V Dawn
SKII: Can you tell me something about V Dawn?
V Dawn: Yes I could. Vanessa loves music. I’ve always loved music. I play and sing everything by ear. I’ve been professionally trained for singing. I took voice lessons because I strive to become better than I was. I’m a determined driven person. I want to complete what I’ve started. And I’m a Leo. Leo’s are driven people. They don’t let anyone tell them that something can’t be done. Leo’s will prove to them that it can be done. There’s much more to know about me, but, I just wanted you to know a little something about who I am.
SKII: Is V Dawn you true name? If not, how did you get the name V Dawn?
V Dawn: I just took my first initial of my first name “V” and my whole middle name “Dawn” and put them together. Technically, It is my true name. I liked it. I shared it with my friends to see what they thought and they seemed to be inspired by it. My first name Vanessa means butterfly in Greek and Dawn, my middle name means the beginning of a new day. .
SKII: Where were you born and raised?
V Dawn: I was born and raised in the Lafayette section of Jersey City. I’ve attended P.S. 22 as a child. I’ve also attended P.S. 17. I went to Lincoln high school. I went to Local Hudson community College to become a nurse. I love what I’m doing. I love giving back to the community that’s why I became a nurse.
SKII: What hospital do you work for?
V Dawn: I work for Saint Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey. I work in the Nuero Science Unit as well as the Orthopedic Unit.
SKII: Tell me something about singing?
V Dawn: I’ve studied “Voice Under” with Troy Randall. He’s my vocal coach. I’m also involved with a company out of Jamaica, it’s called “Barefoot Productions.” It’s called Barefoot because we feel like being connected to the earth. The ground up. It energizes us. Barefoot produces the rhythm that I sing to. You heard it on my CD. I also do my recordings at DML Studios at East Orange New Jersey with Daniel Laporte. He’s a great producer as well. I’ve done some production work on my own also.
SKII: How long have you been singing?
V Dawn: This is very shocking. I’ve only been singing a couple of years. For the last couple of years, I’ve been doing my writing and singing. I used to write and sing when I was younger but, I got married to the love of my life for 27 years. My husband didn’t like the idea of me pursuing this type of career because everybody thinks the music industry is about partying. So I let it go for a while. And later on in my life I got back into it. I said to myself, I Got To Do It. It’s within me. It just grinds at me every day. It pulls at me and draws me in. It gives me energy and I live for it. I love it.
SKII: Is music in your soul? Or did you start singing in church?
V Dawn: When I was in school, I sang in school plays and different things like that. It just sat on my heart. So, I just knew I had to do something with it. I worked for the New Jersey Journal newspaper several years ago. We formed a little singing group while working there. We started buying studio time, recording music and we had fun with it. One of the things that was funny, was every time we went to one of our friends house to work, the friend would play this song called Gee Wiz Baby. He played it over and over again. One of the guys cracked and said; You know your neighbors is going to produce that song because you keep playing it over and over again, but you’re not really doing anything with it.
Music runs in my family. My dad played piano beautifully by ear. I guess that’s where I got that from. My brother Moose, that’s his nickname. His real name is Sylvanius Napolian Jr. (another great name from the Bible), he was a bongo player for “Kool and the Gang” back in the 70’s. So, it’s always been in me. I just had to bring it out some how and I didn’t know how until recently.
I was on a trip to Jamaica with my daughter and her then boo. They were setting up his studio. While I was listening to them play, I got excited and . motivated. Listening to them inspired me to start writing my own songs. People were really loving my energy and the enthusiasm I had. That day is when I started producing my own work.
J-Kim: (Vanessa sister began talking about V Dawn) She always sings. She loved singing. She sang around the house. She sang in her car. She sang everywhere. Before my grandmother passed away, she taught us how to play the piano. Vanessa learned how to play a guitar by ear. She did a lot with music but she never pursued it. Recently through her travels it came out.
