Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Elliott.
Imani, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
As a young girl, I was really shy with expressing myself, at age 8 my mom transferred me from a Catholic school to a performing arts school named The Imani School to see how I would operate. That year in 3rd grade I was approached by my former Jazz band director, Mr. Leon Mitchison. I was taught how to play the drums, piano, and bass guitar along with other talented peers at the school. I continued playing the percussion in the school Jazz band until I was a Sophomore in High school. During the years of playing Jazz, I’ve had the honor of performing for people such as former Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, Politician Sheila Jackson Lee, private social events, and more…
My high school years were full of exploring so I decided to take a break from playing and started playing sports but I STILL HAD THE PASSION! In 2016, my Junior year, I started a blog named “TalkMissyTrends”, a media platform that kept up with the latest music, fashion, and relevant topics of that time. I also included an aesthetically pleasing Tumblr blog that gets updated till this day.
Two years later, I moved to Atlanta, GA for college. I attended Clark Atlanta University, striving for a career in audio production and music composition in Radio/TV/Film. Due to dorm room living, I didn’t have the freedom of bringing my drum set to college, so I decided to take my older brothers’ DJ controller with me to mix my favorite songs. This also gave me the space to be creative in a new environment I wasn’t used to yet. I relieved my homesickness with practicing my craft, along with making my roommate dance. I was known for always getting complaints from RA’s but I still jammed out. Later on, in 2019, I eventually started DJing and producing, posting my work on Soundcloud hoping my peers would dig my music taste. I continue to strengthen my craft till this day because music heals!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There has been plenty of challenges, internally and externally. At the beginning of March 2020, students who were living on campus had to go back home due to the pandemic. I went back to Houston participating in virtual education until 2021. At that time, I was heartbroken, I wasn’t satisfied with where I was in life, being very hard on myself, I felt stagnant and the fear of uncertainty had me in a chokehold for long time.
I had also faced a lot of death within my family, making me wonder what was next for me? It was unsettling to know the people I grew up with weren’t physically here with us anymore. Throughout this time, I arranged and produced great works, with plenty of meaning of how I was feeling behind it, but I was scared to be openly vulnerable with my audience, so I kept the messages discreet.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a multifaceted artist that uses art for healing others and myself. I DJ, produce, compose. I am also a graphic designer, specializing in art concepts, flyers, and music covers. I’m most proud of the growth, I’ve stayed resilient through hard times and never payed mind to negative projections from other people. Failures transformed into life lessons for self-growth, getting me to where I am today. I also know that learning is infinite and I am a student of life.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think a lot of people may not know the influence of my musical background. A lot of my musical influences comes from what I grew up listening to. The unique drum patterns from Gospel music, Jazz, House Music, and Funk.
As a little girl, I was involved in Church activities, which started the Gospel influence. I would be in church multiple days out of the week for practices and performances while being a part of the Drill Team, which is a traditional Baptist ministry, rooted from the South that emphasizes Military styled movements within our routines, we sung as well, ministering to thousands in different congregations throughout the U.S. I was a part of the Fountain of Praise Drill Team for 10 years. It gave me proper discipline for what was to come later in my life, and that experience shaped my voice in the way I speak or sing.
House and Funk music has always been a part of my life as well. My mother is from the Southside of Chicago, and every summer I would go stay with my Great-Grandmother to get away from Houston for a bit. During these summers, my family would throw parties that played strictly house music and old soul classics. I would always observe the groove the music gave these people, and it’s been in my heart since.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://imanielliott.wixsite.com/m1ssysnostalgia
- Instagram: PERSONAL: @iamm1ssy … BUSINESS PAGE: @m1ssysnostalgia
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/M1SSYSNOSTALGIA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/iamm1ssy
Image Credits
Kunta Aungkh
Ascension Radio
DJ All Naturel
