This week, we had the pleasure of meeting one of our favorite up and coming artists Rozzi Crane. At 20-years-old she has already been on tour with The Eagles legend Don Henley, and she spent her last summer traveling through Europe while touring with Sergio Mendes. Her soulful voice also caught the attention of celebrities such as Zooey Deschanel and more recently, Adam Levine, who signed her as the first artist to represent his new record label, 222 Records.
J Brand: When did you first decide that you had a talent for singing and music?
Rozzi: It’s funny because I’m pretty sure I decided to be a singer way before I could actually sing. So I was six, and I was like this is what I’m going to be, but I don’t think anybody else really took me seriously at all until I was 12 or 13, and I don’t blame them. I’ve heard some recordings of myself when I was younger, and I wasn’t one of those child prodigies, I wasn’t a good singer, I mean I could carry a tune but I wasn’t… I think I thought I was a lot better than I was! (laughs) But I think there is kind of something real about deciding to be something and then figuring out how to be it later. And I didn’t realize I was doing that, but at six I was like, ‘Yea I’ll be a singer!’
J Brand: When did you realize that it could actually be possible for you to turn it into a career?
Rozzi: The thing is, I really was so serious, that I believed it before it even made sense. That really is just the case, for some reason I was just so young and I didn’t think that I had a choice. I do have a really specific memory—my mom took me to a Madonna concert when I was nine.
J Brand: Your mom sounds awesome!
Rozzi: (laughs) Yea she’s so into music, I mean my mom introduced me to so much music, and we both love Madonna. Madonna’s charisma on stage is just so insane, and I just remember watching her and having this overwhelming feeling…I think it was the first time I really saw what a career in singing could be on that level. That Madonna concert was just mind-blowing.
J Brand: Can you tell us the story of how you started working with Adam Levine?
Rozzi: That has been insane. I was writing songs with these musicians in Los Angeles, Jacques Brautbar and Sam Farrar. We’d write these songs, and I’d record the demos, and Adam heard one of the songs. And I think Adam did some YouTube stalking and saw some of my videos or something before he reached out to me and offered me this record deal, which is ridiculous (laughs). Of course I was so flattered and shocked.
J Brand: Were you just completely floored?
Rozzi: I was just so humbled by it, it was just insane, and we spoke and we got along really well, really fast. We found out we had a lot of the same taste in music and I really liked his ideas. Yea, and it was easy, really.
J Brand: And he’s starting his own label?
Rozzi: Yea, 222 Records.
J Brand: And you’re the first to be signed?
Rozzi: Yea, I’m the first.
J Brand: Wow, that’s so cool to be his first person!
Rozzi: Yea it’s awesome, and I’m really just so excited to work with him specifically, because he really is just such a good person, really smart…but we’re still in the very beginning stages of everything. We’re in the writing process. Hopefully we’ll release something this summer.
J Brand: You have amazing style, how do you choose what you wear during your performances? What are your inspirations?
Rozzi: I usually want to look as much like myself as possible when I’m on stage, whatever that means that day. So I want to feel good and feel comfortable on stage, but that also usually means some kind of a risk. I really like to do something that makes me even a little bit uncomfortable, just because it’s more exciting. I love the way Rihanna dresses, I just think she is one of the most fashionable ladies in the world right now, but she takes some risks that I could never pull off.
After a great breakfast and talk for over two hours, it’s clear that Rozzi Crane has a great future ahead of her. We’re very excited for her and we can’t wait to go to her next performance and cheer her on!
To get a similar J Brand style to Rozzi’s, click HERE
For more of her music, click HERE