Life & Work with Ine’a J of Chicago

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ine’a J.

Hi Ine’a, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Ever since I was a child I gravitated to music heavily. My family immersed me in it as they were just as musically inclined. I started as a classical pianist from age 5 until about sophomore year in high school. I constantly wrote songs and realized I was a really great writer whether it were poems, stories, songs, essays etc. It was something that came easy to me. I played piano for the youth at my church and constantly worked on my craft behind closed doors as I was so shy. Finally, senior year in high school I took a music industry class and that was a turning point for me. There, I gained more confidence in my talent as a singer around others. During the pandemic I gained the confidence to post my first video singing on social media. From then I continued to post playing piano and singing to expose to the world what I can do. Although many people knew of my talent, it took a long time for me to shy away from that fear. In 2018 i decided to take my talent serious and fail trying while even that was a 50/50 chance. I knew that I owed it to myself and to God to use the talent that he gave me and make myself full by showing my talent to the world. I embarked my journey as a recording artist and hit many bumps in the road. I promised myself that I would never give up no matter what happens and that’s how I’m here where I am today in my musical journey.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not always been a smooth road for me. I’ve experienced many struggles when following my dreams to the point where it does make it hard to keep going. There are many rejections that come with it. Opportunities have fell through and sometimes they are faulty on my end. Situations like these have taught me resilience, trusting God, accountability, and navigating through learning processes. Perspective was always big for me here as the failures I’ve experienced were blessings to even have as they showed me how far I’ve come to even be in a position of that matter. I’ve spent a lot of money but I would never say it was a waste as every effort is an investment in myself and in my craft. I’ve had numerous scenarios that have caused me to go back to the drawing board. That’s when I remember my “why” and my promise to myself to keep going which helped me to always persevere. I’ve learned that obstacles are not the end and it takes longer to sulk in them when realizing that they are just challenges that all have solutions if we take a step back and see how can we overcome them.

Being a female vocalist it was very hard to find an engineer that was an expert in that field. I prayed and researched for some time and was blessed to find one that I’ve been working with for a couple years now where we are also a team. It’s important to find someone that wants to build with you, supports you, and believes in your vision just as much as you do. This reflects in the production of your music because not only does the artist create, the engineer is creative as well. If it’s only a business transaction and not a collective supportive relationship, a best foot won’t always be put forth.

I’ve experienced issues with family during this time in relation to music and that is always hard as you’re dealing with two things you love. I think that this taught me how to become even more emotionally intelligent & mature because I treat my music like my child because I care about my craft just as much. It taught me valuable and transferable lessons that I’m still learning to navigate as a young woman and experience growth through tough situations.

Relatively to family, my aunt passed in 2018 as well due to cancer. This was very difficult to experience during the year I decided to start my journey as we were really close. She was there with me in the beginning which made it even harder to experience everything after her passing without her. I was able to turn a negative situation into a positive and create the name “The Pen Fairy” to incorporate my aunt (who had a fairy tattooed on her foot) into my love for songwriting and making music. Therefore, I’m able to keep her with me as I continue on.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Apart from being a music artist, I’m a corporate professional and an MBA graduate. I’m most proud of my ability to excel in so many areas. I juggle a music career and professional career all at once while making accomplishments in both areas. I also started a brand in 2018 called “The Repertoire” that received notoriety from several organizations. The Repertoire is a platform to express my creativity in all areas such as clothing, music, and modeling. As an all around business woman my accomplishments in music have made me ultimately proud, especially with the struggles I’ve experienced. Specifically I would like to point out how much I’ve grown as a music artist it’s very beautiful to experience watching my talent and skill grow. Exemplifying performances from being such a shy person to evolving into an outgoing individual to headlining shows and performing all over Chicago including locations like Navy Pier. This is something I wouldn’t have ever believed I’d be doing.

I think what sets me apart is that I’ve done so much and have accomplished so many things in such short time. I’m only 25 and released my first song in December of 2021 and yet have been in the newspaper (Chicago Reader), on the radio (Vocal Radio), numerous press articles and interviews from media outlets (Lyrical Lemonade etc), and so much more.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The industry now is transpiring so much and shifting a current change from the past that I believe in 5-10 years will show the product of that. Years ago you’d take your flash drive and sneak into a record label wait in the lobby for hours and beg for someone to see your talent hoping for an opportunity. While today you can blow up on the internet and become the next sensation without the help from A-listers or a major label. This is such a cultural shift in music that I think will make such a large difference for independent artist as I see it now. The internet gives the underground artist such a larger opportunity to grow their audience that mainstream artists have to fit in within this new agenda of trendiness and social media that I believe only is a matter of time before a lot of old things we are used to in the music industry will die out. Labels and music related businesses will have no choice but to evolve. I do believe that in the next 5-10 years there will be a larger rise in popularity of underground music vs mainstream.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flow.page/ineaj
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ineajofficial/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ineajofficial?si=1igHOhj_XmCG2qH5
• Other: https://lovejubilee.wixsite.com/ineajepk 

Image Credits
Mollie Ryan