Life, Work & Music with Erika Denae J.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Denae J.

Hi Erika, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am a creative entrepreneur as well as a singer-songwriter coming out with a music project titled Rx Melodies Dec 9th as well as a book for girls titled The Encouragement Guide through my company Beata Beatus Co. All of my experiences have guided me to this point, where I can produce creative content to help encourage girls & young adults.

I always wanted to go to medical school since High School. In college, music was more appealing & I wanted to switch majors, but I didn’t. I graduated, and did some research in pharmacology & didn’t feel fulfilled & at that point felt like a failure. If I wasn’t going to become a doctor, then what else was there? In my mind nothing was better than hitting that goal, I became depressed & felt like I lost myself & my sense of purpose.

Shortly after I lived abroad in Spain & taught English in 3 schools. It took some introspective work where God showed me that my purpose wasn’t erased but that the platform just shifted. The content I create through writing & music doesn’t make me less of a successful woman even if there are no letters behind my name & and I was still able to help others heal.

That was a life-changing revelation for me & so there, my company Beata Beatus Co. was born & I also began playing guitar & writing music. A few years later I began to work on a music project titled Rx Melodies, this is my way in a sense of prescribing healing by way of music to people.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were challenges for sure, the biggest has been fighting doubt & fear of failure & feeding the confidence to believe that what I have to offer will be received & that it’s good enough. I think a lot of creatives struggle with new ideas that they don’t have a blueprint for or anything to compare to gauge how others will like them.

Navigating decision-making & scaling down a budget with multiple No’s from grants has been an obstacle also, but in retrospect the no’s have pulled more creativity out of me that I am thankful for. If I would have gotten 5 – 15k I truly believe that my products & the creative direction behind them wouldn’t be what it is today.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love to encourage others through my gifts, whether it’s through writing a song, poem book, or speaking & sharing my life, I always advocate to others that they have to share what is inside of them. I say this quote often “You’re not living if you’re not showing the world what God has placed inside of you”

My musical work is soulful and heavily influenced by jazz & spoken word. I aim to inspire others & take them on a journey with my words. I’m known for strumming on my guitar, scatting, vibing vocally & being free in spirit, laughing & being playful when I speak to others or engage a crowd.

My authenticity & aura sets me apart from others, there is no one else like me & no one else can share the gifts that I have inside.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am absolutely obsessed with planes & boats & motorcycles. I’m an adrenaline junkie & if I had the chance, I’d be scuba diving, driving boats, flying planes & riding a Yamaha (although I tried the bike thing & failed miserably).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erikadenaej.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/erikadenaej
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Erikadenaej
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Erikadenaej
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/erikajohnson
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/erika-denae
• Other: www.beatabeatus.com

Image Credits
Dymond Jewell, Elise Michaux, and Erika D. Johnson