that's awesome JoJo!!! go girrrrrrrl! you have to pay to read it but I'm sure it was fabulous because YOU are fabulous : ) : ) I'm in L.A. but I'll stay in touch with my sister from another mother ; ) oxox ~jennie
 

Artist creates voice of her own
Singer says her R&B style goes against the grain of current trends
By NICHOLAS DAVIS, TORONTO SUN

Going against the grain takes courage in today's copycat society.

It's easier to go with the flow and just fit in, instead of taking the road less travelled. But for Toronto singer Joni NehRita, the road less travelled is marked with her footprints.

NehRita spent her formative years as an only child living with her single mom in Thornhill. NehRita loved music. Before she could even walk, NehRita could be seen dancing in her walker while watching Soul Train on television.

"My love of music comes from my mother who doesn't play an instrument and can't sing well, but had music on all the time," says NehRita. "And although we never had a lot of money when I was a little girl, she bought me a Casio keyboard and a songbook.

"I thought it was the most beautiful sounding instrument. It was harmonic and rhythmic and I just wanted to learn how to play it. So I taught myself."

NehRita eventually started singing and performing at church and school. It became all she wanted to do.

"I loved the way music made me feel," says NehRita, who also teaches piano and voice lessons. "I loved the emotion in music, from happy songs that made me feel good inside to sad songs that made me want to cry. I always appreciated those dynamics in a song, even as a child."

When NehRita was in high school she was already writing her own songs and honing her craft as a singer when her life took an unexpected turn.

"My mother decided to move to the United States," says NehRita who was 16 years old at the time. "She was planning on getting married. I decided to stick it out in Toronto.

"I bounced around friends' places for a bit, but after a while it got tough. So I reluctantly went to live with my dad in Rexdale."

Living with her dad wasn't an easy decision. NehRita had already immersed herself in her plans to become a musician, a decision her father never supported. "My dad is your typical Jamaican father," says NehRita. "He wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer and he thought music was a waste of time. So he didn't encourage me much in that direction."

So, NehRita took her father's advice and went to York University where she studied history and political science. After her first year, NehRita realized she made a mistake. "I didn't do too well in university," remembers NehRita. "At the time I was also doing music courses in the night. Those marks were great.

"So I applied to get into Humber's jazz program. I didn't hold out much hope. Here I was, this self-taught musician competing against trained musicians for a spot in the program. But to my surprise I was accepted, and that meant something to me. It gave me the fuel to continue pursuing my passion."

In pursuit of her passion, NehRita was selected for the first season of Canadian Idol. She made the Top-30 before being eliminated and says she enjoyed the experience.

"Canadian Idol was fun," says the R&B singer. "I had a chance to be on TV and met people from across the country, and it hipped me to the politics of the music game."

But NehRita's not hip to playing those political games. She refuses to sing what's considered contemporary R&B, the kind you mostly hear on urban music stations. Instead, she plans on going against the grain to make music she likes.

"I want to be an alternative to some of the urban music out there now," says NehRita, who has been compared to Sade and Corinne Bailey Rae. "Music now is geared towards consumerism and sexualization. My music is about real life and is from a very spiritual place."

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NehRita's debut album, A Fine Time, is available at cdbaby.com/joninehrita. Her CD release party is April 15 at Hugh's Room, 226 Dundas St.