12/28/2023 0 Comments Usher u remind me guitar lesson![]() ![]() Eager to show Smith what he’d been up to since the last time they talked, the rapper Pioneer told his producer to cue up his latest song. But as a long-term power player in the industry and advocate for Atlanta’s music business scene, Smith says there’s nothing she’d rather be doing than elevating talent in the place that raised her.Įarlier that day, Smith met with a former client for a recording session in her studio, located in a nondescript business complex. Smith, who herself started as a musician, never intended to be the woman behind so many megastars. ![]() Her success has stemmed from her undeniable skillset as a vocal coach, but also from her proximity to rising talent: In this music capital, the coach with the southern drawl and the nurturing but forceful persona has found herself in the orbit of artists such as Usher, Rob Thomas, Young Jeezy, and a few reality stars. Coming from Mama Jan, who counts Justin Bieber and Drake as former pupils, this was high praise.įor more than 35 years, Smith’s career has been intertwined with the rise of Atlanta as a music and entertainment mecca. The revered vocal coach already had a thriving business and a stellar reputation in the industry instead, Smith wanted to work with Asbury because she believed she could help her become a successful country artist. Smith heard her sing and, according to Asbury, told her father that she didn’t need his money. For the next few hours, Smith and the singer, along with two of Smith’s producers, hum, mumble and “yabba dabba doo” melodies, piecing together disjointed sounds so tautly that it’s hard to imagine they ever existed separately.Īsbury, a student at the University of Georgia, was looking to hone her sound and songwriting style when a family friend recommended that she hire Smith, known as “Mama Jan,” last year. Dressed in a black blouse with lace sleeves, white jeans, and black open-toe boots, the 63-year-old Smith sits calmly at the soundboard with a notepad as “Karma,” a country-pop cut from 21-year-old singer-songwriter Grace Asbury, plays through the speakers. Jan Smith is tucked inside her recording studio on a summer night in metro Atlanta’s North Druid Hills neighborhood, conceptualizing background vocals for an unreleased track from her latest protege.
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