A Los Angeles transplant by way of St. Petersburg, FL, Tiffany has always been talented. From singing in church choirs to school talent shows, this musician’s passion and confidence shine through effortlessly. However, the two didn’t always align toward success. Continue reading to learn how Tiffany’s journey has helped evolve her into TIFFVNY, the artist we love today.

“Music has been my baby for as long as I have existed. I might have actually come out of the womb singing or humming or something of the sorts. I grew up in church- I was one of those girls. I sang at every opportunity I had in the choir and school talent shows, and I learned how to play different instruments. My parents also enrolled me in a performing arts school growing up. I have continued to sing and work with music in so many different capacities since then. Now, I’m a songwriter, a producer; I’m doing work both in front of the camera and behind it.” 

Unable to hide the hints of the South in her voice, Tiffvny likens her sound to the works of K. Michelle and Alicia Keys (and she can play the instruments to back it up); sharing that her new goal for instrumentation is to be able to play the piano and the guitar at the same time in one set- all while singing. There doesn’t seem to be much that Tiffvny can’t do. Zooming in on her behind-the-scenes work, Tiffvny is hard at work from start to debut.

“I write my own songs and produce my own videos. I started out doing everything. Let me be the first to say that being the one to do every aspect is really tough and it is not recommended. I think every artist, independent or not, should have a team of people to help them do all of the behind the scenes work. Honestly, everyone needs a team of people who believe in them to keep them going and to work on what’s next. One thing I don't do is make the beats, I work with producers consistently who make beats. While I’ve made beats in the past, I found out that it’s not something I have enough patience for. I realized that by the time I’m putting words to the beat, I'm tired of hearing the beat. I need there to be a separation so I can focus in the studio. Like most artists, I have a method to making my music. When it comes to making a song, I’ll know my favorite beat when I start humming it and I go from there. I put my phone on record or I’ll write down words as I listen to the beat. Sometimes I catch myself singing, sometimes I might freestyle. Usually, it's the whole song and I freestyle it without messing up because I'm making it up as I go. Then, I take what I just created and I fix lyrics that don’t make sense or I change up the rhymes until the whole song flows better. After that, I go to the studio, record it and make a music video for it, and boom: all done. It’s not as easy as I just made it sound, but I found that doing it my way has helped me create the music that matters to me. However, I don’t always choose to do it on my own. Most of my music videos ARE where I love to have a lot of participation from my friends and family, I invite everybody! I naturally surround myself with people who are creative in ways that are similar to me but also people whose creativity shows up differently. For example, I have people who are in corporate and they’re passionate about it! I invite them to help on set because I know I need someone who’s a bit more organized. Those friends come on set with me and act as stage managers by keeping us on time. Even though that's not what their job title is, or what they actually do day to day, I think it’s great to bring people I care about along my journey, but to let them have an outlet to be creative in their own way- even if our definitions aren’t the same. I think it's cool to share what I’m working on and really cool of my friends to want to be part of it. And I have other friends who truly inspire me to keep going because I’m able to be part of their journeys! For example, I love a lowkey artist! Like Iyla, she’s an independent artist. She creatively produces her music videos and I absolutely love it. I like watching her visuals and I can tell that she's putting a lot of work behind it to get to where she wants to go. Another person is NR; we actually grew up together and he is so talented. We are friends, but I still look to him a lot to stay inspired because he's been making music for a little bit longer than I have. It’s also cool to say I can actually attest to someone’s growth and journey, even cooler that we come from the same place. I love being able to let him know that the work he’s doing pushes me to get up and keep going as well. I’m inspired by other artists too! Nao, Tinashe, Summer Walker, SZA, Jhené Aiko, and Sabrina Claudio are just a few big name artists that inspire me. I love whimsical voices so it keeps me where I want to be. Outside of other people's music though, I listen to a lot of my own music. I have a lot of music recorded or written that I haven’t released yet because I need it. I hold onto them and use them as the way to get my feelings out and then they inspire me to make other songs. Like my new songs More or FWM. I directed it, I helped to film it. I wrote the song. I played the instrumentals, I even did some acting! I’m excited about how it all turned out.”

Unfortunately, it can’t always be about the music. Tiffvny has learned how to elevate through her passion and her priorities by working as an Execution Specialist via The Digital Jane. Working and pursuing passion is no easy feat, but this creative has found the balance that works for her. 

“We are a lit girl-crew who gets the job done. It is very structured over there on that side. There are a lot of due dates, you have to pay attention to every aspect of the work because we pride ourselves on excellence. That message was very important to me because I strive to reach excellence in my music and my personal life so working in an environment that exudes that is crucial for me; it tailors me to make better decisions. It can be tough as a creative person at times though. My creative side always wants to get back to the music, but I think that’s normal. The truth is that my passion takes money and as an independent artist, I have to do what it takes outside of my passion before I start to focus on my passion. I’ve been blessed to work virtually- it allows me to take opportunities as an artist. If I want to perform on a certain date, this is the type of job where I can take off that day for the performance and all the prep work rather than having to go to work, rush home to get dressed, and then perform. So, I will do both until I can get to where I want to go. Then when it comes to working and making music, there's going to be a lot of things to do. It just comes with the territory. You just suck it up and tell yourself, ‘Yeah, you had a thousand things to do yesterday and you also have a thousand things to do today’. I like to do both- I’ve always been a hard worker. I think the subject matter is important. I’ve worked jobs I hated and it made doing both even harder and even when it’s a job you love, you might wish you were doing something else. You have to be able to tell yourself that you will do what you need to do right now so that you can do more of what you want to do in the future. It takes a lot of forward thinking and patience. When I’m able to work on music, I try not to rush myself any more. Just leave it there and get back to it after you work—which was hard at first, but it’s gotten easier over time. I’m also having fun doing both so I don’t know if I will ever fully reach the level I want, but I’m okay with that. I’m getting closer and closer to my dreams, and it’s been great!” Naturally, the question is begging to be asked: what skills and characteristics have helped this independent artist rise in her music career? 

“Life has taught me that things don't always happen in the timing that you plan because you don't know everything that’s supposed to come next. It’s even taught me how to change my goal setting. Now I make the goal, break the goal down to digestible parts, and do what it takes to reach the goal. Then, make another goal. I really had to learn to keep making goals and stop worrying. Being where you want to be is NOT the goal. It’s the journey—the journey is the goal. I had to stop looking at life like it was a time clock. I think life has shown me that I need to slow it down and that the best things come from authentic situations. So that's been my life and I’ve transferred it to my music career. The music that's been the most authentic, reached the most people, and has done the best are the pieces I didn't rush. Through that mindset change, I’ve also appreciated my own work enough to say that my shit is good. I have to say it to myself and I say it to my friends. I think we don't hear it enough that someone thinks we’re doing a good job. That's all it takes for someone to keep going sometimes. Realizing that has made me a more compassionate person. I give a lot of compliments and I say what's on my mind even more. Because I changed my mindset and learned other lessons, I've learned that I need to tell my friends when I think their work is great, or I give them honest feedback when they ask for it. That’s what pushes everyone to keep going or to try harder. Sometimes you have to suck at something before you decide that this is what you want to become great at. I don't think I ever sucked, but I think that every year, I elevate what I did before and I don’t second-guess my past work. So if I thought it was good enough to put out, and this next thing that I did is so much better, that means that I'm getting better.”

You can find Tiffvny’s on the following platforms:

Website: www.tiffvny.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVzLat6-UXCiGBtDpgs0VHA/about

Instagram: @tiffvny_xo