Who is NadjNJea?
NadjNJea was founded on May 4th, 2021 by Nadjah Nicole and Jea Street, Jr. From a Facebook live in Jea’s living room with a laptop balancing on top of a stack of books to a professional camera and contracted work throughout the state of Delaware, NadjNJea have made their mark on the state and still have work to do.
Both, starting as musicians, met and quickly found a chemistry and a knack for entertaining an audience together.
From working with the Delaware Art Museum, The Delaware Contemporary, Theatre N, The Mill, and also Cityfest, NadjNJea Show takes pride in reporting the news with a realness that the city of Wilmington and the state of Delaware needs while also entertaining those who follow them.
Both are well known as individuals for their 'artivism' and service within the community, but together they are a force of positivity for the city overall.
‘Nadj’ - Nadjah Nicole
Nadjah Nicole’s career began in the children’s choir at Bethel AME Church at the age of 11. When she was 16, Nadjah experienced her first big win at the historic Amateur Night at Apollo Competition (Harlem, NY).
From there Nadjah went on to compete in a wide variety of talent shows and pageants. While still a college student, Nadjah took a leap of faith that changed the trajectory of her career. During her show-stopping performance on the nationally televised singing competition, The Voice – Season 9, Nadjah showcased her remarkable vocal range and emotional depth. This breakthrough moment allowed her to share her talent with a global audience during her tenure on this Emmy Award Winning Program. Nadjah received personal mentoring from Blake Shelton, Rihanna, Brad Paisley and celebrity vocal coaches, Trelawny Rose & Holly Stain. Rihanna complimented Nadjah by referring to her as “The whole package!
Currently, Nadjah is building her career as an independent musician. She has also become a strong advocate for local artists and has played a significant role in building true community through NadjNJea.
‘Jea’ - Jea Street, Jr
Jea Street, Jr. is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. He was inspired to become a musician during his Freshman year at Morehouse College when he joined the Morehouse College Glee Club. Though he enrolled at Morehouse with plans to become a doctor, he was so inspired by the power of the music he experienced as part of the famed MCGC that he dropped all of his pre-med classes during his sophomore year and began to take music classes for the first time.
After graduating from Morehouse with a Bachelor's degree in psychology, Jea went back to school at the University of Delaware where he studied music theory and composition. Since finishing at UD, Jea has been involved in many different facets of music. Jea has sung professional operatic and broadway roles, produced a hip-hop album, has recorded several of his own projects, and was commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Art Museum to co-write a work that told the story of the 1968 occupation of Wilmington, Delaware after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. He has completed a recording project entitled "The Sit Down“ which is a production of Artivism brought to life in the form of a musical experience.
Currently, Jea uses the Wolf Trap curriculum to help Head Start teachers integrate music into their teaching. He is a lead singer in the cover band Midtown Express. Jea's main inspiration is his family, his community, and the high standard of artistic achievement set by great artists before him such as Duke Ellington, Donny Hathaway, and Quincy Jones.
Jea is one of Wilmington’s biggest cheerleaders and in order to help his city meet its potential he teamed up with Nadjah Nicole (finalist of The Voice) to create the talkshow Nadj N Jea. Over the past couple of years Jea has expanded his artistry into photography, videography, and even roasting his own coffee beans.