Conversations with HNNH

Today we’d like to introduce you to HNNH.

Hi HNNH, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My father was in the Army, so I lived in Germany until I was 13. There was a really great community there, with tons of programs and activities to be involved in. My mom would encourage me and my siblings to sign up for anything – which I’m sure helped keep us busy while my dad was deployed or away for training.

Growing up, I was a goofy and very energetic kid. I did everything from tap & jazz dance, ballet with the Royal Academy of Dance, gymnastics, Girl Scouts…you name it. When I was in first grade, my mom signed me up for a musical theatre production at the Roadside Theater in Heidelberg, Germany. I played an angel in the kids’ ensemble of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and I was clueless and nervous! But I guess I loved it because I was in several other plays over the years until we moved away. From Annie to The King and I, HONK!, and Les Miserables – I was just living my best life, singing and dancing in musicals, having fun, and not thinking too much about it. And looking back, I’m sure that’s where I picked up my affinity for singing and performing.

I was always a pretty quiet kid in school and when my family moved to the United States in 2004 – I was 13, starting 8th grade at a tiny Lutheran school in Louisville, Kentucky…I didn’t know anyone…I didn’t know American trends…I didn’t wear makeup or popular clothing…I learned very quickly that I did not fit in – I became the quietest version of myself I could be. There were 17 kids in the entire 8th-grade class and I did not want any attention on me. I didn’t want to stand out and seem any weirder than I was already labeled to be.

High school, though at a large public school, was not much different. I was quiet, kept my head down, and tried to get through the day. I had a couple of friends and found a sense of belonging on the Track & Field team, but I spent a lot of time by myself. There was a lot of stuff going on with my family and at the same time, there was a lack of community where we lived – and not much to do. During that time, one of my friends had told me about FL Studio (I think I used LimeWire to download a cracked version of it), and that summer I tried to figure out the software and how to actually make something with it.

In 2006, five of my siblings and I moved to Fayetteville, GA to live with my mom. I had to restart the whole process of surviving a new school. I did make some friends here and there, but I was still very quiet and kept to myself for the most part. In 2007, my grandpa passed away kind of unexpectedly – I’m not sure if it was related, but that summer my mom randomly bought me a guitar she found on sale and told me I could probably learn to play it – I figured she was trying to keep me busy, and I love challenging myself to learn new things, so I hopped on YouTube and learned the basic chords. I started writing some of my first songs but I never shared them with anyone.

During college, there were more issues going on with my family. I didn’t have much support and I didn’t live near campus so it was harder to make friends. I was also going through a pretty serious depression during this time. I started writing songs to process everything, or I would practice guitar just to keep myself busy. I also started producing a lot of instrumental beats that were calming and meditative and helped me feel a little better. I recorded original songs and covers…I had a $12 microphone for like, Skype calls…and I would record music using FL Studio and my guitar and upload them to SoundCloud. (They’re all set to private now, but I still have them!)

In my third year of college, I moved into the dorms and one of my roommates was super supportive of my music. She encouraged me to play at an open mic night at the Student Center, so I did. I planned a mashup cover of Kid Cudi’s “The Prayer” and “Funeral” by Band of Horses. It was my first time performing in front of a crowd. When they called me up on stage I was SO nervous! My legs were shaking…my hands were shaking so badly that I was worried I would mess up the chords or forget the lyrics.

And guess what?

I DID!! Halfway through, I played the wrong chords and then forgot the words and was so embarrassed that I stopped playing and was about to just end it there. But the audience was so nice and they told me to just restart the song and try again. So I did…and I got through it! The worst thing had happened and it wasn’t the end of the world!

After that experience, I stopped being so afraid to open up more and be myself. I played more open mics, started posting videos on YouTube, and uploaded more original songs on SoundCloud.

Akeeme Martin, who hosted the Halftime Hip-Hop Show on WUOG FM in Athens at the time, found my music and played it on his show. He eventually invited me to perform live on air and at many other live shows with the station. He was (and is) phenomenal for giving artists a platform and making them feel empowered and celebrated, no matter their music style. I felt confident in sharing my voice and my experiences with other people. And I think that was really the first time I realized how much I truly enjoyed making music and performing it – and that I actually could do that.

From that point, it’s been a long journey of discovering myself, my sound, and my confidence in my artistry. But here I am, making music and art.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As much as people try to appear like everything is easy breezy…I don’t think that’s ever really the case for anyone.

Every path in life has its twists, turns, and challenges. And I can definitely say that my path with music has had its fill of ups and downs.

