Meet Najja Price

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

Najja, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My very first movie I remember being overly excited for was Spider-Man. I was 7 years old in the far right upstairs room of the house I lived in, in upper Marlboro Maryland. That was the first night I didn’t sleep. What kept me up is my imagination. I could only daydream about what villain Spider-Man had to fight and the adrenaline of flying through the sky, fighting bad guys, a superhero is everything to a kid. I’m sure to this day my parents have no clue I remember that so vividly. I begged my mom throughout the day if I could finally watch it and when the time came, I sat on the black couch, frozen, it’s chilly in the basement just like the movie theater. I remember as the spiderwebs of the opening credits rolled, time was coming closer to the first scene to begin the movie. I didn’t want any distractions because I lost sleep over imagining so much over night of how awesome that experience was about to be. Stan lee ended up being one of my favorite creatives. Even at 7 years old I could sense everything a director wanted the audience to feel. When the green goblin appeared I noted the music in the background would always let me know he’s about to come on screen. Whenever Spider-Man was getting beat up or losing a fight, the music would rapidly have high noted strikes or it would have heavy reverb. In that same basement, after school let out, all of my neighborhood and my main childhood friends would play wii and watch our favorite TV shows and movies in the same area. It was the best part of my childhood after playing outside all day. I cherished those moments deeply because as I grew older, I knew whatever problems what would occur in someome else’s household or maybe at school, wouldn’t exist when we got to have fun all those nights. Nerf gun wars, freeze tag, graveyard, wipeout on the wii. When it came time to watch movies I would observe the room and see how all of us would be glued to the screen. Sometimes me describing what I saw, someone else might not have understood what I meant clearly by “ I wonder who’s idea it was to give him that accent “ – (Nacho Libre). My friends didn’t know I was thinking about the film set as a whole, I knew there was a script that had to be thought out, plot, theme, etc. I knew a majority of what had to go into a story in general because of papers I had to write , and knew from all the end credit scenes that there are multiple jobs for multiple purposes for a film to come together and be a success. In 2010, my dad took me to see the premiere of Transformers, directed by Michael Bay. Never in my life had I imagined robots could be supernaturally tall and talk just like humans, let alone be friendly (Optimus Prime). Me being 10 years old, I could only imagine how massive the autobots were and knew in reality I’d be terrified. Until, Megatron with his deep and raspy, crunchy like voice, subconsciously the audience wants to be protected from this villain, the tension of why is this villain so mean and evil and he doesn’t care to hurt humans. Eventually I realize. I forgot I was even watching a movie. I realized I entered this unthinkable and unrecognizable zone of escape. The lights are off, the screen is huge, and if you sit right in the middle, it’s the best seat in the house. Since I was 10 my feet couldn’t fully touch the ground, I was obsessed with the sensation of escaping reality. It didn’t matter what drama or anything I was upset about earlier , along with the autobots, which were the protagonist of the movie, we’re on my side. Still as a kid I knew there were underlying messages or themes of hope and motivation of some sort because we all know in most cases, the good guy always wins. Later that year during an event at Shabach Christian academy at a First Baptist church of Glenarden location, in Prince Georges county, Maryland, I told some people and my mom “ I want to be a movie director some day “ they asked me why and I replied “ because I think it would be so cool to show my friends what I can daydream, one day I want to put my visions and dreams on a screen.” . Only God knew, that in my heart that he gave me, the multitude of trials and tribulations I would endure would only one day be turned into power. It was engraved and installed in my heart from a young age that from certain things that I went through, I knew there was a possibility I could create stories where the end plot would relate to other kids, African American men, and anyone else know that have been through traumatic experiences that they have a voice to. That has always been my why since 10 years old. I am currently a media & content director at a university for their athletics and at a gym that trains D1 prospects and professional athletes. The second season of ‘Operation 53 – An Athlete Innovations Documentary’ is going to begin to be released the 22nd on YouTube, I am the DP, Director, music composer, graphic designer, Editor, colorist on this blessed Project. Since I can remember, all I wanted to fully feel was that my voice mattered and I would be heard. I know universally, not only black men feel that way, thus why all of us are emotionally calloused in some ways, but anyone can feel like that, I’ve had a senior speech in highschool in 2018, a senior project in college about the lack of sympathy and compassion we have as people these days, and it seems to still go over peoples heads today about how simple being kind and caring can be, I knew my purpose was to help heal others through my God given gifts. As big as making a movie, or making an album , to as small as listening to someone in a conversation & giving them advice, prayer and words of wisdom or motivation that will change their life for the better.

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?
