Check Out Jamie Perdue’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Perdue

Hi Jamie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
First I wanna say thank you to VoyageLA for taking the time for this interview, I am grateful and it means a lot to me to be interviewed by your publication. I grew up in a small town, right outside of Birmingham, Alabama called Leeds. These small town beginnings helped to shape my place within entertainment today, because back in Leeds, or even Birmingham during the late 80’s and early 90’s, all you really had as a young kid for day to day life was family, good ‘ol outdoor-nature fun, and of course, the television for luxury viewing pleasure when back at home! I like to mention that God gave me a sorts of talents, and writing happened to be one of them! One night my mom was watching Beverly Hills 90210 (if you know you know, haha), and I remember trying to tell her all that was running wild through my imagination that day but, she pleaded for sacred silence to catch up on all the current drama happening in the scripted 90210. It was at that moment, in protest, I grabbed a blank sheet of paper nearby, sat at the foot of her bed, and allowed my imagination to be translated pen to paper. I brought the paper with me to school the next day, and gave it to my teacher to allow it to be entered into the creative writing contest the school was conducting. Though I had no intentions whatsoever of entering the writing contest, I ended up entering simply by accident, or fate, when realizing I now had a paper on me full of stories, ready to be turned over at the perfect moment the school decided to close entry to the contest. I’ll never forget, the teacher lined all of us up against the wall the next day, and the school’s administrative figures and other classroom teachers came over to announce the winner. “Cedrisha Perdue”. I was stunned. How did I win when I didn’t intend to?! What about the others who probably put their effort, time, and all into their stories with hopes of having the spot I was so easily handed? The stories weren’t edited or even my best, they were first drafts straight from my imagination, channeling pain into passion on paper. It was that day, at only 7 years old, I learned I had a gift of writing, that I somehow freely received, and it’s been with me ever since. As I grew older, I wrote short stories and poems, which then transmuted to songwriting, and most recently – my first feature film. God, family, and entertainment have always been the pinnacles of my journey, dating back to my small beginnings in Alabama. Though if I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t always as confident as I am today when it came to my identity in either of those areas: God, family or entertainment…because, when you have these gifts and talents, what good are they or how do you even know how to use them properly if you don’t even know why you’re here or what’s your purpose in life? Surely, the gifts are destined to be misused. And that’s exactly what I did while on a brutal path before I soon learned that my gift of writing and directing, storytelling and creation; has targets and very specific, intended purposes.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely… not! As mentioned before, I was raised in a small town right outside of Birmingham, AL. My grandmother, a believer in God, loved when we would visit her on Sunday’s, which I now know was her way to invite us to join her for church. My grandmother had such a loving and non-judgmental spirit about her, which stood out to me at a very young age. She had this genuineness about her and how she handled herself while in the presence of others. She didn’t put on an act at church or pretend to be someone she wasn’t, she loved all just the same! Whether it was Friday evening in the presence of my crazy, rambunctious relatives, or on Sunday morning greeting the pastor, or church members, her love was pure for all, anywhere, anytime. I absolutely loved being around my grandmother, and still do to this very day! Faith for me started at a young age around my grandmother, and looked very, very kind, beautiful, and accepting of others; which I know is not always the same experience for others, so… in that aspect, I always knew I was very blessed at a young age for her example of what faith and a believer could look like. My mom, brother, and I moved in 1997 though, away from Birmingham, AL to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and my entire life changed. Better schools, better career opportunities for my mother, I even got to travel on a foreign exchange at the age of 14 to Japan! Everything seemed better, but being so far away from my grandmother’s Sunday morning invites, we slowly stopped going to church, and speaking of our belief in God all together. By the age of 18, while in college, I left America and went to Germany, where I’d eventually end up moving a few years later at the age of 22. Times were strange because, on one hand I felt free from all of the confusion I faced from ‘97 until the moment I boarded the plane, but on the other hand, that feeling of newness and excitement in Germany soon wore off, and I realized – I was still, very much so… lost. I didn’t really know why I was here, especially Germany, or what my purpose was. I wasn’t sure that I ever knew, and that was a tough feeling.. So, I did what I knew best, and began writing and creating. I wrote many songs and short stories while living in Germany and performed on the German franchise of ‘American Idol’. It was wild. Since winning my very first writing contest at the age of 7, this was all I ever wanted – to write stories, perform, and share them with the world for influential good! But as my work was finally being seen and praised throughout North America, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland – I was simultaneously at the height of my lowest feelings of soul hurt, and it only intensified as my fame overseas grew larger. It made no sense and I just couldn’t understand! How am I finally getting a taste of fame and what I thought I was born to do and yet.. Be feeling more empty than ever? I continued to write, perform, and tour all throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, until I came to a screeching halt in 2018. I stumbled into a small church in Tübingen, Germany – much like the small church I grew up in. My first night back at a church in almost over 20 years, and there just so happened to be special guests from Atlanta, Georgia touring that small city I lived in at the time, so I was able to understand the entire message, in English! And, it’s never stopped being as weird, and beautiful, since that night when I finally decided to dedicate my life to Jesus.