One of my initial challenges was mindset and self-belief. In my family, the best path was to go to college, get a steady job in a stable career field, make a living, and be happy. So I always had this belief that wanting a creative career in art or music was an unrealistic, unattainable dream that only a few lucky people were able to live. That mindset definitely set me back and kept me from really pursuing bigger opportunities in music, because I focused more of my time and energy on trying to build up a “realistic” career – meanwhile my music was seen as more of a hobby.

When I was 19, I was kicked out of the house and had to figure everything out on my own. I was attending college and working, while also navigating through a deep depression that I never talked about. From that point on, I never really had a stable housing situation – when I could, I stayed in the university dorms. When school was out, I couch-surfed or moved around with roommates. This made it hard to work on anything on a regular basis, as I didn’t always have my own things or my own space to sing and record music. So my main focus got pulled, again, towards finding a better job, working a lot, and creating stability for myself.

When I did start seriously pursuing music, I came across people who were not very genuine or they had ulterior motives – People who wanted to help me in my career but with weird strings attached…People who suggested using s*x appeal to be successful…People who wanted me to conform to a certain style…or people who tried to steal my work. As much as I wanted opportunities for my music, it was not worth trading any part of myself or my art. Luckily nothing bad happened, but it was difficult to navigate through it on my own and almost equally difficult to find a team of good people. And that kind of made me take a step back from the whole industry.

If I could have given myself any advice: Not everyone is supposed to have the same path in life – so, sometimes you will be the first person you know, to walk a certain path. It doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, it just means it hasn’t been done yet. Believe that your passions and abilities will take you on the path you are meant to be on; be confident in who you are and what you want to do; invest in developing yourself and your craft. There’s no way you can fail unless you quit doing one of those things.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have a background in Art in general – Fine art, photography, video, visual and graphic design, as well as music.

With HNNH, I enjoy that I get to use all my creative talents at once. I write, record, compose, and produce all of my songs; I also create all my own album artwork, videos, merch, website, and promotional materials.

My music could be described as “Pop-Soul-Electronic” …I don’t like to limit myself to a particular style or genre, so I’m not really sure how I would categorize it. I just like to create what I’m feeling at the time. My music usually is pretty calm, but uplifting. I use hip-hop drums and some elements of electronic music. I also like including guitar, piano, and even some brass instruments. Sometimes I’ll just make a lo-fi beat or instrumental – sometimes I’ll write full songs with lyrics. But no matter what I create, I am always very mindful of the tones and frequencies I use, and the overall “vibe” of the song.

Like I said earlier, my music became a sort of therapy for me – not only to express myself but to calm myself when I was going through depressive episodes. So it’s important to me that my music still carries that purpose. When people listen to my music I want them to feel like things will be okay, and I want my lyrics to uplift them or give them something useful – in the same way music helps me transform difficult situations into something more beautiful.

Mental health is something I’m very open about because I think people shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about it. So many people silently struggle with their mental health, and I’ve lost people to depression. When you’re in that low mindset, it can be really easy to put on sad songs that kind of keep you in that negative space. I always try to be aware and include more positive tones and affirmations in my music, so that when you listen to it, you feel hopeful rather than depressed. I’m really big on messages of self-love, self-care, and self-empowerment.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
I definitely have to give a shoutout to Akeeme Martin who, as I said, was the first person to give me a platform and really made me believe in myself and my art. I have to thank Moran Lanier with WOLF Radio at the University of West Georgia – he also played my music, supported me at shows, and put me on concerts, his podcast, and 96.1 FM’s charity event. His support also helped me believe in myself and my talents.

I will never forget Catherine Moon, the owner of Wildflower Cafe, who invited me to play live music in her lovely restaurant – it was my first paid gig and a learning experience that helped me develop my confidence. Back in the day, an artist by the name of Profound hosted music events and invited me to perform at a few. It was always fun to be a part of it and meet other talents in the community and I have good memories of that.

I also have to thank my friend, Phillip. He was really big into karaoke and would get me out and singing on a regular basis – which gave me more confidence in singing in front of strangers or singing songs I’d never practiced before. He also gifted me my first studio microphone, which was a game-changer (and I still use it to this day!).

Of course, I also am so grateful for friends, family members, coworkers, and anyone and everyone along the way who has come out to support me at shows played or shared my music, or given me words of encouragement. It really does make all the difference – especially during the difficult parts of the journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hologramsupplyco.com/hnnh
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hnnh.music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imnotHNNH
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hnnh5652
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7dR9FjFuGxoqC2w6vjmnq3?si=-v4jAayETH2wUB8N1Asosg&nd=1

Image Credits
Hannah Washington, Chantel Layne, Ian Labat, and Miles McCall