Mayaeni
| Mayaeni | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mayaeni Strauss |
| Born | Detroit, Michigan |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Labels |
|
| Website | Official Mayaeni website |
Mayaeni (pronounced Mah-yay-knee) is a singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Throughout her career she has several releases, being signed by Roc Nation since 2012.
Early life
Mayaeni was born in Detroit, the daughter of a Sierra Leone mother and a Jewish father.[1][2] Her father was a guitar player himself, who has worked with Carl Carlton and Jimmy Ruffin among others.[3] Mayaeni has a brother, musician D. Alie of the hip-hop band United States of Mind.[4] Through her father Mayaeni came in contact with a wide variety of music ranging from reggae to Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix.[5] She started recording her songs by the age of twelve and after finishing high school she moved to the United Kingdom and lived in a youth hostel while studying dance and working under the table at clothes markets in Camden.[5]
Career
Following her stint in London, she moved to New York where she started performing in open mics,[5] recorded demos for other artists, and recorded a self-titled album with producer Shaun Fisher.[6] While touring in Japan for her album she also gained herself an endorsement contract for Glad News Clothing, a local designer brand.[5] In early 2008 she co-wrote 5 songs with Toby Gad, while later in the year she signed a development deal with Custard Records.[7] She was featured in the Target/Converse "One Star" Ad-Campaign of 2010.[5] In early 2011 she co-produced her EP "Cold Love" with guitarist Steve Caldwell[8] while in September her song "Broken Glass" was prominently featured in the CBS smash hit Hawaii Five-0, (Season 2, Episode 2).[9]
In late 2011 she signed a contract with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Her song "Nothing Inside" with DJ Sander Van Doorn (co-written with Justin Parker of Lana del Rey's "Video Games" fame) hit #1 on Cool Cuts, the DMC Buzz Chart, and the Beatport Overall Chart in June 2012.[6] Performed for the first time at Ultra in Miami in March in front of over 20,000 people,[3] "Nothing Inside" became a breakout 2012 summer hit in numerous countries, including the Netherlands Top 40.[10] BBC Radio 2 added "Nothing Inside" to its playlist in June. In late 2012 Mayaeni signed a contract with Jay Z's label Roc Nation.[11]
She made "Black Jeans", a Pepsi/Complex Media release, in late 2014.[12] The song was selected as part of Pepsi's Pulse Artist Spotlight Program.[13]
In early 2016 Mayaeni released her "Basement Kid" mixtape Vol 1, covering songs of J. Cole and Jay Electronica.[14] She described the project as an effort to honour her past, when she recorded her own songs over other artists' instrumental tracks.[15]
Discography
- "Mayaeni" EP (2005)
- "Mayaeni" (2007)
- "Hesitation" (2008)
- "The Right Way" (2010)
- "Cold Love" (2011)
- "Basement Kid" (2016)
References
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