Early Life and Education

DAMOYEE was born Damoyee Janai Neroes on October 4, 2000 in Dallas, Texas and raised in Arlington, Texas. She has two younger siblings. When DAMOYEE was two years old, her parents recognized her ability to replicate rhythms and melodies from children’s shows she watched on TV. They bought her a keyboard, guitar, and percussion instruments, then put her in private lessons to study piano, music theory, and composition. DAMOYEE began songwriting as a pre-teen and produced her first songs on a school-issued iPad in the 7th grade. She performed her first original song publicly at age 10, and by age 13 she released an EP and had worked her way to the main stages of Levitt Pavilion in Arlington, Texas and House of Blues Dallas. DAMOYEE has cited Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend as artists that inspired her to have the confidence to sing and play piano at the same time. In junior high school, DAMOYEE was first chair clarinet in honors band. DAMOYEE is an alumna of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Erykah Badu, Edie Brickell, Norah Jones, Roy Hargrove, Shaun Martin, and RC Williams) where she continued her classical piano studies and took additional courses in jazz piano, jazz vocal, and electronic production. DAMOYEE was awarded a rare, full-tuition scholarship for 4 years to attend Berklee College of Music (Roy Hargrove, Lalah Hathaway, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, John Mayer, Charlie Puth, Esperanza Spalding). In May 2023, DAMOYEE graduated from Berklee College of Music with a bachelor’s degree in film scoring.

Career

DAMOYEE has released several projects so far in her career, including one EP and two albums by the time she was 19. Her first studio recording, the 5-track EP Thankful, was released when she was 13 years old. DAMOYEE composed the music, wrote lyrics, and performed piano, vocals, and harmonies, and served as co-executive producer on Thankful. When she was 16 years old, DAMOYEE independently produced and released a 12-track studio album, From the Bottom of My Heart, for which she composed the music, wrote lyrics, and performed vocals, piano, and percussion. DAMOYEE composed and executive-produced her third project, the 12-track studio album, The Whole Truth. One of the album’s acclaimed singles, Independent, reached top 10 in Europe and top 100 worldwide on the indie charts. The Whole Truth, was released October 4, 2019 - DAMOYEE’s 19th birthday.

DAMOYEE has performed hundreds of live shows at many venues of varying sizes throughout her hometown of Dallas/Fort Worth and beyond in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and more. As a young teen, DAMOYEE performed at venues in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood, such as Curtain Club, Liquid Lounge, and The Door. When she was in the 8th grade, DAMOYEE performed on the legendary main stage at House of Blues Dallas. In 2018, she made her Los Angeles, CA debut as a main stage headliner at The Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. In high school, DAMOYEE started composing music for indie films alongside her career as an artist. DAMOYEE has performed on program with Erykah Badu, The RH Factor, and Ashlin Parker & Trumpet Mafia at Improvisations: A Tribute to Roy Hargrove at the Montgomery Arts Theater in Dallas, Texas. At the tribute, DAMOYEE performed as a vocal soloist and keyboardist on songs by Roy Hargrove and The RH Factor. During her senior year of high school, DAMOYEE performed at the 50th Anniversary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and was also selected to compose an exclusive score for AT&T Performing Arts Center to accompany the ascension of The Moody Foundation Chandelier prior to every production at Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas. The Lights Are Rising by DAMOYEE replaced a score by renowned composer Philip Glass. The Lights Are Rising made its debut on July 27, 2019 when the chandelier ascended before a sold-out crowd for An Evening with Iyanla Vanzant during Vanzant’s Acts of Faith Remix Tour. Upon graduating high school, DAMOYEE landed a performance at The Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City. After graduating high school and releasing her album The Whole Truth, DAMOYEE took a hiatus from recording and promoting her music to focus on college.

During the COVID-19 global lockdown, DAMOYEE performed more than 30 virtual shows with various platforms and venues. She also began working remotely on a series of collabs with fellow Berklee students, including Waiting For You with Timothy Stone, THIEF with H4RRIS, and Ride With Ya with F/L/P. DAMOYEE opened a TikTok account during that time and quickly amassed a huge following with many viral videos showcasing her musicianship, singing, and comedic content. DAMOYEE was chosen as one of 100 creators selected from over 5,000 applicants to be a part of TikTok for Black Creatives, an inaugural program started by TikTok in partnership with MACRO to amplify Black creators. Several press features followed including EBONY magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR All Things Considered, as well as multiple brand deals which included composing original music and making content for FX Networks x Hulu, Coca-Cola, Applebee’s x CHEETOS, Cotton Inc., Yamaha Guitars, Ally Financial, Walgreens, Daily Harvest, and more. In 2021, DAMOYEE joined the notorious Adult Swim challenge and went viral for her remix of Running Away by BADBADNOTGOOD and Samuel T. Herring, originally remixed by VANO 3000. DAMOYEE’s version earned her a shout out from infamous YouTuber Cory Kenshin. Once the pandemic lockdown was lifted, DAMOYEE continued growing her social media presence and began performing live again, including headlining the Bud Light Stage at the State Fair of Texas and the legendary Red Room in Boston, MA. She was a featured performer at the inaugural Ramblin’ Roads Music Festival in Arlington, TX. In 2020, she made her Sofar Sounds debut with Sofar Sounds Boston during her first year as a student at Berklee College of Music. DAMOYEE became a recurring performer with Club Passim after performing in 2020 at Campfire, Club Passim’s legendary music festival. DAMOYEE landed an opening act spot for Charlotte Day Wilson in Dallas and Houston on the Alpha Tour. DAMOYEE opened for Sammy Rae & The Friends at a sold-out show in Boston on the last night of the Follow Me Like The Moon Tour. Upon starting her senior year at Berklee, DAMOYEE once again scaled back on live performances to focus on finishing college.

