Meet Zaire Adams of ZAMI in Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zaire Adams.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Zaire. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born on the Northside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I spent the early half of my life in the inner city, spending a lot of time under my grandmother’s care. I was raised around a family of crime that was also a family of talent; my grandmother, mother, uncle and siblings all grew up singing, rapping, dancing and writing music; a love they shared with me. I knew, however, that it’s what I wanted to do with my life. The first time my mom heard me singing, I was only three, and she put me in church choir. My dad, however, didn’t recognize my passion for this until I was around five, which is when he put me in an acting academy back home.

I trained there for several years learning theatre while attending workshops to meet managers, which is where I would meet my first two managers. With them, I was finally given opportunities to present my talents! At nine years old, we traveled to Atlanta, GA spontaneously to audition for Debbie Allen’s production of Twist just for the experience, only for me to get casted. Immediately after finishing that production, I was whisked away to star as Young Simba in Disney’s The Lion King, a role I played for a year. Following this, I decided to leave theatre behind and tackle the film industry, and moved to LA in 2013, and eventually found representation under agencies like BLOC and CESD.

In the years here, I’ve built my resume with roles on tv series’ like Speechless, Modern Family, ReactToThat, numerous web series’, the Sprite Lymonade campaign with Rae Sremmurd, a few small movies. I’ve also starred in a few videos, such as “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and “Happy” by Pharrell. In the midst of me becoming a professional actor, I maintained my love for music and trained in vocals for over half of my life, and starting in 2017 I began to go by ZAMI for all music endeavors; I’m currently recording my first project with The Klassiks and Kay for release early next year.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As with any origin story, it hasn’t been easy at all. It’s a rough road dealing with being a black boy in the industry who doesn’t quite fit the standard mold both aesthetically and personality-wise. Quite literally, I’ve sacrificed my childhood to be in the position I am right now for a successful career and future.

I never went to a real school, didn’t make close friends until my teens, and struggled with internalizing me being a black boy for the sake of my career and acceptance. Furthermore, you meet such vile people in the industry, deal with the politics and semantics of entertainment, and work hard for your efforts to rarely be paid off. However, if anything, this has all made me stronger than anything. And with my career, you have to build a shell for protection, so I’m ready for more obstacles to face.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I personally see myself as someone who just likes to perform. I’m a multi-faceted professional entertainer. I like to do everything. I sing, dance, act, rap and write (both music and screenplays). I’m primarily known for acting and singing, but that’s quick to change! I’m most proud of my dedication to my craft and how natural it all comes to, which makes me wanna push myself even more. I’m different because I have a unique sound, look, and character when it comes to the scope of my work. I want to share my personal life within work I put out, and inspire young people whether they’re gay, straight, Black, Asian, and everything in between.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think success is native to who you are. It’s what you deem acceptable for your own standards of talent and work ethic. It’s not definable by numbers, but they count and mean something to us as well. I personally believe success is when people are ingesting, accepting, appreciating and resonating with the content you create. The ability to connect with others, and have your name making way around circles – is success. When you see yourself being spoken about by someone else for the great work you’ve done; that’s success.

Contact Info:

• Email: adamszaire665@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zairedami/

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