Yej is a local artist that I’ve had my eye on this summer. Every time I see her  perform I’m impressed. She excites a level of skill that can only be found in seasoned musicians. What stands out to me about Yej’s lyrics are how she’s able to put so much personality and humor into her songs. I invited her for an interview over coffee. Here’s the interview for those who’d like to get to know her.

Tell me your story.

I was lucky to grow up with musicians, my parents are classical musicians. They taught me to play piano, I started playing when I was 4. I’ve done choir for as long as I can remember. My parents did not want me to do music unless it was classical. My mind was blown when my godmother introduced me to Beyonce. “Beyonce is the best thing that’s ever happened to me” she said avidly. That night I memorized the Single Ladies music video by watching it over and over again. From that point on I wanted to be a pop star. 

Where are you from?

I’m from everywhere really. I was born and raised in Houser, Indiana. While I was living there I was in this weird Korean bubble, so I didn’t start speaking English until my family moved to Georgia, so I had a southern accent for a little while. Then before high school my family moved about 20 minutes from DC. So when people ask sometimes I say I’m from DC.

When did you start writing songs?

I started writing songs going into junior year of high school. I was in a bad spot so I started writing incredibly sad songs. I started writing because I needed to do something with those feelings. I also got my first boyfriend around that time so I started writing stuff about him. Shortly after I started writing I started releasing songs. My first two songs did extremely well because they were added to a couple Spotify playlists.

How did living in DC influence your music?

“It didn’t really because I wasn’t in the music scene at all”. The high school I went to was very academic and sports oriented, so I don’t feel like living in the area influenced my music taste. I grew up listening to K-pop, K-RnB and K indie music, since then I’ve started listening to more American indie music. I moved here and went to Belmont for a year, then I dropped out. My high school was so asian, when I moved here I had such a culture shock. It is so white here!!

Tell me about your first show.

I’d done a couple open mics and stuff before, but I don’t count those as shows. My first real show was this April (2022) at Fools Fest. A Nashville house show in somebody’s backyard. A Belmont boy booked me and ran everything. I was a wreck all day. I was so nervous then when I walked on stage someone threw a drink at me. I hadn’t even started singing yet! It was personal. That was my first full band show.

Tell me more about your band.

My band started when Ben played bass with me at a show. At that show Raj, who is now my drummer, came up to me afterwards and asked if he could play with me. As for Jake I’ve known him for a while and I just asked him to be my lead guitarist. I’ve recently added a Saxophone player and keyboardist to the band and I met them through my bass player.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

My biggest influences are Korean RnB artists Deen and AYRES. The music that’s been influencing me recently are punk bands like GRLWOOD and Mannequin Pussy. I also love Veruca Salt and the fictional band from Scott Pilgrim vs The World: Sex Bob Omb. Even though they only have like one song. Working with my producer has also influenced my sound. Producing with Anson Eggerss has been really fun because I bounce a lot off of him in the studio.

How would you describe your music?

It used to be strictly pop but now it’s pop with RnB and jazzy undertones. But it’s also Girly pop-punk sometimes, my music is perfect for the summertime.

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You can listen to Yej’s music by clicking the link below, or if you’re in Nashville you can catch her show at DRKMTTR on September 6th. Follow Yej on Instagram.