Songwriters are the heartbeat of the music industry. With a constantly changing landscape, creators need more guidance when navigating the business. That’s where SESAC comes in. The Performing Rights Organization, which licenses the public performance of more than 1.5 million songs on behalf of its 15,000+ affiliated songwriters, composers, and music publishers, also fosters invaluable relationships between its creatives and artist reps.
Videos by American Songwriter
American Songwriter spoke with SESAC writers Tamara Jade and JimiJame$, along with their artist reps, Vice President, Creative Services & Operations Diana Akin Scarfo and SVP, Head of LA Creative Mario Prins,respectively, to learn about their creative processes, upcoming projects, and SESAC’s support.
TAMARA JADE
Born into a musical family, Tamara Jade has been performing since she was a child. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, Jade grew up singing in church, where her mother was the music director. After attending Oberlin College and Conservatory, she taught special education and followed in her mother’s footsteps, where she also served as music director at church. A birthday trip to New York changed her career trajectory, and she relocated to the Big Apple to pursue a career as an artist. Soon, auditions and gigs with The Voice, Lizzo, and Doja Cat filled her calendar. Jade released her debut EP, Self Aware, in 2019 and will unveil more music this summer.
American Songwriter: Do you remember the first song you wrote?
Tamara Jade: The first song I wrote wasn’t a full song. My mother was the music director at my church for 25 years. She decided that the church choir should do an album. One of the songs was a duet that she and I always did. I remember sitting at the lunch table in middle school, writing out my ad-libs and making them rhyme. I think because I was so excited, nobody told me the truth. But then, when the album finally came out, oh man, my brothers, my friends, they used to make fun of me, and sing it back to me playfully. That was my earliest memory of writing something.
AS: You’ve been affiliated with SESAC since 2019. What’s it like working with them?
TJ: I feel like I’m part of a family that cares about me and not just the product or the things that I do or the things that I can do for them. Diana has given me so many opportunities to be myself. It has never been a thing where it’s like, “OK, if you could tone this down or change this about you.” It’s always been, “We want you to shine, so here are some opportunities that would be good for you,” and every time they’ve been the perfect fit for me.
SESAC has its ear to the ground and is always where we need to be. The writing camp that I did in New York, AntiSocial Camp, is a lot of songwriters and a lot of producers. Every single day, you’re in multiple writing sessions. As a part of their sponsorship, there are SESAC rooms, where all the affiliates, producers, writers, and artists in the room are with SESAC. That week was really, really helpful to me. Again, it’s this family thing. When you have Diana and SESAC attached to you, we don’t have to vet each other as much anymore.
AS: Diana, what made you want to work with Tamara Jade?
Diana Akin Scarfo: The first time that we spoke, I could feel it. First of all, there wasn’t any stopping her. It was finding ways for who she is to shine, and ways to highlight it and support it. The Abe Olman Scholarship through the Songwriters Hall of Fame, she was one of the recipients in 2021. The subsequent year, she performed with Jon Batiste at the Songwriters Hall of Fame and played with him at the GRAMMYs. It all worked out. It wasn’t totally linear, but it never is. It felt like it was going in the right direction the whole time.
AS: When can we expect new music?
TS: This project I’m releasing this summer is a kaleidoscope view into who I am and how I want people to see me. It’s a lot of genre-bending. There’s pop, there’s rap, there’s rock, there’s soul, there’s Afrobeats, there’s Caribbean. Every part of me is represented to introduce you sonically to who I am.
The first single is called “Werq.” and it is about putting the work in. One of my favorite lyrics is: Roll them sleeves up on that shirt / Because a man don’t eat unless he works / Hands and knees down in the dirt / ’Cause the girls don’t eat unless they work. I always want people to be moved more than impressed. I think it’s really easy to impress people in lots of different ways or have a gimmick, but I think it’s the road less traveled to want people to feel something, and that’s the path I’ve chosen. This is going to be an introduction to this phase and this era of that.
JIMIJAME$
JIMIJAME$ is a multi-hyphenate creator. The artist, songwriter, composer, creative director, and producer’s art spans multiple styles and genres, in music, television, film and fashion—The Los Angeles native’s collaborations with her partner and fellow SESAC affiliate Wow Jones include music scores for Tyler Perry’s Netflix series Beauty In Black and AMC’s Parish. She recently teamed up with her artist rep, Mario Prins, to release the new song “Met Gala.”
AS: I’d love to know more about your backstory.
JIMIJAME$: I went to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts for dance, and then I got my B.F.A. in acting and directing at North Carolina A&T. When I came back home, I was doing a little bit of both: acting and learning the politics of business. In the meantime, I’ve always had connections with producers, so I started my career as an independent recording artist, writing and throwing out creative projects and seeing how people accepted them.
AS: When did you partner with SESAC?
JJ: I hooked up with James Leach [the late Vice President of Creative Services and West Coast Operations] shortly after he came to the company. James was a very important figure in my life. After releasing my mixtape, The Truth, James introduced me to SESAC and started teaching me the importance of being a writer and knowing the business. He was one of the most involved, influential music execs in my career.
AS: Mario, how did you connect with JIMIJAME$?
Mario Prins: James brought me on at SESAC around 2010. I’m a DJ as well, so I’ve been DJ-ing and creating music before I started working in the music business. When I first met JIMI, it was through James. He and I curated monthly showcases, and we had JIMIJAME$ as the feature act. It was like musical theater. I remember her shows being very theatrical.
AS: JIMIJAME$, you’re very collaborative. You and Mario recently released your first song together, “Met Gala,” featuring Key2C, Goya Honey and Dontae Winslow. How’d it come together?
JJ: My partner, Wow Jones, and I were throwing parties where we had Mario DJ. We felt like Mario’s ear, and his ability to curate music that was very eclectic, created an environment for people to think outside of the box. The first time I heard his beats, I thought they were authentic and very raw in terms of the textures, the tones, the bass, the grit, and the ambiance he created. Again, going back to what I like to bring as a storyteller and a songwriter, he activated my theatrical roots.. He created that space for a story to be told. I’ve definitely found a new lane with Mario.
AS: Mario, how does being a creative help you at SESAC?
MP: For one, you understand and can relate to the client, or the SESAC affiliate, or any other creator. Knowing both sides of the fence, creators love that because they see, “Oh, you’re not just a suit-and-tie guy. You actually ‘create’ yourself.”
JJ: Having Mario on the other side has an influence on SESAC’s place in the culture and their relationship with the artists.
AS: What does the rest of 2025 look like?
JJ: What I’m doing next feels very cinematic. I started writing music without drums to enhance that feeling. It’s very spacey. It’s very warm. I’m telling real stories and being very authentic. Working in TV and film, having that experience, and building that very cinematic feel, has definitely impacted this next wave of music.
Mario and I have something up our sleeves, too, which is a little bit more up-tempo, dance progressive. He artistically disrupted a lane that I was going down. I think it’s going to be a dynamic twist.
MP: JIMI’s story is a testament to what the possibilities can be. It always starts with the love of music. When you start from a genuine place, the sky’s the limit.
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