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 began my journey to storytelling as a writer. First I wrote poems, then I wrote songs, then I performed those songs throughout Europe and America. When I moved back to America in 2019, a few months after finding God, I always joked at the thought that “now since I walk with God, God’ll give me a record deal at home in America, where I can live out my dreams as a successful songwriter and artist!” Boy was I wrong, and the joke was on me! While waiting for God to answer this musician based prayer, I picked up a small gig to keep the bills paid. I got to work doing what I love to do most when I’m not creating, and that’s serving others. The only thing though, these “others” at this location just so happened to be some of Hollywood’s most influential impactors that shaped cinema and television as we know it. It blew my mind when I realized I was serving the writers, producers, and directors of those exact memories which solidified my upbringing, when I wasn’t outside making mud pies! How did I end up here?! I know… God! One day, while talking with one of the ladies at the job, she told me that she’d love to see my writing and, when finished with my screenplay, reach out to her so we could “chat”. That lady just so happened to be the head of one of television and film’s most iconic movie studios, and a mentor of mine said “God is giving you a new assignment – do it!”. What I thought at the time was friendly banter, became an activation of one of my God given talents, and, I’m very proud that at the time of this interview, that screenplay is in development. What sets my creation apart from others is, we are all uniquely ourselves. Even if you had a twin, they wouldn’t have your DNA. There is, and will only be one you and me, in the entire existence of this experience we call human life so, I think it’s only fair that we release every, single, thing that we were created to release into this life experience, not withholding any particle of our being (because it won’t do any good to die holding on to what the earth needed from us anyway). Because we are here now, the world needs what was placed in us to be released into the earth, and I am determined to do just that – with my own special, unique, fingerprint, touch – that has never before been seen, and will never be seen again. And that goes for all of us. There’s room for everybody to be authentically themselves.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I did my best to fit in, and be accepted by the “in crowds” of cool kids. That was until; I realized I was an octagon trying to force my way into a world that was circular in shape. No matter how small I shrunk, or how authentic to self and larger than life I showed up to be – there would always be jagged edges which uncomfortably scratched surfaces of circles I tried fitting into or, sides to me which always stood out no matter how well I managed to “fit in”. For example, by the age of 14, I had traveled to Nagaoka and Tokyo, Japan and learned Japanese, only to return to Dallas-Fort Worth a few weeks later, and be misunderstood by my peers because, “what suburban kid speaks Japanese or listens to Ayumi Hamasaki?” (Who is freaking amazing btw!) Music was my escape and my imagination was always a safe place I knew I could create a perfect reality within, where everything is peaceful, beautiful, and no sorrow or pain was allowed in. The imagination has always been, and will always be a sacred place for me to journey to, especially while creating; then and now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.conglomercy.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/hollywoodgodly

Image Credits
RTL Deutschland,
Evgenii Shimin,
Cedrisha “Jamie” Perdue,
CONGLOMERCY