Fire Women Friday's With Ifeanyi
Music and culture have a way of blending within each other that can capture the audience's ears. R&B artist Ifeanyi is no stranger to captivating her voice but adding some of her cultural flair. Although she categorizes her music as "R&B with a fuse of jazz soul," some may say you hear a Caribbean sound to her music. "My supporters hear Caribbean influences, but they aren't wrong," she states.
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, the Southside to be exact, Ifeanyi comes from a very unique background as she is Belizean with Garifuna descendants. Growing up, her life entirely revolved all around music. "I've been singing since I came out of the womb," she states. Singing has been her first very language, since before she could even put a sentence together. "I would hear a song as a kid, and it would be hard for me not to go ahead and sing along." She began to explore more and more with her voice to finally realize that she liked how she sounded. From that very moment, she knew that she was made to become a singer.
Her music has not only allowed her to grow as an artist but as well as self-development. "I can't be a normal person anymore. It's like I always feel like I have to be doing something that will help my brand," she mentions. She reveals that, in some ways, music has brought self-development into her life. "It's sometimes hard trying to find that balance, whether it's creating content or cleaning around my house." Although she may have a hard time balancing her life versus her music, Ifeanyi's main goal is to make sure her music is heard, and her name is known to the public. "Everything for me is to get the music out the mud and get my name out there," she expressed.
As she continues to move forward, she is prepared for what is at stake for her in the future. "I definitely want to drop at least two or three projects out," she explained. Last Summer, she dropped her R&B and jazz-infused album called Everything Festyle that includes songs such as "FeFe Style" and "XO" featuring Simone Lodi. She still is incorporating her background in her music as she just recently filmed a music video in her home country of Belize. As a Garifuna woman herself, she did want to give advice to other Garifuna girls about embracing the culture: "Learn about your culture early; even if you don't care, you're going to care."