We’re looking forward to introducing you to Caylea. Check out our conversation below.
Caylea, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Usually my schedule is all over the place, but there are a few things that I almost always do that are a normal part of my day. Half-caff coffee in the morning with the birds singing, workout with dumbbells and bands or run, shower, make food, look at the days’ work… Sometimes it’s admin-type stuff for my music, working on a track, meeting an industry contact at a coffee shop, video editing, social media, vocal recording, attending a music industry event, photo or video shoot. Some combo of those things take up the bulk of my day. Somewhere in between I take my German Shepherd (Rusal) and Golden Retriever (Shiloh) to the park to run their energy out, maybe pick up food or cook when I get home. Evenings depend on what events are going on, social stuff with friends or my church group, or just continuing to work on stuff on the never-ending to-do list of a music artist!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Caylea and I’m an R&B artist, songwriter and producer based in Nashville, TN. I have been producing music since middle school and started pursuing artistry a few years ago in my mid-twenties after some big life events, conversations and prayers pointed me in that direction. I signed with a label called RMG Amplify last year and have been steadily releasing singles for a while now. The music I make is in the lanes of artists like SZA and HER. A lot the sounds I use in my tracks are cinematic in nature but structured into a hiphop beat built around the live guitar tracks by my co-pilot, Jarred Lawson. I write a lot about mental health struggles, relational issues, overcoming really dark life circumstances, and finding hope in the middle of it by telling people they aren’t the only one going through that particular struggle or darkness. I love playing live shows in spite of some introverted stage anxiety, because I get to connect with people face to face about those things after I perform. I’m opening on my first tour soon, doing my first radio interview in a couple weeks and continuing to release music about every 6 weeks right now. We’re cruising, building and growing.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My relationship with God and also my husband Noah has completely changed how I view myself. I still struggle with some old thinking patterns that put me in a constantly negative lens, but leaning into how God sees me and Noah reminding me of that has freed me from other people’s opinions or comparing myself to other women, artists or producers. Like I said, it’s still a continuous work in progress… But there has been a lot of progress over the years, and I’m finally learning to have confidence in myself as an artist and in my driven, deep-thinking, big-feeling personality. We have to stop believing we are “too much” for other people and stifling the parts about ourselves that are most unique and often helpful to others in real ways.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
The first time someone else (a close family friend and mentor) told me about their struggle with clinical anxiety and panic disorder, I remember feeling a huge sense of relief. They told me specific details about their experience that were exactly like what I was going through in my brain and body, but up to that point, no one else understood what I was talking about or could only sort of relate. It was life-changing, and it also shaped how I started writing songs to help other people. The first step to healing is often recognizing that in a very deep sense, you are truly not alone.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Honesty. If you aren’t honest with me, I can’t fully trust you, even if you being honest with me at times causes pain. It might be related to loyalty in a way, but it comes down to integrity within a relationship. I pick up really easily and quickly on when people are hiding something. My husband and closest friends say I can read their minds sometimes and it’s kind of comical at times.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Spending mental energy on insecure doubts about the plan God has for my music, instead of devoting every ounce of that energy to the areas I need growth in it… It’s a mental battle, but I have good people around me helping me fight it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cayleamusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cayleamusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cayleamusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_2x8UsLa3TYQSCJ4LvlDg
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cayleamusic
Image Credits
Roxo, Tony Shepherd, Royalty Captures
