Serena Official

Born and raised in Toronto, Serena Mann, our feature this week, is a force to be reckoned with. She’s not your typical Desi girl, not a doctor or other stereotypical profession chosen by most South Asians. Serena is paving her own path and making a name for herself in the process. She is an aspiring singer/performer and we, at DissDash, were fortunate enough to have a one-on-one with this valiant woman.

Growing up with a traditional Indian mother, Serena, like most other Indians, watched Bollywood movies and always admired Madhuri DIxit, “She is the epitome of talent, her dance, her grace, I wanted to be just like her”. Being in Toronto, with a vast South Asian community, it was what she knew. Mann even bought her first stereo just so she could listen to Desi music and dance. Her love of dance eventually prompted her to start her own Bhangra team where she and her friends performed at various events across Canada.

While at college, with the pressure put on South Asian children, Serena decided the responsible thing to do would be to study business and focus on establishing a career. Although, always wanting to use her creative side, she was the good daughter who suppressed her desires. Not able to abate them further, she decided to use writing as an outlet and wrote a book called Primary Colours: A Collection of Short Stories. She mentions that her first choice of title was actually Is the glass half-Indian or half-full? While she didn’t gear it towards an Indian audience, her characters were Desi. It was a mainstream set of reality based encounters, from the occurrences she witnessed in college. It included excerpts about sex and drugs, two things that are rampant on most campuses, and how they affected the South Asian youth at her school.

Having graduated from college, Mann decided to continue her business career and also earned an MBA. She was financially stable, had a beautiful house in Edmonton, Alberta and on the surface seemed to be living the dream with a high paying job as an entrepreneur. She entered the hospitality field and owned several restaurants. Unfortunately, the money and status was not enough to fulfill her internally and her dissatisfaction with her life continued to intensify.

Leaving everything behind, Mann decided to seek out a spiritual healer. From there she took up yoga and began to get into a deep spiritual practice. An amazing experience for her, she honestly felt that God was there with her. Through breathing and meditation, Serena’s voice began to develop and she started to sing yoga mantras. Giving up the perception that she was the embodiment of a perfect Desi girl, Mann felt that she had to use her talent to truly be herself and not who others thought she was.

Her “a-ha” moment came at a Robin Thicke concert. “I thought to myself, I can do that”, says Serena. Her search for a producer began and she finally found someone who understood what she wanted to accomplish. “I hate the music out there that exploits a woman’s sexuality or has depressing lyrics”. Mann’s motto is to write uplifting melodies and words that give women the voice they deserve.

Her single, I Want It All, is an honest expression of what she craves. The words she uses blatantly expose her inner desires; “I breathe the same air as Steve Jobs, Einstein, if they can do it, so can I”. While most aspiring artists are in it for the fame and fortune, Mann unequivocally believes this is her calling. She wants to tell it like it is and focus on issues of importance, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Her hope is that she comes across as an empowering, funny female voice who isn’t afraid to take chances. Watch the clip below of an excerpt from her video to I Want It All and you will see she’s not shy and bares her soul in her work.


Mann is currently working on her latest video for her next release, Don’t Mess with Ma Money. She describes it as an anthem for women who make their own money and don’t need to rely on anyone other than themselves. It seems as though Serena is going to make her presence known quickly with her courageous style and no nonsense attitude. I know after conversing with Serena, I have come away with admiration for this honest and raw woman and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

For more on her visit her site, http://www.serenaofficial.com/. Her music is available through itunes, spotify, CD Baby and Google Play. - DissDash