Today we’d like to introduce you to Zjolie.
Zjolie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always been a live performance musician, from a reggae band in Tallahassee to Bluejay (Best Band 2015 – Miami New Times) with my brother Jay Thomas and his boyfriend Oscar Quesada where I was playing synths, drums, and singing harmonies (at the same time). That was fun. I started showing my brother my songs (that had been kept in a secret solo dungeon cuz I’m a Virgo perfectionist ha!) and he insisted we play them live! Eventually, my project became its entity and I formed my band.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been awesome. There are challenges but that’s fun for me. It’s all a learning process and it gets easier through practice and trading tips with your musician friends who are in the same game!
Please tell us about your work.
My music is a mix of R&B, Pop, Bass, Trap, and Dance with some admittedly cheeky and sarcastic lyrics. Even when I sound sweet I’m probably singing about murder. People usually describe the live show as “sexy” and I like that! In the band, we’ve got my sidekick Alejandra Posada (bass, beats, keys), Terrel Hopkins (drums), and now Tony Laurencio of Afrobeta (keys).
I’ve also been performing DJ sets on my own for the past year and I’m loving that too. I like all kinds of music so I enjoy curating radically different sets for different venues and crowds. If I’m DJing for myself, it’s usually going to be a lot of cumbia with slowed-down hip-hop, house, and some wild outliers like the Rosemary’s Baby Soundtrack.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I don’t compromise on my loyalty and I’m not swayed by popular belief to avoid conflict. I have no problem talking about controversial topics or telling someone how much I like Slipknot. What you see is what you get. Put simply, I don’t give a f**k and I think people feel that and are inspired by it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zjolie.com
Image Credit:
All photos are Eve Ada Photo except the teal background one and Miami Girlz one which are Claude Charlier. Miami Girlz design by David Zarco… it’s the cover art for my debut single that just came out Sept. 1.
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