Meet Jakiyah Cabell

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jakiyah Cabell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jakiyah, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I developed my confidence and self-esteem through strengthening my spirituality and faith in a higher power. This in turn helped me grow my belief in myself. I then realized that my faith in god and my belief in self is the exact same thing or two sides of the same coin.

The process of becoming was interesting because I essentially forced myself to surrender to life and fully trust that no matter how horrible my circumstances may seem, everything would work out and even exceed my expectations.

With this new mindset at the forefront, I had to consciously release myself of all worry and in that, push myself outside of my comfort zone to do the things fear of failure had stopped me from attempting. In this, I started to manifest things that I really wanted that made all the “No’s” I received prior worth the wait.

These experiences helped affirm that when I trust myself and bet on myself I can do nothing but fail.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Jakiyah Cabell and I am a creative director of two brands and a multidisciplinary artist. I work primarily in the film, music, fashion, lifestyle, and beauty industries helping creative entrepreneurs and brands execute marketing campaigns for their product launches, album releases, film releases, etc.

As the creative director of my own lifestyle and wellness brand, “Real Down To Mars Girl” I operate an immersive digital magazine and monthly newsletter called “The Care Package” dedicated to challenging the minds and creative bounds of my subscribers by providing them with spiritual anecdotes and journaling prompts from my own experiences, personalized playlists used for sound healing, book recommendations, film recommendations, creativity, and lifestyle prompts that help them get closer to unlocking their highest potential and gaining a better understanding of their dreams.

That said, I have over 70 playlists that are perfect for every mood. From astrology playlists to accompany you on the new moon, full moon, or the monthly venus transits to playlists for writing, meditating, dancing, and more. Ranging across all eras and genres. My personal favorites being the 70s and all the jazz, funk, and disco that was released across the world.

In conjunction with RDTMG, I have a boutique fashion brand with products inspired by the healing power of music. Our current collection features 3 limited edition hand-dyed multipurpose silk scarves featuring my original artwork and photography. These scarves were made with healing, comfort, and luxury in mind as an ode to the hard-working women in my family who would tie their hair up after a long day of work or while out in the world to protect their crown spiritually. My. intention in crafting different “moods” like relaxing at the beach or cruising up the coast was inspired by my love of storytelling which is the thread that ties all of my artwork together.

Currently, I’m editing my debut novel and focused on the release of the first single off of my forthcoming album. The single is titled “Synergy” and will be released on all platforms this spring with an exclusive release on “Even” on 3/22/24 under my pseudonym “Elle S. Dee in which I also DJ and spin vinyl records at local bars here in L.A.

I’m very excited to dive back into music this year and challenge myself to explore new realms of my creativity and personality via this medium.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The most impactful part of my journey was studying film during my tenure at The Los Angeles Film School in obtaining my B.S. in Cinematography. My studies there opened so many doors and led me to understand writing and storytelling in a new way which I then incorporated into my short stories, music, blog, and newsletter.

It also led me to get into film photography which spawned a new way of storytelling and expressing myself through imagery and series leading to my first scarf in my line “Dreaming of Palm Trees”, based on my 35mm film photography study on palm trees during the pandemic. This series became a saving grace for me at that time.

Lastly, I was blessed to get hands-on experience with transmedia marketing a marketing concept based on world-building and using various mediums to build a brand that transcends industry limitations. An example of this would be Issa Rae and her media company “HooRae” which incorporates music, film, and radio, (and more) and has become the cornerstone of each of her projects. Extending her impact to new heights and audiences with the strategic use of different creative mediums to achieve maximum results.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
My grandmother. Without a doubt. She’s been the one constant in my life that has instilled me with so much wisdom and knowledge that I will take with me forever. Without her words of encouragement in my darkest moments, I’d not have been able to push through and get to the other side of adversity.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
photo 1: taken by artform studio photo 2: taken by andrew diego 3-6: taken by me on 35mm film photos 3-4: feature isaiah joseph wearing our SS23 collection of hand-dyed silk scarves photo 5: is a photo i took of mario gates for his black american grafitti series photo 6: is a photo i took of ezra collective live at jazz is dead. the photo is titled “JAZZ” from my ‘Music is My Sanctuary’ photography series. Select prints from this series are available for purchase on my site at jkyhcbll.com/shop photo 7: taken by alyssea washington featuring my “dreaming of palm trees” silk scarf. I am wearing it as a scarf.

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