Artists of 2019: An Interview With Mikhala Jené On Dreams And Love

You always hear the quote, “Keep the Faith!” It is one of the best keys to make it anywhere in life, but there is a part of the quote that is, often, left out: “Keep The Faith In Yourself!” Be aware of what you have survived, dreamed, and grown up to achieve. Mikhala Jené is doing exactly this as she continues to rise in an industry that is notoriously cut-throat. She has a huge heart and cool sound, but what makes her an artist to watch and rise is 2019 is that she sees kindness to herself and others as vital in keeping faith in her music.

Diandra: Moving always reveals and grows bits of your personality that you might not have realized. What did your move from your hometown of Jacksonville, NC o Los Angeles teach you about yourself, and how did that influence your artistry?

Mikhala: It kind of threw me in the water, and taught me how to swim. It taught me to be present and trust myself, which is something I am still constantly learning. I would say that was my biggest lesson; learning to trust my ideas, my decisions, and my vision for what I wanted for myself. I am Virgo. Anything you hear about Virgos, I am. I overanalyze everything. So moving to this city, I had to learn how to navigate it and figure out who I am here versus who I was in North Carolina.

Diandra: Well, Virgos are known for their determination. So, they, often, see 30 million paths to a destination, but, at least, they know where they want to go.

Mikhala: And that is exactly true, and part of why I had to grow up. Even when I was uncertain of the end goal, I knew I had to figure it out. I always tell people that your gifts are not the obvious one you think you have. I think my gift is figuring things out and growing by leaving my comfort zones, which was my family and home. The more things you figure out on your own, the more confidence you gain. It shows you what your possible of doing, or, at least, knowing you are capable of learning.

Diandra: Listening to your debut EP, Carolina Blues, its description had a very intriguing, descriptive line that stood out to me; “it is a parallel between chasing your dreams and chasing love, all at once.” When it comes to dreams and relationships, do you think they clash, and how do you choose between them?

Mikhala: I think they both clash and coincide. When you think about it, so many of their phases are exactly the same. Like the beginning phases, the infatuation with the career you are fulfilling or the infatuation with the guy you are fulfilling. At first, it’s this pretty picture you painted until you get in, and you realize “Oh wait a minute!” (She laughs) Reality sets in, and you see this is work.

Chasing a dream is work, and chasing a relationship is work. You start to realize the highs and lows and everything in-between, and you start to ask yourself how badly do you want it and what you are you willing to fight for it. Sometimes, they can clash like in the obvious ways. When things are not going well in your personal life it can construe how you work like, “Damn, if I can’t get it straight over here, how am I going to get things straight over there?” Yet, it can be motivating, especially as a woman, because when we go through a break-up, we go even harder. We change our hair. (She laughs) We put 100% of ourselves into something we love even if its a distraction from the heartbreak.

All of the experiences you face with falling in love with someone are the same phases you do with chasing a dream. Those feelings gave me the words I needed to create this project, and taught me how hard I can be on myself. It was me letting myself and the person that I love off the hook from my expectations and realizing the vanity of striving for perfection. It was a lesson in both chasing a dream and a relationship, and accepting love and its process.

Diandra: Wow! That is an answer filled with wisdom, and me leads into my next question, which is what, as a songwriter, was your biggest lesson on love and dreams?

Mikhala: As a songwriter, the biggest I learned is that I am not alone in how I feel. The interesting thing about Ego, with all of us, is that Ego tells us we are the only ones the feel the way we do. The biggest lesson songwriting taught me was to let go, and write exactly how I feel in that moment. There is a song I wrote called, “Birthday Blues,” and every year when my birthday comes around, and I feel like everybody does this, we audit ourselves. We ask ourselves, “What we have done?,” “What are we doing?,” “What do I want to do next?” And you set yourself up for the blues because you realize what you haven’t done that you wanted to do. I was thinking that I was the only one that got depressed on their birthday; so sitting on the mic, and writing the weight I felt, helped me relieve it. Yet, it was messages I got after like, “Oh my god, I felt that way, too!” that freed me as a writer.

Diandra: Well, I feel that happiness can be challenged by our desires and what we mentally frame it as. Yet, we all need to have our “boundaries.” So knowing what you want as dreamer and lover, what are, then, your deal-breakers?

Mikhala: When I feel I am not being heard, and I can say that right off the top of my head. I have realized I am a little more of an introverted personality. I have seen what bothers me the most is that when I feel I am being misunderstood or unheard. Yet, it is not even always on the person. Sometimes, I’ll look back and see that the reasons I got emotional was because I didn’t say what I wanted to say or even got louder. I’m such a listener and confidante for others so I like to feel the same thing from others. Ultimately, with deal-breakers, it is about what will give you peace and acceptance in both love and career. It is about accepting things as they are and are not. I need to feel like my spirit is is being felt by others and receive reciprocity.

Diandra: You have brilliantly aligned love and dreams, and how we manifest them as a process, which I never saw it like that. What did releasing your debut teach you about dreams coming true?

Mikhala: It taught me to trust the process. I feel like, in the creation of this project, there were many nights when I did not have the words, and I wondered if I would ever finish. There were so many times when I was like, “Why am I doing this to myself? I know so many good writers!” And God was like, “No, you are going to sit there, and you are going to write! You need to do this! This project is about you!” If your project is about your journey, nobody could writer your journey but you. This process felt like when your parents make you sit at the table till you finish all your peas and carrots. Ultimately, it helped me realize my capabilities and gave me confidence for my next chapter as far as following a dream. Trust the process!

Diandra: So what is your next dream?

Mikhala: The next dream is about making sure everyone hears this! So much of my motivation and drive, especially when I double myself, was knowing that someone else’s freedom depended on me getting free. Naturally, I am a shy person so I asked myself, “Why am I doing this to myslef?” So I am conquering fear everyday by doing this. None of this is about me. This is about the bigger picture, and helping someone find their self through my own transparency.
I am really excited to perform, and that is the next part of the dream; doing the shows and showing people who I am.

Diandra: Well, you seem like a really great person, and I think kindness is an unsung ingredient to succeeding in the business.

Mikhala: I always tell people, “Talent gets you through the door, but character keeps you there.”

Isn’t she lovely and wise? Speaking with her was so enriching because her album is excellent. One of the reasons concerts and interviews are so important is because people want to feel like you deserve your talent and success. In a world where morality, many times, does not measure whom is prosperous and whom is not, artists are held to a higher, moral degree because art feeds the spirit, and those that listen and watch you want to know you even have one. Mikhala Jené has a fantastic spirit, and I hope EVERYONE hears her and goes to see her upcoming tour. For More Information On Mikhala Jene Click Here.