JAE NUUNE “THE HANG-OUT WITH KRISS”
Who is Jae Nuune? Where is she from? What is her contribution to creative arts?
Jae Nuune is a Singer-Songwriter and Poet, Model at N8ive Models, Founder and Creative Director at EVOLV Works as well as a Director at African Growth Enablers. I grew up in a small town on the west of Johannesburg called Randfontein before moving further down to the south, Lenasia South and now I’m in central Johannesburg.
As a Creative enthusiast, the projects that I do are often to encourage the ideas of flexible and inventive ways to reason and recognize things: especially in a community that maintains limited use of your intuition and underplays the potential of what makes you powerful: your creative thinking.
I have found many songs, stories, answers, designs, personalities, and friends while making new things in the EVOLV Works workshop before it was even the hand-crafted accessory and unique statement piece business it is today. I’m not saying I have figured it all out but creativity can reveal so much; what more your own about yourself?
-You are one of the most unique and experimental indie artists in South Africa. I like saying to my friends you are our version of Bjork & Erykah Badu all in one because you are always breaking the envelope, describe your musical style to us. Who are your most influential creatives?
Thank you very much. Those are very strong artists to be described in relation to and quite motivating to be precise. They are actually 2 of my influential artists as well.
I am a cross-genre artist; I prefer not to limit my voice. This has challenged me a lot creatively since it is very easy to get comfortable once you get a handle on something. The amount of time spent experimenting with sound and craft has proven that comfortability can sometimes hinder growth.
As a soulful singer with a unique voice, waking up to Reggae, R&B, Afrobeat, Dub Poetry, Rap, Pop, and Rock – amongst other versatile musical tastes my parents had – playing in my home was bound to have an influence on how I saw music growing up until now.
I have collaborated with neo – lounge, neo – hip hop, and R&B producers on my singles: my first offering – Twelve Nuune – was an EP in collaboration with an African – Bombap producer from Qwa-Qwa while most of my artist collaborations have been with Hip Hop emcees, beatboxers, producers, and singers. I use to perform and recite on poetry, underground Hip Hop, and lounge stages so I learned to articulate on a beat by watching and listening to the passion and pronunciations in freestyles. I would be so inspired at times that I would hand over a 16. I guess if I didn’t love singing as much as I do, I probably would have pushed to become a songwriter and rapper- emcee.
My most influential artists are Sibongile Khumalo, Brenda Fassie, Lebo Mathosa, Hugh Masekela, Fela Kuti, Jill Scott, Sade, Janelle Monae, Kamauu, e.badu, Jae Nuune, Robert Glasper, Moonchild, Bjork, Little Dragon, FKJ, Sampa The Great, Mos Def, Missy Elliot and Rihanna to name a few.
-What goes through the mind of someone as complex, experimental, and unique as yourself when you creating new music, what is your creative process?
I am satisfied to hear you describe my sound as “experimental” because that is really what I do. In my creative process there is mending in my makings, this is why I take time with my offerings. I take every project as an experiment and I am my test subject: writing a song or making anything new is a chance for me to go into the lab of how my psyche operates and try different components and formulas so I may get the best explanation for my life experience and feelings. Then I use a pen as my brush and paper, my canvas, to paint a picture of my story in the song that I am intending to sing. Color being my melodies and perspective being my animated backing vocals. Sometimes the lyrical content is better than the production and vice versa, it is important to be able to tell the difference. If I don’t see the picture when I close my eyes or hear the story clearly when I listen closely, I cannot offer it to my community. No matter how good the production may be, everything needs to complement one another.
-You had a creative and business relationship with Joburg Indie label SACRED VISION. Would you give us a backstory on that and what happened for the relationship to discontinue?
I began my relationship with Sacred Vision Music with a single called JupiterLove already doing circulations online. With consideration, I knew I was entering a new level of my career: a chapter I had a minimum understanding of. I was signing into a record label and internally I could tell that I was entering a different phase but I felt ready to try this approach and discover new ways of growing in music. Fast-forwarding to the release of Dreaming of You, I had made a lot of professional and personal adjustments as much as unlearning old ways of doing things: my game plan became more evident, a lot more involvement was required and by this time the 2nd EP was done but somehow things were delaying to come together. Along with that; my voice, sound, and direction were modifying at a robust rhythm, I chose to move accordingly and as a result, I lovingly let the project sleep. Almost simultaneously, I decided to take a step back and we mutually agreed to terminate the contract. I appreciate the experience and relationship I had with them, all that I have learned and the connections I have made. This experience motivated me to register Jae Nuune as an enterprise which is the Mothership for EVOLV Works as well so I am quite excited about where my ship is currently sailing.
