Left to Our Own Devices, Literally

The global pandemic had a lot of people quarantined and socially isolated, which led people to start developing hobbies. The pandemic provided users the opportunity to create big and lasting digital communities on social media platforms.

Faith-based content creators developed a following via TikTok and Instagram that has become a digital community. It is not certain whether the creators labeled themselves as “Christian influencers” or even “influencers” initially. 

Were people of faith  posting videos for the sake of sharing what was going on in their lives, or was their objective to evangelize? Did the content shared on social media platforms create a community out of shared experiences and relatability, or were people intrigued by the messages and laughs presented? 

These questions cannot be answered on a consensus. What can be said is that the accessibility of social media, the algorithm, people stumbling upon influencer status and evangelical tools  created a fresh Christian movement. A Christian movement is where Christianity and the ideas of the religion are welcoming and attractive. 

If People Want It, They’ll Find it

“If people want it, they’ll find it” is an expression used to encourage people to be their authentic selves and create content or put themselves on the market, and if people desire or are interested in what you’re presenting then they’ll find it. 

This is exactly what happened with the Christian movement amongst Gen Z on social media. The surge of Christian influencers invited people into their lives and interests. This exposure also shed light on artists and musicians that have classified their music as Christian contemporary, R&B, pop, rock, hip- hop or rap. 

People of faith have been creating Christian genres of music for years. In 2005, the hip-hop and rap group 116 Clique was created and included the following individuals: Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee and Sho Baraka. 

In 2013 and 2015, Lecrae won a Grammy. Additionally, in 2021 and 2024 Lecrae won awards for CCM music album, CCM music performance / song 2x, and gospel performance song.  Moreover, the popularity of the Christian Contemporary Music genre has increased. 

One Christian artist is Delta State’s very own CèJae.

About CèJae

Success 

CèJae is a senior marketing major at Delta State who has reached mainstream success with Christian R&B. She “aspires to encourage people and share the gospel in an innovative way.”

CèJae has reached over 2.7 million streams on Apple music, over 2 million streams and 100k monthly listeners on Spotify, and around 2 million streams on YouTube. She says that she had no idea her career would take off as soon as it did. 

“I was convinced it would take me five plus years to get anywhere close to where I am now, because I’ve seen it take that long for other people,” she says. “Also, a lot of the greats I looked up to started at ten and did not find huge success until late teens or early twenties, so I kind of thought it was standard.”

Education 

CèJae chose to major in marketing because she believed that it would give her expertise with branding and marketing herself as an artist. She believes that success isn’t just in talent alone, but there is a critical business side to it that needs to be understood. 

She came to Delta State because she initially wanted to minor in Entertainment Industry Studies. However, taking on a minor would have taken her longer to complete and is not feasible for her busy schedule now. 

Moreover, she credits Delta State’s Delta Music Institute (DMI) classes as being valuable and applicable in her career. 

The DMI is her favorite place on campus. She spent most of her time there, connected with other student musicians and recorded some of her popular songs, specifically “Fill Me Up” in Studio C.

The Beginning

CèJae began singing as a little girl and dreamed of being a singer. She didn’t think that she could be successful at it because she had terrible stage fright. 

She comes from a musical family, grew up singing in church with her mom’s side of the family, and often sang with her dad who she unfortunately lost due to Covid in 2020. 

Her dad sang in a local group that traveled to sing at events such as weddings, funerals and cruises. 

She says that losing her dad made her realize that “life is too short to live in fear, and he would definitely want me to pursue singing.” 

Therefore, CèJae wrote music and received positive feedback from friends and family which gave her the extra push.

Influences 

Growing up, she listened to and loved artists such as Alicia Keys, Aaliyah and Rihanna. In the past five years, she has listened to a lot of popular, modern-day R&B influences such as H.E.R, Summer Walker, SZA, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat and Snoh Aalegra. Her favorite artist now is Madison Ryan Ward. Additionally, Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) and gospel artists inspire her.

She also says that she hears influences in her music from everyone she grew up listening to. She’s told that she sounds like a mix of H.E.R, Summer Walker, SZA and Ella Mae although she doesn’t hear it. 

Why Christian R&B and Not R&B?

CèJae was originally a R&B artist; however, when she lost her dad, her own personal journey with faith jump-started. She grew up in church, but realized she had never made the decision to dive deeper into the faith on her own. 

As a result, she grew in her relationship with God. Then she naturally wanted to talk about it in her music. She had no idea Christian R&B was a thing until she looked for it. Once she found it she knew it was exactly where she belonged in the music industry. (That expression is true, “if people want it they’ll find it”)

CèJae’s Advice

CèJae says, “find your God- given purpose and pursue it. Not as a backup plan, not as a hobby, but pursue it fully. Once you focus your time and energy on what you’re born to do, your gift will make room for you. There’s no greater feeling than doing what you love and loving what you do for a living! With that, learn as much as you can from those around you and those that are where you want to be career wise.

Connect With CèJae

You can find CèJae by searching “CèJae” on Google, Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube, and / or Soundcloud. She’s also on Instagram and TikTok at itscejae.