Citation :She has a voice so powerful that it reaches in, grabs a hold of your heart, and literally quakes your very soul. Whether on stage or flowing through your speakers, the sounds of this otherwise soft-spoken young lady will simply blow you away.
Like no other, Jamecia Venzett Bennett chronicles the experience of real womanhood in all of its beautifully complicated splendor. With her new album, Relationships Between God and Man, the emotions everyone goes through - love, pain, forgiveness, devotion and spirituality - it's all there in a soul-stirring collection that renders even the coldest of hearts inspired. And Relationships Between God and Man is more than an assembly of stellar songs, it is a collection of real life experiences from a young woman who has endured more than her fair share of the emotions listed above. Through unwavering faith, she persevered to receive the Lord's blessing and live her life as a testimony for all.
"To me music is medicine. It is a sort of spiritual medicine with healing powers. With my music, I feel like I can heal people's souls. I want to let them know that whatever they are going through, no matter what it is or how bad it seems, it can be dealt with."
At the age of fifteen Jamecia was faced with one of the toughest challenges she would ever have to face, she was pregnant. What made the circumstances particularly trying was the fact that Jameica was the quintessential preacher's kid in a prototypical church-going, God-fearing family. Her grandfather Pastor, her grandmother, the first lady and her mother, former Sounds of Blackness lead singer and currently the renowned Queen of Inspirational Soul, Ann Nesby, played the organ in the family church.
"We were in church all of the time," Jamecia says. "Tuesday we had Choir rehearsal, Wednesday was Bible study. Thursday was mission. Friday was something else and it went on and on like that. It was normal for us to be in church even when we didn't have to be there."
At the age of 5-years-old, Jamecia was already playing the drums in church. She sang in the choir and sometimes even directed the choir in the handmade ruffle dresses her grandmother sewed for her. She was so small that they would have to stand her on a chair so that everyone could see her, and by all accounts, Jamecia was the cutest little thing. For a long time, life was ideal.
"When I got pregnant I learned a lot about the world real fast. That was my first time understanding and having to learn how to forgive," says Jamecia. "My mom supported me and held my hand the entire time, regardless of all the negative things that people were saying. I came to realize God had a plan for my life. I trusted that he was preparing me for what was to come and I wanted to make him and my mom proud."
Less than two years later, Jamecia found herself the youngest member of the Grammy Award winning Sounds of Blackness. She had auditioned for a role in a Christmas show, won the part and on the day of her high school graduation, was on a plane headed towards Europe.
"I was in the Sounds of Blackness for four years and it was such a blessing to be around such great people, to learn from them. They were like family. I called them all my aunts and uncles and they really had a hand in raising me. It was a gift to be in their company. It was also a blessing to be able to earn a living and support my daughter doing something that I loved to do."
Jamecia's run in the Sounds of Blackness garnered the attention of Mercury Records who soon signed the young artist and moved her to New York to begin work on an album. No doubt, beautiful music was made but the label wasn't quite sure how to market her, so the album was never released. Jamecia did however lend her vocals to several high profile movie soundtracks during that time, recording "Rodeo Style" from Jason's Lyric, "Freedom Women United" from Posse and "You Get the Best of Me" from Kazamm. Still, it would be nearly another ten years before the public would have to opportunity to hear what Jamecia really had to offer.
Minneapolis business man Paul Jones had been a long time family friend and fan of Jamecia's. In 2004, when Jones re-named and expanded his street promotions company into a full service independent record label, focusing on producing and promoting spiritually uplifting music Jamecia, was one of the 1st people that he called. "Pauly has always told me that he was going to sign me one day." Says Jamecia. "His first apartment was #306 and the whole crew used to hang out there, it was like our family clubhouse. [He's a winning businessman, with a real passion for music, 306 is more than a label, it's a family, where we are allowed true freedom of inspirational expression without boundaries]. (unofficial quote)
On the Relationships Between God and Man, Jamecia music speaks to the soul and heart of peoples problems whatever they may be.
She shines brilliantly on "Church People," an emotional recount of her experience as a teenager shunned by the very people she thought she could trust. With that old-school, gospel -soul sound, she reminds listeners that there is always hope even when things seem hopeless. Demonstrating her vocal dexterity as she croons melodically on "Come Back Home," Jamecia reminds us that real love, the special kind shared between a man and a woman, the kind that lasts forever not just for a few months, is unselfish and unconditional. She embraces the trials and tribulations life has presented her with while simultaneously celebrating the blessings of the Lord that delivered her through those tough times on "Love Seasons." "We're Ready," her duet with fellow 306 Entertainment label-mate J. Isaac is poised to be the next great wedding song of our time. With his voice so mellow and smooth and hers so strong and textured, We're Ready" emerges as a lyrical marriage made in music heaven.
Every song on this album proves to be an instant classic. The love songs are true love songs, not songs of lust or any of the base emotions so popular in music today. The spiritual songs remain up lifting and inspirational but not judgmental or overbearingly "churchy." Relationships Between God and Man is where the soulful meets the spiritual in a long awaited expression of aural excellence.
"I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to singing during my first show with the Sounds of Blackness. I think it was the audience's reaction that touched me most. After that, I knew I wanted to effect people like that," says Jamecia. "In high school they always tell you to go out and make a difference in the world, and with that first performance, I really felt like was actually doing that. I still feel like I am doing that today with my songs.
My life and my music stand as testimony to let everyone know behind every dark cloud there is in fact a silver lining."
source:
http://www.306ent.com/