When we were younger, we always acted like Cicely Tyson. We used to perform like Cicely. Now, I’m a comedian. I make everyone laugh. I’m naturally funny. But I’m not a comedian by trade and It’s not something I want to do professionally. Unlike Vanessa, she just naturally does her thing but, when it comes to a crowd, It won’t come out the way it should. She needs that extra push. She just need to get out there. So thank you SKII Magazine for helping her in getting exposed.
V Dawn: I think I said it or you said it; this is exactly what I needed. I needed someone to push me out there. Thank you SKII Magazine.
SKII: Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are your parents still alive?
V Dawn: Yes. I have two brothers and one sister. J Kim is my only sister. She’s very protective of me. She’s my right arm. She’s someone I love to hang out with. I enjoy her company. Like she said earlier, we have that Rah, Rah thing because we both are Leo’s. And everybody fights for the spotlight. I’m willing to share and show of with it because I know what I got. When I go home, I can write a song about it and I’m cool. And I’m comfortable with that. One of my brothers name is Eddie – he lives in Jersey City and a brother named Ronald – who lives in North Carolina.
I’ve been married to the same man, the love of my life Leonard for 27 years. My nickname for him is Dougie. Dougie is a sweet name I gave him. I don’t have any children with my husband but he has two children from a prior relationship. . Leonard Jr. who is an electrician and a DJ. And my daughter Princess Jamieli. She is a backup singer for Tina Stewart. Tina Stewart is an artist in Jamaica. I did a collaboration with my cousin “ORYAN”. ORYAN is the first Muslim rapper out of Boston. My father passed away but my mom Joyce is still alive and she lives in New Jersey with J-Kim. We all live near each other. I actually wrote a song for my mom when she was going through breast cancer. It’s an emotional song. It really touched my heart as well as everyone else heart who heard my song.
SKII: Where have you performed as a singer?
V Dawn: My first show was in “Café Z” in Union New Jersey. It was awesome. That was in July of 2014. Then I performed at a place called “Club DeClassico Lounge” in Paterson New Jersey. I performed a song called: “Stronger” with a young man whose a rapper and a producer for plays. His name is “Unchained”. Unchained did the rap on my song and it was great. had a good response from the crowd. I must say I enjoy writing and doing production work more than singing. But singing is a passion I want to fulfill. Every song you’ve heard, I wrote. I have written a lot of songs and I can remember the very first song I ever wrote. The name of that song was called; “Feel better.” It relates to making someone feel calm and at ease when they are depressed or sick. The latest song I have written is called; “Here We Are”. It deals with the death at the hands of the police. This song touches people hearts also. It answer questions that goes on inside of you. Through writing songs is how I bring out what bothers me. It helps me heal.
I wrote a song called; “Then There Was You”. I wrote that song for my husband. There’s another song called; “The Sacred Place”. I wrote this song 9 years ago but I just produced it recently. I couldn’t find a rhythm for this song until one day, my Rastafari friend called me and said… I have a great rhythm for your song “The Sacred Place”. He then said, the music was produced by Mellow Mood. Mellow Mood are two twins who are French Rastafari people. I heard the rhythm and It just suited the song perfectly.
SKII: Do you perform with a live band or is it recorded in a studio?
V Dawn: I don’t perform with a live band. I work in a studio called “Rhythms”. That is where I record all of my songs. I write my songs and someone or I put the music to it. And then I go into the studio to record. My DJ Howie Hagos. works for “Hot Live Radio”. Whatever song I produce, he plays for me. We’ve known each other since high school, but we’ve been working with each other for a year and a half. Howie Hagos also did some work for “Kentucky Reid Radio” as well. I do a lot of Voice Over work as well for Howie radio station.
SKII: What motivates you to keep singing and writing songs?
V Dawn: A lot of time, it’s just the music itself. The energy that I bring to it and what it brings to me. I’m inspired by people like you, SKII Magazine. You listened to my songs and you wanted to write about me in your magazine. You wanted to expose me to the world. I’m inspired about people who listen to my songs and give me feed back whether positive or negative. They are honest with me. I look forward to hearing what people think about the music I produce and the songs I write. That’s what motivates me.
