Raised in the projects of Brooklyn, New York Jahnel grew up to the sounds of a busy city and 1980’s soul, R&B and pop music. She found a love for singing along to Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul on the radio, but it wasn’t until her family moved to Virginia that she was able to develop her skill and technique singing in a few Washington DC choirs, Children of the Gospel and Urban Nation. Her powerful vocals can bend from edgy and soulful to richly intimate within the same verse. With no formal musical training she crafts her song from a very free and innocent place. She credits her prolific songwriting to being an only child and spending her time alone making up stories and songs to entertain herself when she wasn’t exploring the world outside of her window.
Jahnel Daliya brings her unique blend of folk, pop and rock fueled by soulful vocals and songwriting aimed at finding the light in this sometimes heavy but beautiful world. Her songwriting journey began late in 2013 which lead her to a series of solo acoustic performances. In 2015 Jahnel began performing with her band of local talent hitting some popular music festivals, fairs, conferences and music clubs throughout DC and Virginia. Since then she has released two studio albums followed by five singles. She continues to perform solo and band shows in the DMV area.