DAMOYEE announced a new era in late 2022 that was to be comprised of songs about her coming of age journey while in college, and a new direction and sound for her artistry and musicianship. On November 18, 2022, DAMOYEE launched a new project, little liar, with a song and music video, that premiered in Paper Magazine and was featured in Consequence. In 2023, she dropped five more singles: BICY (Boy I’m Craving You) on Jan. 13, that premiered in FLOOD Magazine and was also featured in That Grape Juice and Atwood Magazine; to the next one on Feb. 10, which premiered in American Songwriter and was featured in a live performance for the Recording Academy’s Press Play series on GRAMMY.com; phobia on March 28, premiering in Atwood Magazine, and don’t know on May 2.

In 2023, DAMOYEE composed music for several scenes of a new Cartoon Network show titled Jessica’s Big Little World, a spinoff of Craig of the Creek.

DAMOYEE is credited as a writer on Undertow, track 16 of Bryson Tiller’s self-titled album Bryson Tiller released on April 5, 2024.

On April 12, 2024 DAMOYEE announced the first volume of songs that she started writing in college, titled PURPLEXED VOLUME 1, would be released on April 19.

Awards and Accolades

DAMOYEE is an extraordinary music artist having earned recognition at the local, state, national, and international levels for her work in piano and vocal performance across multiple music genres, as well as film scoring, music theory, and composition. One of her highest honors is the prestigious lifetime achievement Paderewski Medal for piano playing and music theory awarded by the American College of Musicians. During her senior year of high school, DAMOYEE was selected to compose an exclusive score for AT&T Performing Arts Center to accompany the ascension of The Moody Foundation Chandelier prior to every production at Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas. The Lights Are Rising by DAMOYEE replaced a score by renowned composer Philip Glass. The Lights Are Rising made its debut on July 27, 2019 when the chandelier ascended before a sold-out crowd for An Evening with Iyanla Vanzant during Vanzant’s Acts of Faith Remix Tour. Known for her angelic vocals and ethereal harmonies, DAMOYEE has earned top vocalist recognition from legendary organizations such as DownBeat and the Monterey Jazz Festival. DAMOYEE won Best Vocalist in the 2020 Dallas Observer Music Awards and Best Female Vocalist in the 2020 Central Track Music Honors. She is a 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts semi-finalist and National YoungArts multi-award winner for jazz voice and singer-songwriter. She is a two-time DownBeat SMA recipient: Winner Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist (Piano and Vocal); Outstanding Performance Vocal Jazz Soloist. DAMOYEE is also a two-time recipient of the Outstanding Vocal Soloist Award at the Next Generation Monterey Jazz Festival for her performance on 'Round Midnight by Miles Davis, arrangement by Darmon Meader of the New York Voices. She was recognized by NPR Music as one of North Texas' 20 Under 20 and named a Rising Star by the Dallas Jazz Piano Society. She won Best Original Soundtrack in the International Online Web Fest awards for her film score work on Fauk My Life, an independent web series. DAMOYEE earned a silver medal in music composition by NAACP ACT-SO for her song, The Willow Tree. DAMOYEE is an alumna of House of Blues Music Forward Foundation Bringing Down the House program for emerging artists. She participated in the program once as a solo artist and a second time with her now defunct band, DiDi’s Garden. In 2023, DAMOYEE earned the distinction of Webby Honoree presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a significant achievement for her work entered in the Webby Awards which are hailed by The New York Times as the “Internet’s highest honor.”

Advocacy and Activism

DAMOYEE is an advocate for bullying prevention, non-discrimination, equality, and justice. She often promotes peace, love, unity, empowerment, self-confidence, self-love, and self-expression on her platforms and through her music. DAMOYEE has supported many campaigns and efforts surrounding these causes and more, including the importance of voting and women’s right to vote. In 2020, she was the music director for a collaboration of young female artists in the House of Blues Music Forward x Rock the Vote Democracy Summer 2020 19th Amendment Collage of Voices. Prior to the 2020 presidential election, she performed at MOVE Texas Rock Your Reg to encourage young voters to register to vote and vote in the 2020 election. In December 2020, DAMOYEE released Can’t Imagine A Day Without You exclusively on YouTube, a global collaboration she composed and directed to pay tribute to essential workers and others that kept communities thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic. For Inauguration Day in 2021, DAMOYEE partnered with the organizations The Call to Unite and The Conversationalist to challenge President Joe Biden to unify the country. In March 2021, DAMOYEE was the sole performer at a private reception for family and friends of Botham Jean, and VIPs at The Street Renaming Ceremony Honoring the Life and Legacy of Botham Jean. Jean was a Black man killed by a White female Dallas police officer who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison for Jean’s death. For Earth Month in April 2022, DAMOYEE released a song titled Come Together in partnership with Daily Harvest to start a conversation on the role food plays in solving the climate and health crises. For Earth Day in 2024, DAMOYEE performed at the Dallas Earth Day Action environmental justice rally to protest against two old asphalt shingle factories polluting Black and Brown neighborhoods in Central Dallas.