Who is Kiyanna Jhaneye’?

This young music journalist is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in journalism and her minor in multimedia design at Central Michigan University (CMU). Her love for music has been a part of her life since she was little. Anything with a beat, she has always been drawn to. As the founder of Lyrically Gifted Divinity, Kiyanna has a vision for local artists to receive promotions and networking as much as needed without changing their sound. This site is dedicated to divinity, which mainly caters to any local artists who have a message to tell.

On a more personal level, Kiyanna has a couple of hidden gifts herself. Not only is she a music journalist, but she was, also, involved in the Spoken Word. However, she did not start writing poetry until her last year in middle school. She was inspired by other artists who wrote poetry as well, such as Jill Scott and the late Dr. Mary Angelou. This shy and ambitious girl had a vision so big when it came to creativity. Cooped up in her bedroom, she peered through so many books and blogs, which gave her inspiration for free writing. During high school, she worked with a mentor to strengthen her writing, which allured her to the style of Spoken Word because it was a combination of both poetry and music.

would be singing. Kiyanna remembers long car rides and singing along with her mom to gospel songs. Growing up in the church, she spent her time in choirs of all levels. Kiyanna was also a formal member of Christ Central Choir (C3), a gospel organization on the CMU campus.

Her writing in high school increased as she worked for the school’s newspaper. This opened the door for her journalism ambition. Before she graduated from Leilehua High School, Kiyanna had positioned herself all the way to Copy Editor. Being in this position taught her time management, patience, and the ability to work with others.  

Now, currently at CMU, she is a part of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). Along with her major, she feels this organization will open doors for her and help her gain more experience as a writer. This gives her a platform to network with other journalists and media pursuers. Hopefully, they can see all she created on her own and admire her drive toward her goals in her career.

Music has always been a part of Kiyanna’s life. She believes there is no way she can escape from doing what she loves and her passion for it will merge both music and writing as she helps to build local artists’ careers, as well as her own.

Something made greater by ourselves in turn makes us greater.

Mary Angelou