GET TO KNOW...: Jennah Bell

[caption id="attachment_61690" align="aligncenter" width="548"] Photo taken by E. Michelle[/caption]

The first time I saw Jennah Bell perform was per an invite from my cousin, Janine. She kept telling me about this group called The Strivers Row and they were performing at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village. My love for poetry and the performing arts intrigued me. It also helped that I had two friends that were coming up from Philly JUST to see this show. So in my mind, it has to be dope. Welp! It was. Amongst the talented spoken word artists like Carvens Lissaint, Alyssa Harris, Jasmin Mans, and Miles Hodges, out steps this little tiny thing with locs and a guitar. The blue lights from the venue shadowed over her, silence took over the audience, and the words from "The Hatchet" started to flow out of the mouth of an unsuspecting voice. Jennah took the crowd that night. Not only did she gain hundreds of new fans that night, but she also made a mark for herself as an artist to look out for.

[caption id="attachment_61692" align="aligncenter" width="503"] Photo taken by E. Michelle[/caption]

Jennah is a gem. I mean that. Standing at maybe 5'2, she has the personality of the kind of person you want to be your best friend for life, the energy of a free spirit, and the smile of an angel. Now based in New York City, Jennah continues to show her roots and foundation of her artistry through her music and the folks she surrounds herself with. She's a Grammy camp attendee, a BET Music Matters artist, a Berklee College of Music graduate, and most recently received a huge cosign from ?uestLove of The Legendary Roots Crew as an Okayplayer artist. Her love for various genres of music is evident through the words she writes for her music and her covers at her performances. A big lover of hip hop music, cultural movements, and people in general, Jennah is one of those artists that you not only want on your record, but you want in your corner as well.

[caption id="attachment_61994" align="aligncenter" width="479"] Photo Taken by E. Michelle[/caption]

So one day in the fall, Jennah and I got a chance to walk around one of our favorite sections of Brooklyn, Wiliamsburg. Visiting this dope tiny little spot called The Bedford, we got to chat about some things such as her first experience at BET, how she hooked up with The Strivers Row, and her hip hop alter ego, Lil' Daddy. Check it out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPjV0OSYU7A[/youtube]

Adorable right? I'm not saying that because we now call each other the "almost birthday twins" since our special days are a day apart. She really is everything and then some. You can find Jennah literally everywhere. She continues to perform all over the East Coast and in her hometown of The Bay area in Cali. If you are smart, you would go to her bandcamp page and get her Early Bird EP, and then hustle on over to Okayplayer and get her Live At Mother NY project because it is THAT amazing. You can find her on twitter and facebook to keep up with all of her live performances. If you haven't had that pleasure, you need to make sure you see her and Lil' Daddy in action. I'm proud of her and everything she has going on. I definitely think she is one you guys should get to know.

[caption id="attachment_61689" align="aligncenter" width="574"] Photo taken by E. Michelle[/caption]

Special thanks, of course, to Broady Brown from Nocturnal Charm Media for editing my videos and making them amazing. Also, kudos and shouts to E. Michelle of E. Michelle Photography for the dope photos you see. One of her shots were actually used as the cover of Live At Mother NY. BOOM!

Don't forget to also check out Jennah's new music video for her single,  "Monster Killer":

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifN-lgITQIs[/youtube]