Ever since 7, I’ve had vivid dreams. Because of these dreams, something I’ve been able to see clear as day is one day is I’m sitting in a directors chair. The seat is the regular fold out with the Director label on the back. The color of the cloth that holds the chair together is navy blue. Another vision I’ve always seen is a full theater of people cheering. As we all know the movie scene is dying. I’ve been watching movies by myself in the theater for years. Sometimes I’ll watch 2-3 movies in a day or I will rewatch a movie I really like more than once in a week. The first time I watch it, it’ll be to enjoy it for the experience. If I watch it a second time, I’ll watch it as if I directed it. I’ll pay attention to details like the focal length of lenses, angles of shots, colors during certain settings, music and how it sets the tone and knowing how I would have to direct that on a set when it’s my turn.
If I were to watch it for a 3rd time, I’ll pay attention to the pace of the editing. The timing of the dialogue, the spaces and pauses between conversations and how it related to tension, entry of music and the leveling of audio and sound effects. By this time, I already know the movie so we’ll, that if I decided to watch it for more than a fourth or fifth time, I would appreciate and understand the psychological side of how to keep an audience engaged with my previous analyzations, everything would come together in my head. Since I’ve been watching these movies alone, and making beats for the most part alone, the average person doesn’t understand in most cases, this is how creatives mentally operate. I’ve run into some uncalled for and mind boggling persecutions when people find out I watch movies repeatedly. Most assume I’m a weirdo, I’m lonely or depressed. Some even think I’m not myself, I’ve been watching movies , Atleast 1 or 2 a day, since I was 15. Since I moved from Maryland to Florida in 2015, I needed that sense of escape more than ever. Never smoked, never did drugs, never drank till I turned 21, and stopped at 23. I would tell my mom to drop me off at a plaza that had an epic theaters in it. I would watch one movie, walk into another, then sometimes walk back to watch the first one again for a second time. I’m already used to allegations of how that’s not normal to the average person, yet I am also a music producer. The amount of times I would repeat myself that “ no I can’t come right now, I’m in the middle of making a beat “ since I’m the biggest creative in my family, it was the hardest thing to get across, yet it should’ve been the simplest. Any athlete knows the best way to get better at anything is repetition, The amount of practices it took from 3 years old to 18 years old to be a well accoladed soccer player. The amount of hours spent learning music production & making beats for artist to rap on. The amount of tutorials watched on graphic design to expand my imagination on the creative possibilities, all helped with understanding the amount of time, attention to detail and flexibility of skills needed to understand to become a director that can relate to anybody. That led me to teach myself how to use a camera and be the best at it. The same way a crane or a robotic arm operates I wanted to be that smooth and stable with my hands no matter what lens I have to use. Moving to Tampa to work in the area and at the university I graduated at, I would wake up before I had to work and place my hands, elbow deep in a Home Depot bucket filled with rice, and do forearm exercises so I could hold a camera steadier when I got to work, all I had in my room was the bucket of rice, a mattress on the floor, and a small plastic cabinet where I kept some clothes, I was happy, just like in my senior speech, it started out “ imagine yourself in a box, a small ,dark box, your thoughts and ideas can go nowhere except the place that you’re trapped in “ ( improvised ) I already knew when I wrote it, I was referring to my literal room. Where I made thousands of beats, watched hundreds of movies in my iPad and laptop and have had plenty of dreams. Even thought I was in a room, your imagination is endless, My God given talent and ability to be creative is limitless. I live my life on a screen, the amount of games I’ve recorded, the amount of clips I’ve recorded, racked up more than 900 Million views + on Instagram. Most people see me as just a camera man now,
I see myself as a kid who got disrespected a long time ago, and is still trying to prove to anyone who laughed at me, doubted me, or even hated me for trying to simply help heal others. I didn’t get a chance to play college or professional soccer, which was the original goal and plan. I got injured and had to have knee surgery my senior year. As a former center back, as a current media director, and an inspiring future director, I had a couple phrases that I would drop hints all around social media, my youtube thumbnails, and even hidden in Instagram captions and graphics I posted. DWHU , which was the abbreviation , Don’t Wake Him Up, to me it meant , a kind hearted person can only take so much. I knew one day there would come a time where the way I was treated, taken for granted belittled, forgotten….. I knew there’d come a day where the same people who aggravated me would end up saying sorry. I would potentially seem to come off cold because I’d get to a point where I’d know, people will watch you so hard to a point they’d want you to mess up. This scenario already happens in modern day movies and even in reality. where the hero has been the hero for so long people want to see him or her turn into a villain. Another phrase was Un Jour, which means one day in French. I had plenty of African and Senegalese friends in highschool where they taught me some French, I would reference that saying in the context of ‘ One Day ‘ I’d be free from trauma, unnecessary mental warfare, spiritual battles and best of all, I would be at peace. There are others that I feel like holding on to, but it felt like a punch in the face when certain things in my life lined up to where when I was becoming more successful in my field and when I’d be placed in situations with my back against the wall, I would always mention that everything has already been right in front of everyone’s face. Not just my story, but life itself. My personal belief is that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose on the 3rd day, & that the Bible has all the answers to life in it. Simple, ironically, there’s a scripture that says in Matthew 18:3 – Truly I tell you, Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven -.