Tell us about the various musical projects you’ve worked on throughout the years. What would you say has evolved and fine-tuned over the years as you grow as an artist?
I grew up in the west rand so you may find my earliest collaborative efforts within those artists projects. It was producers like Tiko Ngobeni from Earth7 and Meat the Veggies, Mambo Faceless and Brian Beatz from Strange Medley, as well as SlamTactics and AlterEgo who I also consider to be experimental with their southey saw my potential and offered assistance in establishing my own technique, rhythm and flow so I seized the opportunity. Moving onward, I have had the privilege of working with people from around Johannesburg: Beaucy Nkosi, Shynin Armour, Joint Pusher, OTWD, L7 Sativa just to name a few and different parts of South Africa like Qwa-Qwa, Cape Town, Durban, Kimberley and Free State.
I then released Twelve Nuune, my network expanded and I had the pleasure of working with artists from Botswana and Namibia, releasing a single with an international producer from Germany. There are many projects to be released from other creatives and yes, I have a couple of projects I’m involved with as well: my gradual improvement as a singer – songwriter and creative gave me a hunger that is both pleasurable and eager. I am just ready to do more of what I love.
In early years I tried to sound like one person or another – being compared to your influencers does not lessen the pressure either – so there were times I would strain my cords trying to impress my new found community of listeners, producers and proving to my nuclear links that there is breakthrough in what I am doing, this was before I actually familiarized myself with the range and tone that works for my voice. Now it is a lot more enticing to find and work on productions and with artists that provide specifics that complement my sound’s frequency.
-Who determines what sort of content & message you showcase on the art you create: you, your audience or your team?
How important is creative control to you as an artist?
The message that Jae Nuune has to offer determines the final say of what is showcased to my community. Yes, as a team we have discussions and brainstorm the best approach to maximize effect, traffic and clicks: we take part in the algorithm to see what receives the best response. I appreciate feedback and we do take guidance from constructive criticism regarding social media, online presence and self-representing. However, let’s not forget that we are all individuals who are sharing our time together and at the end of each day my goal is to showcase authenticity, creativity and versatility. We work on pleasurable and different ways of appealing to our community while remaining as transparent to Self as possible. My objective is to utilize art as my medium of expression for some time so I may as well be real about it from the get-go.
-You are an independent artist. Enlighten us on some of the hardships and difficulties that come with being an independent artist and would you sign a record deal with a major record label if it meant losing your creative control for a bigger budget to market and sell your music and brand?
As I had said before: I encourage the ideas of flexible and inventive ways to reason and recognize things. We are all finally awakening to how our education system and government insists on instilling the limited use of your intuition which dilutes what makes you powerful: your creative thinking. I am almost certain that everyone is born with some form of ability that can maintain and sustain life and the way they want to live. Agree or disagree; everybody can do something and even if we could do the same thing, we wouldn’t be able to do it the same way or even get the same results. That is because we are all unique and this is also what inspired me to start my company EVOLV Works.
The music industry has proven to be a jungle; everywhere, every day and in many ways the pressures that came with either being the hunter or the prey didn’t seem to stop for an independent artist and as an independent female artist, that is an interview for another day.
Family will have you thinking you are wasting your time, lacking focus and direction because of the time you put into your craft and not becoming “famous” promptly. I mean to them, that is what being a singer entails not knowing the amount of deals and funding we have had to walk away from because of the clauses that are attached to them. To some point, I agree, it might have been easy becoming “famous” and “moneyed” but at what expense?
Anyway, the competition is not only with the signed and “well-managed” artists of the commercial industry. I realised it was real when the one’s I held close to me were actually the ones tarnishing my work with producers that seemed keen on working with me.
Now by this point I realized a couple of things but most importantly I was reassured that:
- I have something amazing to offer.
- What is for me somehow always finds me. I mean, I knew I’d be doing something with you someday Kriss and here we are.
- Most importantly, nobody really knows what their doing. Yes, we plan but we cannot guarantee the outcome so we might as well enjoy our time here.
