Meet Ariel Imani
My journey began in the church. I grew up in a church on the Southside of Chicago called Salem Baptist Church and I would watch my mother and her friends sing, lead worship, play instruments, etc. Growing up I spent quite a bit of my time in church every week in rehearsals on Tuesday, bible study on Wednesday, and regular church service on Sunday. For a while it wasn’t just one service on Sunday’s but we would have three separate services on Sunday and my mother would more than likely have to sing at all three. This is how my gift was cultivated and shaped. I am always grateful to the one’s back home who invested in me musically. When they noticed that there was something more in me that I had to offer to this world, they made sure I was involved musically in some kind of way. As much as we went to church you would think that my upbringing was strict to gospel music but no I have a pretty chill mom who LOVED her some R&B music. She’s the reason why I fell so deeply in love with it. However, the journey does not end there. I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend Chiarts(Chicago high school for the Arts) for two years, a performing arts high school in Chicago. This was completely out of my comfort zone and exposed me to a whole new world in music, learning styles like classical, baroque, and renaissance. My life was dedicated to becoming a better vocalist and musician overall and a lot of credit goes to that time period in my life!
My journey so far has not been easy at all and still isn’t the easiest. I’ve had many obstacles throughout this musical journey. It has been a constant struggle finding my sound and my voice in music and even though I am progressing in that area, I still have a very long way to go. Being comfortable with the music that I create has always been a challenge for me because I’m never satisfied with it or I don’t think that it’s good enough to release. However, over the past couple of months I’ve come to the conclusion that I will never be satisfied with my work so the only option I have is to release it, take in the constructive criticism, and make the changes I feel are necessary.
Well my name is Ariel Imani I am an artist and an aspiring singer/songwriter. My main focus is R&B music but I love experimenting in other genres like gospel, country, and edm when I get a little down time. I am most proud of the work I’ve accomplished thus far as a writer, a singer, and producer. My main focus right now is to continue the love for R&B and stay grounded in the roots of R&B while staying with the current wave as well.
Success for me is not about money or notoriety but about the lives I’ve touched and the changes that I’m able to make in this world. It is also very important for me to build generational wealth within my family, starting with me. Now you maybe thinking “doesn’t that involve money?” and yes you are right but it isn’t just the longing and desire of money but it’s the investments I make that will set my children and my children’s children for the rest of their lives. Success is branching out into different areas and building from the ground up. Learning ways to be financially stable for generations and giving back to my community. My success doesn’t revolve solely around music; that’s just a portion of it.