When that scripture finally made sense to me personally, life changed drastically. I would notice little things that I believe God had already placed in my path to be comforting and I would notice because I pay close attention to detail, My favorite color is blue, and since a kid all my favorite sports teams that I still love now all are blue. Chelsea, Duke University, Blue Jays. Bonding with sympathy as a kid made relationships easier, so today I used to where all black just to keep it simple, and the day I found peace, I haven’t worn an all black outfit since. Even in my thinking, a kid usually just does, doesn’t think about the next 10 mins, they are so happy and playing action figures in the now, in the present. Many people worldwide get caught up in life so much, their dreams, and their inner kid dies. That’s where I come in, I believe my purpose is to encourage the youth through my God given gifts and to keep their inner kids full of wonder and excitement.
If it didn’t take me, still knowing the type of mistreatment, disrespect, harassment I endured as a child from anyone, I may have never paid that close attention to my surroundings today. All Glory to God, because he turned my pain into Power and has granted me peace that I can’t understand. I know if you have a dream and a goal, and if you can see clearly down that tunnel of life, you go for it.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Stick to Your Why. My Why has kept me motivated through whatever life has thrown towards me, I know not everyone believes in God, but Atleast in my life, I’m able to see his hand in anything and everything. My biggest why is, I’ve visually seen and watched too many of my friends and random people get dragged by Satan, out of my life or slowly pulled into unhealthy relationships, addictions, witchcraft, depression, or even worse. I’ve had countless dark days and dark nights with details I’ll like to keep private. I’ve seen too much, been hurt to a point where it’s evident I’d be doing myself a disfavor if I don’t aim to be like Christ as best as possible & possibly become the closest thing to Christ for some people. What’s the point of complaining about how evil the world is if you’re not going to do anything about it to make it better. We all want to be loved, the more the world falls away from Christ love, the more we fall apart, it’s in everyone’s face. Not in everyone’s heart to do anything about it. All of that still relates back to my first inspiration of wanting and hoping my friends get to experience that escape feeling. Now I understand, it may be the closest thing to peace for some people. It’s in my hands to make certain stories and movies and musk albums in the future to that a younger kid can look on the screen and relate to a character that looks and had been through through the same thing with you. Again, My Why, is what kept me goin .
1, Understanding : people , your environment and who you work with counts and matters.
2. You’re always a student: the second you think you know everything, you limit yourself. Cut out pride.
3. Do right by others : The world is already a sick place, the only way to grow and build anything is to pick someone else up, we all want and need help and this journey of life was not meant to be done alone.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The Titus 10, A Gospel Primer & Jesus The King are books that helped with my clarity and security in understanding the requirements and the already set responsibilities of a Man of God. The testimonies and the stories shared in these books helped me understand we all have a purpose. The Titus 10 is a learning book. I read it with a men’s community group at my church and it was the most impactful read in fellowship for me. Each chapter we all would be blown away by the different perspectives of life that was thrown at us. We all would have to take a step back and continue to humble ourselves. The ultimate take away from that book was, as humans, we don’t know anything. There’s always more to know to become even more knowledgeable, social and emotionally intelligent to become even more equipped to lead a family, lead in an environment and be a overall follower of Christ. Overall, the best book I’ve read for Godly Manhood. A Gospel Primer and Jesus The King taught me Grace, easily. I’ve done things in my life that I’m not proud of too, and I’m sure there are millions who feel too guilty to come to God, and by human nature, dig themselves a deeper hole. I’ve learned within my creative abilities to understand perspective. I’m able to place myself into other peoples shoes, sympathize with them and the relate to them to lift them up. I developed this skill in September of 2023 and didn’t realize how well it would even protect me mentally later in the year. Those books helped my quiet times, which are hours of the day I take to spend in solitude with God, in a way that it’s easier to break down scripture and apply it to my own life, not just to help me, but to set a better example and to be more Christ like no matter what environment I’m in.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Shot & Edited by Najja Price. Locations : Athlete Innovations, Tampa State Farm Arena – Atlanta Hawks Yuengling Center – Tulsa Wbb Noah Reisenfeld- Young Money APAA Sports Cliff Brown – Athlete Innovations Luke Miranda – IV Life Sports Managment

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