I believe all is well.
-What are some of the best events you’ve played as an artist and which local or global events are on your bucket list you would still like to play?
The Boombox and Music Imbizo Conference in Durban were my favourite events. I obtained a lot of knowledge and the experience was amazing.
Cape Town International Jazz Festival is definitely on my bucket list; Colors, Afro Punk, Smoking Dragon, Red Bull, Basha Uhuru, Bushfire just to name a few.
-Tell us a little bit more about your clothing merchandise business and products you offer and how people can get the products.
EVOLV Works is a lifestyle brand that has been designing Hand-crafted accessories and unique statement pieces in and around Johannesburg since 2014. We believe in representing the cultural evolutionary significance of beads with a more modern approach, fusing them with different textures of material by method of hand work meaning custom orders are welcome from national and international communities.
What we are currently offering are items made from beads and wool i.e. earrings, bracelets, neckpieces, beanies, sling bags, backpacks, jerseys, dresses and again, custom outfits are made on request. We are exploring and infiltrating other avenues for expansion. 90% of our products are hand-made. We aspire to be a 100% hand-crafted business because we also aspire to create more employment for the youth starting up.
It has been a challenge building Jae Nuune and EVOLV Works as companies simultaneously. There were times a year would go by with little to no funds, by reaching out to other small businesses and presenting my proposals, I noticed that I was not alone and this how my partnership with African Growth Enablers began.
At AGEF, we are a 60% women-owned business that intends to assist small and medium black businesses with access to funding. The strength of the company is its youth complement together with its administration and marketing capabilities. Our intention is to establish a reliable company that is aware of the sensitivity of our customers.
-Tell us about the various musical projects you’ve worked on throughout the years. What would you say has evolved and fine-tuned over the years as you grow as an artist?
I grew up in the west rand so you may find my earliest collaborative efforts within those artists projects. It was producers like Tiko Ngobeni from Earth7 and Meat the Veggies, Mambo Faceless and Brian Beatz from Strange Medley, as well as SlamTactics and AlterEgo whom I consider to be experimental with their sound. They saw my potential and offered assistance in establishing my own technique rhythm and flow so I seized the opportunity. Moving forward, I have had the privilege of working with people from around Johannesburg ( Beaucy Nkosi, Shynin Armour, Joint Pusher, OTWD, L7 Sativa just to name a few) and different parts of South Africa like Qwa-Qwa, Cape Town, Durban, Kimberley and Free State.
I then released Twelve Nuune, my network expanded and I had the pleasure of work with artists from Botswana and Namibia, releasing a single with an international producer from Germany. There are many projects to be released from other creatives and yes, I have a couple of projects I’m involved with as well: my gradual improvement as a singer – songwriter and creative gave me a hunger that’s both pleasurable and eager. I am just ready to do more of what I love.
In early years I tried to sound like one person or another – being compared to your influencers does not lessen the pressure either – so there were times I would strain my cords trying to impress my new found community of listeners, producers and so on, this was before I actually familiarized myself with the range and tone that works for my voice. Now it’s a lot more enticing to find and work on a production with specifics that complement my sound’s frequency.
-Who determines what sort of content & message you showcase on the art you create; you, your audience or your team?
How important is creative control to you as an artist?
The message that Jae Nuune has to offer determines the final say of what is showcased with my community. Yes, as a team we have discussions and brainstorm the best approach to maximize effect, traffic and clicks: we take part in the algorithm to see what receives the best response. I appreciate feedback and we do take guidance from constructive criticism regarding social media and online presence. Although, let us not forget that we are all individuals who are sharing our time together and at the end of each day my goal is to showcase authenticity, creativity and versatility. My intentions are to utilize art as my medium for some time so may as well be real about it. We work on pleasurable and different ways of appealing to our community while remaining as transparent to Self as possible.
-You are an independent artist. Enlighten us on some of the hardships and difficulties that come with being an independent artist and would you sign a record deal with a major record label if it meant losing your creative control for a bigger budget to market and sell your music and brand?
