![]() So actually it’s the people who I have worked with in the past who have a big influence on my music. I have traveled to The Netherlands, UK, and the US to record with producers from those countries. Nao Yoshioka: I do not feel my music is really influenced by or can be described by a certain city or country. Was that influenced by the vibrancy of Japan while you were there, or are is your sound solely NYC? Whether it’s sensual with “I Love When” or playing it cool with “Spark,” your sound has innate…as the kids say, soulful swag. Kendra: One truth is that you’ve got a real groove to every song we’ve heard thus far from the record. We are currently living in a very complicated world where there is so much information that tends to cloud our own thinking which causes us not to be true to our own feelings sometimes. Nao Yoshioka: People should definitely be truthful about their feelings. Kendra: Really quick, what is the one thing people should always be truthful about? That’s the one “truth” that I have learned from my experience meeting other artists and performing around the world. ![]() I do see a lot of news about racial problems but music taught me that there are no borders or divisions among us. That night the music united us all as one. Even though we speak different languages or are of different races when it comes to music we’re all the same…just humans. There were no borders or barriers, there was just music. When we started to play, there was a moment where we all just felt the music. What really made me feel great was that the audience was so mixed race-wise. King Blues Club & Grill in New York for The Light. The inspiration came from my release party at B.B. The US release of my debut album The Light in 2015 brought me so many new experiences and gave me the inspiration for my upcoming album The Truth. I was able to overcome my insecurities and really started to enjoy music more than before. For me to record an album and perform on stage has been amazing therapy that has changed me a lot. Nao Yoshioka: Since 2015 I have grown as a person and artist. What personal changes have you had that you feel allowed you to go into your upcoming, The Truth, with a fresh perspective? Kendra: It’s been a minute since your first album dropped in 2015. It was a long road to make that dream come true. The message of “Make the Change” is “We shouldn’t wait for the change, we must make the change.” Releasing my debut single gave me so much confidence and I finally felt proud of myself. Before I sang that I said to the audience, “I hope that a change is going to happen in my life” and this inspired my debut single called “Make the Change”. He came to one of my live shows and during the show, I sang “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. That was a big year for me because I decided to leave New York and return to Japan and it was then that I met my future producer Naoki Yamanouchi. Nao Yoshioka: Before 2012 I was studying music in New York so I didn’t have a day job at that time. Kendra: What changed in 2012 when you decided to drop your debut single and try music as a career instead of just as something to fill the time between a day job? We talked about her start, evolutions and the whole truth of what’s to come. She’ll do even more now with her latest release, The Truth, out September 14th. It wasn’t until she sat and watched Whoopi that things changed and started to fall into place, “I first heard Gospel music when watching Sister Act and was just blown away by the music.“Īt 21 she found herself in New York, spending her free time in churches where she “would just start crying with listening to the music.” Today, she’s moved from an appreciator to a bonafide performer as she’s wowed audiences from the Apollo Theater to Japan’s Super Sonic. While Nao Yoshioka grew up attending church with her grandmother, gospel music wasn’t on the table. Elsewhere, a young Nao Yoshioka was also inspired by the film. All the while wanting nothing more than to have their finale style. My older brother and I would sing along as if we were inner-city kids in need of a music program. The sequel was a constant in my childhood. Photo Credit: ‘90s gave the world so many gifts, one of them being Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Act and Sister Act 2. ![]()
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