Raemi thank you for taking the time to interview with Nefarious Supply! To get the interview started tell us about your self who is Raemi, where are you from, and what got you started making music?
Thank you guys for having me! I can’t for people to get to know me a little more. So I’m originally from Ontario, Toronto. I moved to Memphis when I was like 5-6 years old and basically grew up there. Moving to a new country at such a young age was definitely a big life change & culture shock for me and my family at the time, so I kinda dove right into being actively involved. I grew up singing in a lot of multi-genre’d choirs. Gospel, choral, opera, a cappella. You name it, I did it. I also did a lot of theatre and just about anything that had music involved in it. Over the years, I’ve always known I was extremely musically inclined. So my background in it has everything to do with why I started making my own.
Raemi is the girl who I’ve dreamt of becoming. If my 10 year old self could meet me now, she’d definitely think I’m the coolest person ever. I actually used to go by “Chelle” and the homies still me that. Around the time of figuring out an artist name for myself, I was also in a season of learning more about me. So I asked my fam to kinda help me find a name no one else would have. I wanted to keep my roots in there, and “Ray” is my family nickname. The “mi” comes from the first two letters of my last name, Mitchell! We were just yelling out names and my brother goes “Raemi!” & I was like, I love that. It’s so unique and it’s a funny coincidence that it sounds like the first 3 notes on the solfège scale. Do re mi :) I love saying that when people ask me how to pronounce my name.
So I see from your profile your based out of Nashville and we’ve actually interviewed a bunch of artist from the area including $avvy, Sully, and Georgie Zaven. What is your experience with the area, hows the underground scene, and how has this area influenced you?
Yeah so I actually just moved to Nashville last year around the end of April! I’m not new to seeing Nashville, but I’m definitely new to living here and adapting to the city’s culture. I’m a very outgoing and all around people person, so my experience making friends and networking out here has been pretty great. The underground scene is very unique to say the least. I haven’t been a part of it that long, but Nashville definitely has that star quality coming out of a lot of artists. Friends included. Living in a city where music is so valued and being around people who appreciate and love it as much as I do have only influenced me to do more with my artistry. The creative atmosphere is dope, and I’m lucky I get to be in spaces that allow me to explore that.
In addition to you location what artists have been a big influence on you, and what songs and albums are currently in your rotation?
Brandy, Bob Marley, and Lauryn Hill have had a big influence on me growing up. I’m also Jamaican, so my dad would just blast reggae throughout the house everyday. Over the last year or so, I’ve become such a big fan of H.E.R. I absolutely love the way she writes and arranges her music. I love that she’s multitalented and keeps a strong family based team around her. I feel like I resonate because I kinda see a little bit of myself in her, so she’s always in the rotation. Lately I’ve been bumping a lot of Tems, Vince Staples, rum.gold, and Madison Ryan Ward. All amazing artists.
What’s your favorite thing about being an artist, and for some newer artists looking to get started what’s the biggest piece of advice you would give them?
My favorite thing about being an artist is that I have the freedom to unapologetically be myself and do whatever I want creatively. I cherish that there’s so much room to improve in this industry. I learn something new everyday! For the people just getting started, all I’d say is be willing to learn. Stay patient and genuine, support your friends, and remember why you started. It’s so crucial to believe in yourself and your abilities, but also keep the people who believe in you just as much around. Encouragement really goes a long way.
You have two songs out right now “Don’t Know Her,” and “Darlin” tell us about both including what inspired each, how the production came together, what was your favorite part of making both?
So “Don’t Know Her” was the first single I out put out last year and I actually wrote it as a poem at first. It was a few weeks after I moved, and I was out by myself exploring. Sat outside somewhere downtown, and journaled for a long time. It was so pretty outside and I probably stared at the clouds for a good 10 minutes and that’s when the words hit me. At the time, a lot of changes were happening in my life. I was evolving into this new and better version of myself, so I poured all of those emotions into a poem. Melodies just kinda come to me in my head, and somehow the next day I’m re-writing the whole thing into a song. My friend Reese produces and I had sent him a demo of me singing a little bit of it, and he was like “This is amazing. We gotta track this” so he came into town for a session I had and magic was made.
“Darlin” happened by fluke. I had a session with a Reese, and I walked into him and my other homie who does Afro beats making this super dope track. I look at Reese and go “I have a song for this beat. Let’s record it” I had written a hook with my friend a few months back and didn’t have any production to it so I just left it alone. After hearing what they made, I whipped out my notes and started singing different melodies I thought would work with the hook. Wrote the whole thing and finished it that night, then a few months later I released it! It’s definitely my favorite song of mine so far. I wanted to branch out and do something that reflected my culture, so releasing a song under Afropop R&B was really cool. I plan to do a lot more with that sound. My favorite part about making both was seeing the vision really come to life.
It’s a new year what are your top three goals for 2022, and what are your long term goals for your career?
My top 3 goals for this year are to get a major songwriting placement, release and album, and have my music played on TV. I know all of those things are attainable, so I’m just excited to see how it all plays out! Long term dream goals would definitely be to get signed as a songwriter for a major publishing company and tour with a major artist as their background vocalist. I love the idea of support someone’s vocals with pretty harmonies. I also just really wanna travel and get the full the tour experience.
Any last words?
Thanks for taking the time out to get to know me. You’ll be seeing a lot more of Raemi, so buckle up 🤎