As I had said before: I encourage the ideas of flexible and inventive ways to reason and recognize things. We are awakening to how our education system and government insists on instilling the limited use of your intuition which dilutes what makes you powerful: your creative thinking. I am almost certain that everyone is born with some form of ability that can maintain and sustain life and the way they want to live. Agree or disagree; everybody can do something and even if we could do the same thing, we wouldn’t be able to do it the same way or even get the same results. That is because we are all unique and also what inspired me to start my company EVOLV Works. The music industry has proven to be a jungle: everywhere, everyday and in many ways the pressures that came with either being the hunter or the prey didn’t seem to stop as an independent artist and as an independent female artist, that is an interview for another day.
Family will have you thinking you are wasting your time, lacking focus and direction because of the time you put into your craft and not becoming “famous” promptly. I mean to them, that’s what being a singer entails not knowing the amount of deals and funding we have had to walk away from because of the clauses that are attached to them. To some point, I agree, it might have been easy becoming “famous” and “moneyed” but at what expense?
Anyway, the competition is not only with the signed and “well-managed” artists of the commercial industry. I realised it was real when the one’s I held close to me were actually the ones tarnishing my work with producers that seemed keen on working with me.
Now by this point I realized a couple of things but most importantly I was reassured that:
- I have something amazing to offer.
- What is for me somehow always finds me. I mean, I knew I’d be doing something with you someday Kriss and here we are.
- Most importantly, nobody really knows what their doing. Yes, we plan but we cannot guarantee the outcome so we might as well enjoy our time here.
I believe all is well.
-What are some of the best events you’ve played as an artist and which local or global events are on your bucket list you would still like to play?
The Boombox and Music Imbizo Conference in Durban were my favourite events. I obtained a lot of knowledge and the experience was amazing.
Cape Town International Jazz Festival is definitely on my bucket list, Colors, Afro Punk, Smoking Dragon, Red Bull, Basha Uhuru, Bushfire just to name a few.
-Tell us a little bit more about your clothing merchandise business and products you offer and how people can get the products.
EVOLV Works is a lifestyle brand that has been designing Hand-crafted accessories and unique statement pieces in and around Johannesburg since 2014. We believe in representing the cultural evolutionary significance of beads with a more modern approach, fusing them with different textures of material by method of hand work meaning custom orders are welcome from national and international.
What we currently offer items made from beads and wool i.e. earrings, bracelets, neckpieces, beanies, sling bags, backpacks, jerseys, dresses and again, custom outfits are made on request. We are exploring and infiltrating other avenues for expansion. 90% of the products from EVOLV Works are hand-made, we aspire to be a 100% hand-crafted business because we also aspire to create more employment for the youth starting up.
It has been a challenge building Jae Nuune and EVOLV Works as companies simultaneously. There were times a year would go by with little to no funds, by reaching out to other small businesses and presenting my proposals, I noticed that I was not alone and this how my partnership with African Growth began.
AGEF is a 60% women-owned business that intends to assist small and medium black businesses with access to funding. The strength of the company is its youth complement together with its administration and marketing capabilities. Our intention is to establish a reliable company that is aware of the sensitivity of our customers.
I am Jae Nuune (@jaenuune) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
I am Jalettua Nuune on Soundcloud.
Bookings for features and performances can be sent to buuknuune@gmail.com
Production submissions and feature request can be sent to beats4nuune@gmail.com
Its EVOLV Works (@evolvworks) on Facebook and Instagram
Its EVOLV Works (@evol_works) on Twitter
Bulk-buy is also available on order by sending an email to evolworkssa@gmail.com
You may find the catalogue on our business WhatsApp: +27 61 410 7555
Latest Single:
Doobies produced by Skivvy-G and is available on all streaming platforms
–https://music.apple.com/za/album/doobies/1511483777?i=1511483780
– Twelve Nuune EP produced by Blister Jay Pop
https://soundcloud.com/jalettuanuune/sets/twelve-nuune
– FYWH Music Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9X3jveeZD8
– Dreaming Of You produced by EPISODE
(Free Download)
http://bit.ly/JalettuaDOYDownload
– Jupiter Love producer by EPISODE
http://bit.ly/JupiterLoveJN
– Bootleg Liquor Blues produced by Botlhale Masokoane
https://soundcloud.com/thehempirecorp/bootleg-liquor-jalettua-nuune
– Up All Night produced by SlamTactics
https://soundcloud.com/jalettuanuune/up-all-night
– Feel Good prod by Bongani Mpofu
https://soundcloud.com/jalettuanuune/feel-good
Kindly Subscribe to the YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQw5o9nUOVoRZyFF_2r1wHA
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