Life of Je'Nai
Je'Nai Kuhn was born in Baltimore, Maryland and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when she was 4 years old. She moved cross country to be close to her family when her mother became very ill.
When they arrived, her mother, Je'Nai and older sister moved in with her retired grandparents and what was meant to be a short while turned into a lifetime. Her mother passed away from Cancer when Je'Nai was just 7 years old.
Going through such a dramatic experience, Je'Nai started writing to express how she was feeling. At 7 years old, she wrote her first poem and discovered her passion for writing and music. She will tell you that being raised by her “Grammy” as she liked to call her, exposed her to a wide range of experiences and different genres of music that were due to being raised with a generation gap. “When I was younger, our long distant family and friends would come visit and we would dress up, dance to old records and put on shows for them, it was the best!”, she said. From those fun times with family, Je'Nai found her voice.
With her love of Writing and Theater, she got her start ghostwriting for other names. Even though it was successful and she was doing what she loved, Je'Nai didn't feel fulfilled. She decided not to be in the background anymore and move forward under her own name.
Je'Nai is all things creative and she says she will never fit into one box. “I feel we are all born with a purpose and talent, sometimes many, they’re always evolving just as we are and it might take a lifetime to define them all.”
Je'Nai has been very fortunate in the fact that she has called many places home. Her grandmother always said “she had sand in her shoes” because she loved adventure and traveling. After her grandmother passed away when Je'Nai was in her early 20’s, she met her husband and moved to Seattle, Washington where they lived for many years raising a family. Never giving up on her passion, Je'Nai kept honing her craft.
Then a career opportunity presented itself, so Je'Nai and her family moved to Manhattan Beach, California where she writes, sings and designs full time. This is also where her maternal side has roots, which makes her a 4th generation Manhattan Beach resident. “With me living here, I feel truly supported”, she says.
Je'Nai enjoys spending time with her family, dancing and traveling. You might catch her frequently walking around downtown, or of course on the beach with sand in her shoes.