Tenaj

Born in Miami, FL as Janet Lawrence, the seventh of eleven children, TENAJ discovered early that she was blessed with the voice of an angel. At the tender age of twelve, she began publicly displaying her talents by joining the choir in her church. Over the years, the musical influences of artists such as Sade, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Aaliyah solidified her desire to sing professionally. In order to pursue her dream of a career in music, she focused her attention on the composition of her own lyrics. Her combined talents as a singer/songwriter ultimately captured the attention of several local artists and producers leading to live performances in nightclubs on South Beach, Miami’s hotspot for tourists and locals.

Her break into the industry came when her demo CD was handed to producer “Exhale” of DXO Entertainment. He was immediately taken back by the strength of her five-octave voice and the enormity of her remarkable vocal talent. Shortly after signing with DXO, she started to record songs for her debut album, “Love When You Love Me”, titled after her first single. TENAJ claims, that the inspiration for her songs have come from many events experienced within her own life and she believes that young women around the globe will feel an instant connection to them. This forthcoming album will be a well-crafted collection of songs dealing with real life issues that will be conveyed through the collaborative works of outstanding production, meticulous songwriting and an extraordinary delivery of her vocal talents. For example, her title track, “Love When You Love Me” is about “loving all the little things that a man does to show that he loves and cares.” TENAJ states, that, “too often songs focus on the bad things that men do and not enough about the good things they do. This song is dedicated to all my ladies out there that have a “GOOD MAN” and wish to express it, but not exactly sure how to put it in words.” Her next single, on the other hand, titled “Finally Leavin” featuring P.M.T. is about “ a young woman being fed up with all the s*..t her man puts her through and has FINALLY come to the conclusion that she must LEAVE”. TENAJ knows that many ladies will be able to relate to this one, because anyone that’s ever been in a bad relationship has had to make that decision at some point to “Finally Leave”. There is a song on the upcoming album titled “2 Get 2 Know U” which is about wanting desperately to meet and get to know a man who catches her eye. She exclaims, “ many ladies see a really good-looking man and want to meet him, but struggles with how to get him to notice her to come over to speak.” Although many of the songs on her album consist of ballads, there are a couple of club tracks included that are collaborations with some local hip-hop artists. TENAJ considers diversity being a good thing in this industry, because she doesn’t want to be labeled as strictly a ballad songstress. When people listen to her music, they will hear the influences of jazz, pop, and hip-hop, among other genres. Sure, she wants the public to recognize her talents as a songstress, but more than anything, she wants them to appreciate her as a young woman ready to share her message with the rest of the world and hopefully take her place next to the leading female artists in the music industry.

When asked how she feels about coming out now, this Miami native replies, “I believe that this is a great time to launch into the business, because all eyes of the entertainment industry are focused on Miami and its sexy allure. As a result, Miami has become the new entertainment capital of the world. Grant it, we have had a number of hip-hop artists recently break into the business, BUT, Miami is long overdue for a female R & B artist”. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t know that Miami has a wealth of talent that has virtually gone unrecognized. I look forward to representing my city well and helping our local hip-hop superstars solidify our place in the industry as a southern powerhouse of musical talents.