Meet CeeJ | Musician & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with CeeJ and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi CeeJ, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I believe that fortune truly does favor the bold. We owe it to ourselves as creatives and humans to get the chance to know how good it can really get and I think that requires taking risks! Life is beautiful and precious and so all the better reason to bet on yourself and your dreams. When I had trouble finding other music producers who understood me, I decided to really commit to learning music production and it led me to being able to produce for myself. When I took the risk of putting my art and content out on tik tok, it led me to now getting the honor of writing and producing with and for other incredible artists. It’s important to take those risks and let yourself feel uncomfortable, I think some discomforts are healthy even. I also believe that in life, when you get out of your comfort zone and learn your lessons, you do get rewarded by the universe and for me, taking that risk was definitely worth all the friendships and music and creative endeavors that have poured into my life. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be able to create.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began my journey with music as a singer, in church and in school and my parents put me in piano lessons as a girl. Once my aunt gave me a guitar when I was 12 and I began to combine my love of writing poems with music, I fell in love with songwriting. It’s still one of the most fulfilling parts of the process for me. After high school, I dove head first into building a community online by doing popular covers until I decided I wanted to focus on my own writing and grow my skills. There were a couple of really challenging years where I didn’t know what I was doing and couldn’t find the open doors, so I decided to take a chance on myself and dig into music production. It’s brutal for those first few years but then I began to feel myself grow and that was the best feeling ever! I began to share my journey as a female producer and connected with a new community through that and even began to get some clients. It was something super humbling and a huge growing period. I had to learn how to move as a business woman! It was exciting and challenging and I gained so much with every project and I met so many dope humans who I now am blessed to call friends. What I’d want for people to know about my story is this message; do not wait. You can take your power back into your own hands. You can make the moves. You can create where you are, start with what you have. You don’t need fancy things, all you need is to hone your gifts and your individuality and fall in love with the process. That is the most substantial part! And then having the bravery and consistency to share that with the world. Trust that the right people, will find you because they are looking for you and love what you are authentically radiating.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m so blessed to be a born and raised valley girl in Los Angeles! I guess it would depend on the person, but I’m definitely not the person to ask about nightlife lol! However, I’d probably take them to the Getty Center to see some art, have a picnic on the grass, maybe we’d go catch the sunset in Santa Monica. If they’re a matcha person like me, we will definitely hit up a new matcha spot! I love a short weekend trip to Santa Barbara. All the spanish style vibes over there are so fun and the weather is always good. The beach is gorgeous! I just opened a shop with my childhood best friend, Anjelica, on Melrose Ave in West Hollywood called, Charmed LA. It’s a DIY charm jewelry shop where you can pick your chain, charms and assemble in the store and leave with a completely personalized handmade piece. I think it’d be really sweet to bring them there and treat them to a bracelet or necklace and they can choose charms that are inspired by their favorite hobbies, colors or even a memory bracelet of their time visiting LA. We need more activities that bring back a sense of community in our cities.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents, Jerry and Elma, have always been so supportive of me and my dreams and my music. I remember them driving me to every piano lesson, showing up to every little school or church performance, celebrating my songs even when in retrospect, they were horrible. I think about the ways I get to live my dreams because of the sacrifices they made, as immigrants, both being the 2 of few in their families to come to America in the hopes of building a fulfilling life, and they did. It’s because of them I get the freedom to choose what I can do with my life, and they empower me to believe I can. They keep me somehow grounded but also make me feel that the sky is the limit. My mom and dad met here, but when they both arrived in this foreign country, they hardly knew anyone, were continuing to learn a new language, support themselves and I am in awe of them every day.

Instagram: @ceejofficial @shopcharmedla

Other: Tik tok: @ceejofficial @charmedla

Image Credits
Photos by Cindy Romero