Today we’d like to introduce you to Jemima Joél.
Hi Jemima, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am the woman who sings and paints. I am a singer and a visual artist from New Orleans. My first passion is singing. I grew up singing in the church with my beautiful mother and sister. My mother introduced me to all kinds of fulfilling music in my childhood and I would write songs to express myself. I was often shy about my gifts when I was young, but I decided God didn’t give me these gifts for no reason and I had to get out there and show people who I am. I started painting in high school and later began selling my art outside of my childhood home. “My dad would help me set up my art outside.” I would stand out there for a couple of hours and barter prices with an art sale sign. I later began meeting people locally in the city and started picking up gigs to perform my music. I also began to produce my own beats and mix and master some of my own music. In May, I graduated from Loyola University New Orleans where I studied Sociology, in which I learned about race, class, gender, and sexuality. I wrote an article called “I Love You, But I Need a Seat at the Table Too” to discuss the underrepresentation of black women in black revolutionary films. I also use my knowledge from my studies to discuss different social issues in my art. My art represents black beauty and communicates messages of black testaments and black life. To combine my gifts, I began posting videos called Paint and Riff where I would sing a song while painting. One of my videos was reposted by Mayor LaToya Cantrell and I’ve gotten reactions from some of my videos from artists like SIR, Smino, and J.I.D. I am currently working to rebrand myself and my current creative work so I changed my Instagram and website handle for rebranding purposes. You can view my set work and my music is available on Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, “and my website, thewomanwhosingsandpaints.com.” Follow me on Instagram @thewomanwhosingsandpaints to keep up with my work!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve had a lot of struggles along the way. A lot of times a large struggle is with self. I am an extreme over-thinker and I tend to battle with my mind. I had to know when to go and get help for myself. I began working with a counselor at my school so that I could better situate my thoughts and take better care of my mental health. I also had a lot of troubles with letting things go I was dissatisfied with, but I realize that things happen the way they should and I keep going.
It also took me time to build up my self-confidence. One week, I can feel super confident, and then the next I can feel like I have lost my value. As a woman, it’s very important to keep reminding yourself and recreating your worth. Because despite others, peace lives within. But, I also had to be very patient with my own self and realize that if I love myself, there were some things I would have to be patient with my own self about.
I also have a deep personal relationship with God. It is troublesome at times to be so in love with God but also respect your creative voice. I struggled with if I said certain things in my music or in my art that it was not God-like, but I believe that all my emotions and thoughts have their own validity. My emotions and thoughts are imperfect but perfect the way they are.
At times I felt too dependent on others that I would withhold myself from doing things because I was waiting for someone else to help me or see my worth. And that is when I fully produced one of my own songs, called 2 Way Street, which I recorded in my dorm room. This song is about liking someone but being frustrated that you feel like you are doing all the work. Recording this was a beautiful moment for me because I was involved in my own creative expression. I was in control of how I wanted to utilize my own vocal ability. I used an app called drum pad machine on iPad and recorded it on GarageBand.
I realized I no longer wanted to wait on others, but I still want to be honest with myself that I will always need help along my journey in order to grow. Thank you for this opportunity, Voyage Houston.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am known for my combination of singing and painting. I think the combination of my gifts is what sets me apart from others, which you can view in my Paint and Riff videos on my Instagram. I am a singer, songwriter, visual artist, and I recently began producing my own music. My sound is heavily influenced by Neo-Sol, jazz, and r&b.
In my art, I specialize in black portrait art using acrylic paint. I am most proud of the messages that these pieces envoke about black life and black beauty,
In my music, I am most proud of my harmonies within my music and art. I want these harmonies to touch my listener’s souls and fulfill my listener’s spirits.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love best about my city, New Orleans is the personalities of the people are open and loving. The city is so magical and so spiritual. I love the landscaping of our city. New Orleans has a lot of beautiful culture that is very overlooked at times and discredited. I recorded a song on my SoundCloud called N.O. Pain, which is a remix of BJ The Chicago Kid’s His Pain talking about how things are stolen from our city. It pays homage to my city. But New Orleans is very resilient and continues to rise above it’s adversity. I think it is moving in the right direction.
I least like that my city is slow to welcome new ways at times. We can do more to progress and push our creatives to the next level in New Orleans. We also can do more to rethink some of our New Orleans patois, in which patois is our common use of shared language and dialect. I painted a piece called “Say Black, Say Red” which emphasizes how our New Orleans patois can at times perpetuate colorism in women. Say black and say red is a popular catcall to get the attention of women by calling them by their skin color. Many argue that the saying is all in love and is not meant disrespectfully, but personally I believe that women are more than the colors of their skin and should be addressed with more thought.
Contact Info:
- Email: thewomanwhosingsandpaints@gmail.com
- Website: thewomanwhosingandpaints.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewomanwhosingsandpaints/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5MZuJhH-9wg625fMvXrKw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jemima-joel
- Other: https://linktr.ee/jemimajoel_
Image Credits
Image creds for 2 photos on the couch and in green: Trenity J. Thomas
