JenMarie

“I’m giving the purest, the most honest, and true version of myself in each song,” says R&B recording artist and lifestyle video blogger JenMarie, reflecting on the upcoming release of her new music in 2019.  

 “Every time I wake up, it’s a chance to try something new.” This quote expresses the spirit of JenMarie. “I follow my passion no matter how off the wall it may be. It is my hope that my music and performances, inspire other people to live their best life, pursue their aspirations, and realize their biggest dreams in life.”    

JenMarie’s path pursing music has been anything but traditional. She grew up in a family of musicians and singers, so when she started singing, it was nothing unusual. Her great-grandmother was a significant influence on her as was her childhood home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  It was her family’s ancestral home, where she lived as a child until she was 12. It was a home full of memories that centered around music and her family creating it.  

“I hear family members talk a lot about back in the day, when every Sunday dinner or family holiday turned into a concert.”  Before she was born her uncle, John Askew, sang gospel and was nominated for a Grammy in 1991 for his work with the late Maurice Culpepper and The Cathedral of Faith Choirs.  In that same year he was a soloist on the Grammy nominated “Hold On, Help Is On The Way, with The Georgia Mass Choir.  After he succumbed to AIDS, the family’s fond remembrances of music became entangled with painful memories, and JenMarie was encouraged to follow her other gifts and passions outside of singing.  

While she first sang at age 6 in a school talent show, she shifted to piano and then onto the flute which was the first instrument she mastered at age 9. Over the years she learned to play the clarinet, piccolo, and saxophone. Her love for the stage started early in her life, not just performing but also within the content of her favorite books like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, whose stories she would live out loud in monologues for her family and friends.  

She found the stage — and performing —a place where she was free to be herself and express a variety of emotions. Now calling herself a “natural performer”, she’s so comfortable with her audience that she often refers to them as her “cousins” and “family”.  

While in high school JenMarie fell in love with journalism, which was another outlet for her to create. She holds undergraduate degrees in public relations and journalism.  She went further earning a Masters at University of Oklahoma. In 2015, after graduation, JenMarie moved to her current home in Atlanta to pursue a career in journalism as an associate producer and guest booker at CNN.  

In 2018, JenMarie began working on her new music produced by EpiQ “The Illustrator.” Her debut single “Livin’ Life” is an introduction to her life as an R&B singer and where she is in her life right now.  

While her music has an R&B feel, it is a mix of musical experiences from ballads to pop. She hopes to offer something for everyone, creating a wave of emotion throughout her record. She cites such life-long influences as Whitney Houston’s “I’m Your Baby Tonight” and Beyonce’s “Dangerously in Love” album, while noting that she aimed to create a record that feels like Brandy’s “Full Moon” mixed with Beyonce’s “4”. 

She likes the idea of creating music that represents who she is — a woman that at one moment is up for a fun night out with her girls dancing, then full of possibilities of falling in love with someone special, and then just experiencing all the emotions life brings.  

“My single is an introduction of my original music, and an introduction of myself.”  

JenMarie’s single “Livin’ Life” is currently out on all platforms and is currently working her EP.