By now everyone that knows that Grambling State University has been home to many students who have made various contributions to the music industry including Hip-Hop Legend E-40 and R&B Queen Erykah Badu.
The contributions continue through the current students as well such as, Houston native and sophomore criminal justice major, Jastin Martin.
Martin is showing she could be next by putting her touch on the new R&B wave.
Martin is slowly becoming a viral sensation with her covers and remixes posted via her social media. Her song selections showcase her distinctive style that is gaining her comparisons to other household names in R&B such as Tink, Summer Walker and one of her influences Jhene Aiko. “It is extremely flattering to be compared to them,” Martin said.
Growing up in a city with a very prominent music scene like Houston you can only imagine the influences for young Martin’s sound. From a city that produced superstars like Beyoncé and Travis Scott, she lists Jhene Aiko, Chris Brown and Bryson Tiller among others.
“Any artists that tell stories with their music,” Martin said.
Martin began singing at the young age of 7 but only got into writing and song making at the age of 15.
Currently, Martin has a new single and video on YouTube titled “Bad Business”. She was extremely nervous to release “Bad Business” because she took a different approach by deciding to rap instead of sing. Despite her self-doubt, the single is gaining popularity on social media platforms such as Twitter. Her content being watched and shared daily by her 14,700 Twitter followers, not bad for a song that was actually written off of a whim.
“I was just on YouTube listening to instrumentals and I searched ‘Gunna Type Beat’ and the first one that popped up is what I used and I just started rhyming,” Martin said.
Surprisingly, it only took 30-45 minutes for her to write the entire song.
Martin’s fame of course didn’t come overnight. She began posting videos four years ago and wasn’t getting nearly as much recognition as she is now. Martin always encourages anyone with a passion or dream to do the same. She wants them to remember that the journey will not always come easy but instead you will have to continue to work for it.
“Follow your dreams and do not stop grinding,” Martin said.
Although she came to Grambling with her name and style already made, Martin still credits GSU and the experiences she has had here have influenced some of her songs that we can only hope to hear in the future.