Kenjah is an artist who moves effortlessly between storytelling worlds. Known to audiences for her acting work, including her role on CBS series Beyond the Gates, she brings the same emotional depth and authenticity to her music, creating songs that blend romance, resilience and empowerment with a distinctly cinematic sense of feeling.
Her latest release “When I’m With You” captures the joy of choosing love despite outside pressures, transforming a message of devotion and connection into a feel-good summer anthem. Inspired in part by the love story of her character on screen, the track reflects Kenjah’s ability to explore emotion from multiple perspectives — as both a performer inhabiting another person’s story and an artist sharing her own.
LOCK Magazine spoke with Kenjah about balancing music and acting, the ways film and television shape her approach to visual storytelling, and how she continues to build a creative career across multiple forms of expression.
1. You’re balancing a rapidly growing acting career with your music career. How do those two creative worlds influence each other, and what have you learned from one that benefits the other?
Acting has taught me how to emotionally connect to a story with authenticity and honesty. Music lets me tell my own story, but I learned to sink into every aspect of the music emotionally, thanks to my experience acting honestly to stories that aren’t my own. They both make me a stronger performer and help me connect with people on a deeper level.
2. Many people know you from Beyond the Gates. What inspired you to pursue music alongside acting, and how does songwriting allow you to express a different side of yourself?
Music has always been part of who I am. Acting provides an exciting challenge of stepping into someone else’s mind to tell their story, while songwriting gives me the freedom and outlet to share my own thoughts, emotions, and experiences. It’s really amazing that however I’m feeling, I can translate it musically and pass that feeling onto a listener.
3. “When I’m With You” celebrates a love that remains strong despite outside opinions and pressure. What inspired that message, and why did it feel important to explore right now?
I think real love is about choosing each other despite the noise. I wanted to create a song that reminds people to trust their connection instead of outside opinions. I was inspired by the love story of my character on the CBS TV show Beyond The Gates.
4. You’ve described “When I’m With You” as a feel-good summer anthem. What were some of the key ingredients you wanted listeners to feel when they pressed play?
I wanted listeners to feel joy, romance, the warmth of the Caribbean sun and the freedom to love. The feeling of being completely present with someone who makes life brighter. I wanted it to feel like a getaway where you can have fun dancing in love with your person.
5. Your music and visual work often highlight themes of romance, resilience, and empowerment. Why do those themes continue to resonate with you as an artist?
Because those are the elements that drive and sustain us. I want people to leave my music feeling hopeful, confident, and reminded that love and strength can exist together.
6. There’s a strong cinematic quality to your music, and an official video is on the way. How does your background in film and television influence the way you think about visual storytelling in music?
I naturally picture scenes when I write music. Acting has taught me that every look, location, and moment tells a story or evokes a feeling so I approach my music videos the same way.
7. With exciting projects happening across music, television, and film, what are some of your goals for the next chapter of your career, and what can fans look forward to next?
I want to keep growing in all three areas while creating work that inspires people. Fans can definitely expect more music with videos. My lead role in an upcoming Lifetime Movie set to release this year. I’m also planning a few exciting surprise projects for people to engage with me more.