SKII: What’s your goals in life?
V Dawn: I want to make money. I want to live well. I want to be an example for people that are coming up. I want them to possibly follow me because I’m about positive things. I think in my music, those are the kind of things that I bring to people. Everyone is not going to feel my music the way I do but hopefully someone would get the message. It’s a message that has faith behind it. It’s a message to let you know that something good is going on in the world. I inspire to be the best artist I can be. I will because I won’t let anyone stop me.
SKII: Who inspires you the most?
V Dawn: In terms of artists, I love Joyce Simms. I also love the way Rochelle Farrell sings. Rochelle Farrell sung a song on You Tube called “With Open Arms”. The way she does her voice; the different facial expressions she makes and the different things she brings to make her sound come out , is an inspiration in itself. Just watching her amazes me. She’s an amazing Jazz singer and a pianist. She’s awesome. Rochelle’s voice and Al Jarreau voices are similar. I think she followed his technique.
SKII: Where have you worked before working as a nurse?
V Dawn: I do have an infinity for different languages. I worked at an airport and I learned to speak different languages (In greetings mostly) to people coming and going from the airport. I speak a little Polish and I learned to speak a little Hindi and other languages like that. When I greet the people at the airport, sometimes they are surprised to hear their language coming out of my mouth. Let’s say someone from Europe is speaking to me and they are speaking to me in the Polish language, I start speaking to them in Polish also (V Dawn laughs). The look on their faces. They are really surprised by me. It was a lot of fun. I used to work at the airport during the “911 World trade center incident.” We were big on checking people bags and making sure they were not terrorists. So, I learned those languages to be able to communicate with them. We checked their names to make sure they were on the list and that they were not carrying things they should not be carrying. And basically , we believed in keeping people safe. I worked at Atlantic Airlines and Airways. They are awesome companies. The job was great.
SKII: Tell me something no one knows about you?
V Dawn: I’m shy sometimes and sometimes that would interfere with my performances as a singer. I try to break out of that and it’s working . I would see homeless people on the streets and they ask me for money to buy food. I will take them to a restaurant and lay money on the counter and tell the person to order what they want to eat. I would sometimes give a stranger a ride. I know I shouldn’t but I do. For example; If I see someone with grocery bags, I would offer them a ride to their home. I’m compassionate like that. That’s the nurse inside of me. I owe it all to my mother. She raised us right. She raised us to love people and to care about their needs. It’s important to me that if I see someone suffering and if I can help them, I will. I don’t always do it but when I do, I can see that the person is benefitting from it. I think GOD sends them to us. It’s like I’m in a place at the right time and I am doing this for that person.
SKII: What’s next for V Dawn?
V Dawn: Next for V Dawn is to really get her music out there. Everyone is like, put it out. Put that song out. But there is something in me that want to hold on to it. I’m going to hold onto it until I feel that it’s the right time to do it and it’s at the right place for it. I want things to be great because it represents me. And that’s what next. Putting more of my songs in a place and in a package that represents me for who I am. You can find my music on VDawnMusic.com which is my webpage and I also have a Face Book account; V Dawn. You can hear my music on Sound Cloud. Google V Dawn and you will find my music there.
SKII: What would you tell a younger you?
V Dawn: I would tell a younger Vanessa to never stop. Don’t stop doing what you want to do. There are some people that may come along and discourage you but don’t let that stop you. Keep it going. It’s what you want and it’s what you love. Hold onto your dreams. When you put yourself into stuff, it’s got to pay off. It will pay off.
V Dawn has been singing all her life but she just recently became serious about a career in music two years ago. She’s a singer, songwriter and a producer whose been hitting the radio stations like a storm. She’s V Dawn. A Butterfly whose wings flew her to a New Day.
