Today we’d like to introduce you to Starisha Jimma.
Starisha, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The odds were stacked against me since before I was even conceived. I was never actually supposed to be here. Both of my parents have autosomal recessive genes. They actually had to have genetic counseling after having multiple babies die shortly after birth. Something about their genes being combined together, doctors advised them not to procreate and warned them that no baby of theirs would even survive if they kept trying. My biological father refused to listen and eventually one kept. That one was me. My mom calls me her miracle baby. I do suffer from a list of invisible illnesses but nothing that has stopped me from writing and hearing music in my head.
I grew up in a small town called Davis in northern California. Back when line dancing at the Grad or roller skating at a rink called Disk was considered an epic weekend. I have a lot of childhood friends who got married, bought land, built houses and had kids. For me, my songs were my kids. So one day, I packed everything I could fit into a used carry-on suitcase we got at the good will thrift store, then I bought a one-way train ticket to Los Angeles.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As diverse as Los Angeles music scene is, it isn’t exactly known for wailing along to the words Lucinda Williams’ ‘Car Wheels on a Gravel Road’ like we did on school buses back home). And then on top of that, I’m a woman of color. And there weren’t a lot of black Angelenos writing pop country/ alternative rock songs and thriving in those white male-dominated genres. So it always felt like, “Am I even allowed to be doing this? Looking the way I look?”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Before anything else, I am a songwriter. And if you let my mama tell it, I’ve been writing since before I even knew how to write. I used to draw pictures, stack them like pages in a book, bind them by folding and explain the story page by page. It’s one of her favorite memories to tell of me as a toddler.
Earlier this month, I have just released my first single, ‘Hold on me’ which is one of five songs from my upcoming EP “Will Write for Food”. Hold on me is very fun, summery and flirty. I think it’s kind of nice to start out lighthearted in that way. It gives the darker songs something feathery to land on.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
You’re so powerful that the only thing with equal enough power to stop you is yourself.
Don’t expect your personal contacts to become fans by default just because they know you already. More times than not, your biggest supporters will be strangers. No, Linda who used to babysit you when you were nine probably isn’t going to buy your limited edition band merch and that’s okay!
No one is going to save you, discover you, make you famous, give you a raise or promotion. No matter what it LOOKS like, the truth is that only you can do that.
Live in your purpose like you might die of covid, apologize when you’re wrong but don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0W0qCdBgSMw6qitnzYAstr
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/StarishaDotCom
Image Credits:
Mark Wells
