Until you experience Esnavi it may be difficult to understand the name or what defines it. The moment you meet her it all makes sense, Eclectic, Soulful, Natural, Authentic, Vivacious, and Intriguing – E S N A V I {Es-Nah-V}. A singer/songwriter hailing from Milwaukee, now residing in New York City, she is a multifaceted artist with a voice of undeniable soul, lyrics of thought provoking truth, and music that harmoniously blends everything in between. With the release of her debut album, Exit E, a 16-song musical journey inspired by love, society, and real life, her mission to enlighten the world through her music has begun. Her first single, Unexpected Love, reached the Top 40 on the Urban Adult Contemporary Charts shortly after its release and remained in the Top 40 Urban AC Charts for over 10 weeks. The video for the single has remained in rotation on VH1 Soul & Centric since its release and was selected as one of Centric Hot 10 Countdown picks. Now with the release of her second single, Morning Dew, Esnavi is on the brink of becoming the next big thing to hit the music industry.
In 2012, she has already headlined in front of a sold out crowd at Apollo Music Café, performed on Good Day New York morning show on FOX 5 NEWS, which has over 2 million viewers daily, sang The National Anthem to over 5,000 people at the IZOD Center for the Harlem Globetrotters World Tour, performed at BAMcafé Live (Brooklyn Academy of Music) for an overcrowded room that had a line so long people were turned away, secured a music licensing deal with Abercrombie & Fitch, and to top it all off, she will be one of the faces for Alison Raffaele Cosmetics beauty campaign, a cosmetics line that will be carried in all Duane Reade stores nationwide, launching in Puerto Rico in May.
Esnavi has quickly become an independent powerhouse in a short amount of time. Although new to the mainstream, Esnavi has been on this journey for years. As a very young child, her performing and writing skills were fostered. At the tender age of 3, she performed for the first time at a Miss Wisconsin Pageant and acquired a love for writing poems around the age of 8. A love for music was evident during those years as well. Her vocal ability, however, wasn't discovered until she was in high school. It was then that the music she listened to growing up started to subconsciously mold the artist Esnavi is today. From Stevie Wonder to Annie Lennox to U2 to Miles Davis, she was drawn to all genres of music. Once she graduated from high school, the layers came together and Esnavi was writing, recording and performing with a local studio.
After high school she pursued a marketing degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. While studying, "Music became the driving force in my life while in college, and the moment I turned in my last exam, I had an epiphany." She realized becoming part of the corporate world was not her calling, but becoming an extraordinary artist was. "Singing was the only thing I envisioned myself doing. I became so passionate about it because I knew I had something unique to share." No stranger to recording and performing, she had no qualms about making her move to New York. She teamed up with a fellow Milwaukee native, Fulani Hart, and completed recording her first project in which she co-wrote, Uncommon Ground in 2005. The album was never officially released on a label, but Esnavi created enough buzz on the New York music scene to get noticed.
New York audiences were soon captivated with performances that brilliantly showcased her stellar vocals and versatility at historic music venues such as CBGB's, Joe's Pub, Village Underground, The Groove, Crash Mansion, The Shrine, and S.O.B.'s. As word traveled about her, she caught the attention of television networks and appeared on BET's The BETJ List as a featured unsigned artist and on MTV's reality show The City. Since then, she has performed at the world famous Apollo, the historic Brooklyn Academy of Music, the IZOD Center and has been seen on one of the highest rated local morning shows in New York. Watching her perform you sense a savvy entertainer with a deeply embedded passion. "I belong on stage. This is my home. It's where I connect to the audience with my live energy." She remains true to that connection by living in the moment each time she graces the stage. From her Paris Blues show with an impromptu freestyle of her song "Ding Ding" with beat box legend Rahzel, member of The Original Roots Crew to her performance at S.O.B.'s Sol Village, hosted by Eric Roberson, where she exemplified her prowess to go off script and keep the crowd engaged or even when she effortlessly rocked a crowd of over 200,000 people at the Taste Of Soul Music Festival in Los Angeles and made sure they knew her name before leaving the stage, Esnavi is electrifying and proves that every time she performs.
With the release of Exit E, which she co-wrote with producer, Michel Kunz, Esnavi has taken her career to the next level. Her current single, Morning Dew, is beginning to take the radio industry by storm. Despite comparisons to the likes of India.Arie, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill, Esnavi is definitely in a lane of her own. Her voice is clearly distinct and the beautifully arranged story that comprises Exit E is incomparable. "We wanted to create good music that transcends everything. Music that anyone in the world could listen to and love." When you listen to her music, see her perform live and feel her energy, you experience Esnavi. "This journey is not about becoming a celebrity. It's about music that stems from a real place with substance people can feel and relate to." Esnavi is truly an original artist on the brink of delivering a unique sound of soul to the world…her soul.
