London born, but New York raised Ella Mai has always loved jazz music. She didn’t have a choice – her mom played it in the house constantly. And so, it became her living breathing passion before she ever pursued performing for herself. Though Ella isn’t even thirty yet, she’s made a name for herself that crosses genres and expectations at the same time.

Her fans span the world and would do anything to see her talent in person (more on that later). It turns out that being raised on jazz music was the best thing Ella’s mother could have done for her daughters’ future career.

Ella’s Early Life

Ella Mai was born in London to a Jamaican mother and Irish father. That lineage is part of what gives her a unique look she has, and as we’ve seen, what prompted her love for music. When she lived in the UK, she attended a performing arts school, which she loved and where she thrived. But when the family moved to New York, her extroverted love-to-perform self hit a hiccup: bullies.

Though she still loved music, it took her a while to work back up to her love of performing. She didn’t pursue music professionally until after she’d graduated when she joined the girl group ‘Arize.’ And though they were talented, it seemed that Arize couldn’t get a break – never making it past the auditions for network talent shows. But Ella didn’t give up – the introverted and shy part of herself was long gone by then.

Ella and DJ Mustard

After Arise didn’t work out, Ella started working with DJ Mustard, an underground but still successful producer. He helped her hone her sound and perfect the songs she’d already been writing. Finally, in February of 2016, she released her first EP, called time. It became a slow but considerable underground hit, which led her to release her next album, Change. That album got her a number 20 spot on the R&B albums chart, which is how she got to where she is today.