Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani J.
Hi Dani, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Ok! From the beginning, I grew up singing in church. I was a PK, so when your parents start a church, basically, it’s you, your siblings, and a few family friends. So, with that, means you are basically the choir and musician for the church. Funny enough, I started out playing drums until someone more skilled came along, if you know what I mean 😂. But yea, I grew up always singing in church, and I remember my favorite singers as a kid was Yolanda Adams, Karen Clark Sheard, and Lauryn Hill. I remember listening to my mom’s cassette tapes and rewinding “This Joy” by Yolanda Adams over and over. Balm in Gilead from Finally Karen-Karen Clark-sheard Album was one of my favorites, and the reason I knew of Lauryn Hill was because of the movie sister act 2; I would literally watch that movie everyday stand in front of the tv and pretend I was her singing my little heart out. I even had the box braids lol. As you can tell, I’ve always loved strong vocalist, I try to be that myself, but I’m still on my journey, and there is definitely room to grow.
As a teen, I still sang in church but never thought of it as something to take seriously, I found myself embracing basketball more, and that became the dream; play college ball, go to the WNBA, retire, and become a coach. Well, that completely changed my sophomore year in Highschool during that time my family was facing a lot of hardships financially and more. it kind of affected me; I was not feeling basketball anymore, all of sudden I felt the coaches were doing too much, and I lost my passion for it,
I started thinking and asking God like what do I do now? What will my future look like without basketball? How will I go to college without a bball scholarship? I remember my very first encounter with God. I was sitting in my sophomore English class, and out of nowhere, I hear a choir singing above me a song I had never heard before, so I just began to write it down. This was the very first song I had written. From that moment going forward, this was how I would write songs; I would hear everything from lyrics to instruments. I remember my junior year in Highschool I had to transfer schools, and I ended up joining the choir, and I absolutely loved it. It introduced me to different styles of music that I had never heard before, and I loved it. From there is where I started thinking this is something I could see myself pursuing in college.
I applied to Oral Roberts University my senior I didn’t get fully accepted. I had to start out at Cedar Valley Community College and then transfer over, but insight of having to wait, it benefited me tremendously with my audition into the School of Music at ORU. At ORU is where I studied music arts and technology; where I was classically trained in Voice and learned the basics of music production and engineering.
After ORU, I faced many challenges that I felt like stunned my growth. I was fought heavily with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of just being myself. I really felt like I wasted so much time trying to please others instead of just being me and do what God called me to do. But as time went on, God started getting my attention, letting me know that you can’t allow those things I placed inside of you to lay dormant. That my gifts have to be used for his glory, I remember reaching out to a friend, and they were telling me about a guy who had attended ORU who lives in Dallas and was now producing music; his beats were fire. Dara J.T. is his name, long story short, I reached out to him, and he has literally helped me above and beyond like he has a huge heart and gift for connecting people. I’m truly grateful that God placed him in my life. We began to work on a few things, and it’s been a long journey, but I am finally doing it. I released my Debut single, “I’m Winning” feat. VerbPro12:4 & Adrion Butler on May 5 ,2023. I am super excited for what’s ahead, and I can’t wait to share more music and more of my journey with y’all.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I stated earlier struggled heavily with fear, fear of failure, fear of rejection, that I would always try to people please instead of being my authentic self.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a singer-songwriter.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/danijsingz?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@danij.
