to call on the spiritual realm, the ancestors, and the tradition that is genetically imprinted in [Black folxs’] DNA. Whenever I'm performing, I think about my angels. I think about my grandma. I think about the ancestors I never knew and how hard they fought for me to be able to exist and be on a stage singing, expressing my soul, doing what I love.
You've said that what you hope to do as a musician and writer is “paint a world that's so vivid and so tantalizing that people want to get free into it, and reject the entrapments of today.” Can you elaborate on that ethos? And how it shows up in your music?
Yeah, of course! I've always been a rebel against the expectations that are placed on me because our society is built on war and oppression. I didn’t want to participate in that. Even before I was really educated about [legacies of oppression], something in my being let me know, “Hey, I don't belong here and on this path, so I'm going to make a bet on myself and figure out a way to speak to whoever else has some instinct to rebel as well, and find their own way.”
I want to motivate people to move and do what they got to do to get free and also make them feel good, ready to go and take the risk to break away from [societal] entrapments. I hope that [intention] gets even clearer with time.
You're working on a new EP! Is it different from your previous projects? If so, how?
It’s different in that it has kind of that continuous theme of wanderlust, and that I have a special feature on the EP by Ian Kelly. He's really awesome. I don't have features very often.
Also, the theme is different. There's definitely a feeling of romance, more than I have ever put into my music [before]. Romance has never been a priority for me. In [this EP], I focus on a romance for the world. And the experience of being a human who can go [to] different places and see different cultures. It's not a one-to-one romance. It's like self-to-world romance.
What was your artistic approach to making this EP? How did the lyrics and sounds come together for you?
My approach was very free flowing. No revision. Leaning into freestyle, leaning into the first take. I kind of just reached into the mic and let it preserve the essence of the first take.
Is there a distinct concept, theme, or message you want people to take away from this project?
Yeah, I want people to be encouraged to travel, explore, adventure, and open their hearts to the world. I want people to feel like they are either on the island [of Cuba] or they are writing a letter to someone they haven't seen in a long time. Someone they’re missing through time and space.
Do you have a favorite track on the EP? If so, why?
I would say [the title] track really has a special place in my heart because of the way that [my producer] jonnychang cared for it like his own. It has been an honor to me.
I also got to collaborate with the best bass player in Cuba – Samuel Sandoval – on a track called “Andele”. [He] invited me here. He’s [the] reason why I've been able to even know Cuba, be a part of the community, and perform here. He was the only soul that I knew in this country. To be able to make that song with him was just an honor.
What's next for you?
I am leaving my beloved Bay Area. I’ll be having a going away show April 3rd at The Chapel. After that, I'm going to do as much traveling around the world as I can.
That's a whole new life chapter you're about to embark on!
Absolutely, yeah, I'm here for it!
