Born and raised in The Columbia Heights/Adams Morgan area of Washington, DC, Jayne Kennedi has always been in love with music. Brought up in a multi-racial home (her mother of West Indian descent and American father) she started singing and performing in local Latin bars ,at the age of 13, singing Mexican standards, covering songs by the late Selena Quintanilla-Perez and popular music. As a teenager she attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts where she studied Opera performance and joined the highly regarded Duke Ellington Show Choir. After High School she joined the Villy Washington Band, who specialized in Brazilian “Funk”. She also sang back up for the Joe Claire/Ricky Payton Jr. managed band Rickush Mojo. After two years of performing and touring in the tri-State area, she took a break from music to attend Howard University for Fashion Merchandising. After a year at Howard, she decided to leave school and focus on music as a career again. Jayne Kennedi’s music is a multi-ethnic mix of sounds and words. Her sound has been highly influenced by the music of artists like M.I.A., Santogold, and Madonna. The music features a heavy emphasis on tribal beats and conscious lyrics.