Her voice is angelic. Her drive is unstoppable. Her love for music is admirable and her lyrics are amazing. Daryn Alexus, 21, music business major, is purely an inspiration.
“I know it’s cliché,” says Alexus. “I just want to inspire people.”
Just a year ago Alexus was shy and insecure about her hair, height and body type.
“When I look at someone like Beyonce, I see how powerful she is as a woman. She inspired me to come out of my shell,” says Alexus. “I want to be able to do what Beyonce did for me to other people.”
At a very young age she picked up her keen motivation to sing from her aunt who would sing all of Whitney Houston’s songs.
“Her voice was insane and I always want to be like her,” says Alexus, who has been singing ever since.
She grew up in Washington D.C. where she attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts to study voice. She auditioned for musicals when she was younger like the Lion King and Hairspray. She even dabbled in modeling, but had no intention on ever becoming one.
Now Alexus has already started on her second EP, Vintage Heart. Modern Love. The inspiration for the EP came from her just browsing through arts and culture photography books at the library. It has a lot to with the difference between love years ago–where marriage was a bond for life and “death do us part” was taken seriously–and love now.
“In this day and age of living love isn’t cool anymore,” says Alexus. “If you look at your grandparents, they’ve been married since they were teens. Do they argue? Do they fight? Of course. But they’re still together at the end of the day.”
Alexus began writing songs a year and a half ago. She took a course in creative non-fiction to help better her writing abilities. She understood the beauty and power behind words and how to use them to inspire.
“Not everyone knows how to put it in song form, but when you find that one song that’s exactly how you feel, it feels awesome,” says Alexus. “I want to be able to do that for people.”
After she graduates from Columbia College Alexus just wants to focus 100% on music.
“I don’t have a specific plan. I want music to be my only focus,” she says. “I’m not dealing with record label crap. I probably wouldn’t like the idea of answering to a label that’s telling you what to sing, what to write about and how to look because that totally defeats the purpose of being an artist.”
Check out Alexus’s latest EP Vintage Heart. Modern Love. here!