URBAN LATINO RADIO Interview

Host Joe Shock Lopez & Singer Jasmine Clemente

Tonight I felt the love! As I spoke on air at URBAN LATINO RADIO, a good amount of people logged onto the chat room and listened in to my interview on the "Back To The Beat" show hosted by Joe Shock Lopez.

Lopez played both of my singles, "TIME" produced by Anthony K & Antonio Ocasio, and "FREE MY SPIRIT" produced by Franke Estevez. The feedback was awesome! People tuned in and complimented my music in the chat room which was a great thing to see. I also dropped a little acapella, giving the audience a chance to voice their opinion on what kind of lyrics they'd like to hear. I asked, "Let's ask the audience members if they'd like to hear a song about a lovers quarrel, or another positive joint to keep the  good vibrations flowing." Someone typed, "Positive". And another typed, "Bring it! Let's hear both!" Since we were running out of time, I sang a verse to a positive song since the majority ruled, and needless to say... The show ended off on a positive note!

Press play below, and fast forward after the first hour to hear my interview!

PHILADELPHIA PERFORMANCE

Event Coordinator Chris Moore & Singer Jasmine Clemente

Last week on Saturday, December 3rd, I was a featured act for a NATIVE SOUL AMBASSADORS Party held at The Arts Garage in Pennsylvania's funky town, Philadelphia. The event coordinator, Chris Moore, had asked me to come down to perform my single, "Free My Spirit", and boy did I do just that!

The stage was amazing! Behind me were large projector screens shuffling vibrant nature clips to enhance the vibe of my presence. And the audience members - Love 'em! A crowd of curious onlookers surrounded the stage at all four corners with their cameras and phones held up, making me just a little nervous because it was my first time performing out of state. And shit, I was representing NEW YORK! So you know I had to bring my A - Game!

Well at first, I can't lie... The butterflies fluttered in my belly. I felt each one flapping its wings as the frequency within me fluctuated up & down; my nerves jittering. But just like most of the time, eventually something snapped in my head. "Uh... Hello... You're a singer with a record out and you can blow the house down. So DO IT!" And that's when I started singing like it was nobody's business! I sought, conquered, and came alive.. Yes, it was a great house party!

PLACES TO VISIT

Since life is short, I am making plans to take a trip somewhere this summer. Of course I'd like to get rich from my music career first, however, instead of waiting for a huge, lump sum of money to manifest, I think I'll go ahead and make plans to enjoy certain things in life. You see, the thing is... maybe when I visit certain places, it may lead me to meeting someone that can actually help my career, or maybe it won't. But the point is, life is meant to be enjoyed, so why wait?

Venice, ITALY

Venice, ITALY

There are 2 places in particular that I've always wanted to visit. One of them is Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA, and the other one is Venice, ITALY. Therefore, today... just for the fun of it, I'm going to post pictures on my blog to create a vision board. I hope I inspire some of you guys to try this as well! Sky's the limit!

Writing Coaches

Just when I thought that I was almost finished writing my novel, a mentor of mine named Susan Shapiro, told me to get a writing coach. At first, Shapiro was checking my work in a writing class that I attended at The New School for free (courtesy of Shapiro which she doesn't extend to everyone), but due to her being overwhelmed with tons of students papers to grade, I ended up hiring a personal writing coach named Michelle Herrera Mulligan (Editor of the Anthology Juicy Mangos and former editor of Latina Magazine) after taking Shapiro's advice.

Michelle Herrera Mulligan & Jasmine Clemente

Working with a personal writing coach is extremely effective because they focus all of their attention on your project instead of dividing their attention with many. Although joining classes are fun and helpful too, the personal writing coach will give you more constructive criticism, become more engaged in your story, give you extra ideas on how to be more imaginative, brainstorm with you, help your story flow from one chapter to the next, give you a readers perspective, and of course, they edit!  

The universe will provide the right people

Since I've began working with Michelle, I've seen major improvements with my story. She loves the drama! And tells me not to doubt myself or leave juicy details out. Just when I think a scene might be too graphic, she tells me, "That's what people want to read! Write more of it!" So with Michelle, I feel confident about allowing my story to unfold without shying away. I mean, if the story is boring for me to write then it'll probably be boring for others to read. Therefore, I become uninhibited when I write, letting all my thoughts spill out like a river flowing. No reason to go against nature if it's art.

On a slightly different note, having a personal writing coach also gives one the opportunity to embrace a new friendship. Not everyone will achieve this due to lifestyles and conflicting schedules - and that's okay, but speaking for myself, I've gained an amazing friend in Michelle, and it's great to attract people who are going in a similar direction and who will share the success.

FEMALE SHOWCASE

A good friend of mine named, Deshai Williams, coordinated and hosted an all female showcase last night in which I was featured in. The show took place in the legendary Sullivan Hall in NYC. After the host began singing at the very beginning of the night, she introduced me as the opening act. At first, as all eyes were on me, I spoke a little about the genre of house music for those in the crowd who haven't yet been put on. Most people are exposed to mainstream pop, R&B and Hip Hop music. Therefore, it was an honor to drop a few jewels about the history of house music which consists of deep, ethnic rhythms tracing back to South Africa, parts of Europe, also infusing Latin flavor; not to mention its popular reputation for usually featuring gospel vocalists, or singers who convey very uplifting song lyrics. Thus, after hypnotizing the room with my brief speech about how inspirational this style of music is to me, I sang a little acapella and then told the DJ, "Drop that beat!" The rest was history... as I performed my latest single, FREE MY SPIRIT. 

Central Park Photo Shoot

Yesterday I did a photo shoot in Central Park. And while I was striking poses in front of the camera, a small band behind me played spiritual music that sounded like a blend of Catholic church choir vocal harmonies infused with Indian drums & rhythms, laced with lyrics created by artist's such as STING, ALANIS MORISSETTE and/or SINEAD O'CONNER. What was even more enlightening was the fact that I happened to be wearing my crucifix necklace, which made me notice even more of a spiritual coincidence. Below are a few photos taken by this awesome photographer named Travis PhotoNerd.

SURPRISE! SURPRISE!

The Coney Island Board Walk in Brooklyn is a historical landmark in New York that I've been dying to perform at, and finally, the opportunity came this past Sunday when I was asked to be a featured guest for a special DJ's birthday - Dat Gurl Curly.

Singing FREE MY SPIRIT on the Coney Island Board Walk

Although there were scattered showers throughout the day, people still partied in the rain as a group of female DJ's including, DJ Dat Gurl Curly, Shelter Girl, and Charo Velecio, played house music inside of one of the wooden huts on the Board Walk. From 12 to 8PM, the crowd freed up their spirits, getting their groove on despite the chilly October weather. All was working out according to plan until it was my time to sing. Something I never expected to happen, happened.

As the crowd gathered closer to me, cheering and amping me on to perform, the wireless microphone I had been singing with had surprisingly shut off! However, I DIDN'T! I kept rocking on like the professional I am, although I couldn't hide the look of shock on my face. Not even seconds after, I laughed it off and continued singing for a crowd of house heads who are all about feeling the spirit! As long as people were jamming to the beat, dancing, and having a good time, I had done my job.

Afterwards, I found out that the cause of the wireless microphone shutting off was due to the battery dying. Well, now I know for next time to prepare for these kinds of things before they happen. In the world of show business, technical difficulties do occur - but a professional knows that the show must GO ON!

*** Special thanks to all of the people who came out in the rain & kept the spirit of joy alive by partying for a special purpose - to celebrate life on Dat Gurl's birthday!