Songstress Of The Summer Brenzy Brings More Than “Brunch” To The Table
Brenzy’s love and appreciation for music began early on in her youth, inspired by band parents and family. Eventually, she became a big fish in a small pond. The Virginia bred artist made her way to Los Angeles at just 15. Since then, the R&B/Pop singer-songwriter has been killing the game! With soulful and playful vocals combined with seamless lyrics, her music reaches deep into her audience with elements of nostalgia, longing, and the fun that life has to offer. Brenzy’s music is perfect for every season of the year. But pair her music with your vacation days beachside and you’ve got yourself transported to a movie! Continue reading below to learn about her journey and your new summer anthem “brunch.”
Han: Coming here at 15, I'm sure that must’ve been pretty daunting. But like you mentioned before, you first started getting into music when you were 11 or 12. What was the thing that first got you into music? Was it just a hobby that just grew into a lifelong passion?
Brenzy: My parents were actually in bands together when I was younger. They weren't pursuing a career in it or anything, but they just loved music and they had fun doing it with some neighborhood friends. And yeah, all of the practices and jam sessions were held in our basement. That was from the time I was like two years old till I was maybe like 9 or 10. So I was surrounded by it for a really long time and my oldest brother was also in bands.
Han: Fast forward to when you were 15, what was moving to L.A. like? What led to that decision?
Brenzy: Yeah. So I started performing my own music and some covers just around where I grew up in Virginia, kind of the D.C. area and you know, like New York, Philly, just up and down the East Coast. Eventually, I just became a very, very big fish in a very small pond. And I kind of exhausted everything that I could have done as an artist where I was from.
There were also some people in L.A. who wanted to work with me and my parents and I were like, all right, we can just go out to L.A. for the summer and we'll see how it goes and just kind of take things from there. And then I was in the studio like every day and I made so many friends that were my age just because of where I lived. It was kind of like I found a life that I never knew that I could have. And I found my people. I found, just like, where I belonged.
Han: What's your experience been being independent too and working on your own music too?
Brenzy: More than anything, it's just all about work ethic. There are a lot of hats that you have to wear and way more things that you have to juggle as an independent. If you had a label behind you, they would be pushing different things separately from the art, like marketing and rollouts and things like that.
If anything, it's really just taught me how intricate the whole process is of developing an artist, becoming an artist, pushing out and promoting an artist. I definitely feel like I've accomplished more personally because I've done more in my career while wearing those hats. it's a lot of work, but it's it's worth it in the end.
Han: Your discography and the songwriting in your songs are all so unique and on so many diverse topics! And your song “Nasty” received over 190,000 streams on Spotify! What did this achievement feel like?
Brenzy: It was crazy because it was the first song I had released and I was not expecting it to do that well. It just feels amazing, knowing that I wrote a song that makes people feel something, whether it's like, feel good, feel like they want to move or they want to dance, or they feel like they relate to the lyrics or the concept. It was just a really amazing feeling watching those numbers climb. Like, people are really listening to and liking my music! It was just really, really, really cool.
Han: Who do you look up to in the music industry right now?
Brenzy: There are so many people I could say, my goodness, but I would say any woman that is in music production, because that is a primarily male-dominated field in music. And it's really hard to break into those male dominated spaces as a woman in the music industry, period, let alone have respect in those areas.
I think Victoria Monet is just such a prime example of being a woman that goes above and beyond and it's not to prove herself or anything, but it's because she really loves it and because she's really, really talented at it. I just think she's an incredible vocal producer, songwriter, lyricist, and she is also independent and she works super hard. I feel like her creative vision is always so consistent and it's unique every time she releases something new. I respect her as not only an artist but as a woman in the business. So yeah, I love her.
Han: How do you prepare for live shows? Do you have any favorite venues?
Brenzy: I wouldn't say I have any favorite or least favorite venues. I feel like every room comes with its own energy, and as an artist, I feel like it's our job to pull from those energies and kind of cater to it. And I think it's a fun challenge, and it's also fun just to experience different rooms and venues and things like that.
But prep work, I would just say it's just practice, practice, practice, practice. It's all about just being comfortable enough with the songs and the vocals and the lyrics and the performance aspects so that I can enjoy my time up there and not be too in my head about how I sound or if I'm singing the right words and stuff like that. It's all about practicing so I can be present in the moment.
Han: Do you have any advice for newer artists who are starting live shows?
Brenzy: If anything, I would just say try to connect with your audience, because 9.99 times out of 10 the audience members are rooting for you. So it's not like you're standing in front of a bunch of people that are just ready to judge you and criticize you and, you know, think horrible things or say horrible things about you. They want you to win. They're there to see you, there to experience art and the creative energy that you have to offer and just connect with them as a human being.
Don't put yourself up there as like an idol or, you know, a figure that can't be touched. You're sharing your gift and your craft and your art with people, which is the whole purpose of it. It helps to go up there and be like, we're all human, we're all kind of experiencing the same ups and downs in life. You're just there to share your gift. That's all you're there for.
Han: What's your favorite song that you've created or performed?
Brenzy: I would definitely say the most recent song that I've released, “brunch.” I've only performed it once but it seemed like everybody was really into the vibe. It's very light-hearted. It's very fun. It's a nice vibe. From my experience performing it, it seemed like the song that everybody was the most in tune with and they were really enjoying it. And it was also such a fun song to write. We went into the room and we were like, let's just make something fun and simple.
And we're like, okay, let's do it. And then that song came out of it. And yeah, I feel like overall that's been the song that definitely feels like me and the audience, rather than just me singing to the audience, if that makes sense.
Han: Did you face any challenges as a new artist when you first began?
Brenzy: 100%. And I still do. I am. I'm still not at a super high caliber. But at any any stage in your artistry, there are challenges when you're first starting off. I would say for me, at least as a woman in the industry, I'd say the biggest problem was being taken seriously because I like to be involved in every element of my creative process and I like to be involved in the songwriting. I like to have a say in the production of songs and videos and things like that. And when you're not at a super high caliber where it's like you have this power, you know, a lot of people don't want to listen to you.
And I think a lot of starting out as an artist is really just staying true to who you are and being aware of your strengths and your weaknesses and really staying strong in your strengths and pushing those forward and growing within your weaknesses. Being honest with yourself about where your weaknesses are, things like that, and they're whatever level you're at in your artistry. There's a certain amount of external struggles and internal struggles, and a lot of the internal struggles throughout this whole journey for me has just been like, keeping it going, I think being consistent and just moving forward when things get tough or stagnant and yeah, that's pretty much it.