DAMOYEE Scores Jessica's Big Little World While Building Popular TikTok Account
Image by Shane McCormick
From soundtracks to live tracks, Damoyee Janai Neroes B.M. '23, a multitalented multi-instrumentalist from Dallas, Texas, practices music-making on every level. Known professionally as DAMOYEE, she scored the Cartoon Network’s new show Jessica’s Big Little World, and her TikTok channel, where she posts videos of her building songs live, recently eclipsed 3 million likes.
DAMOYEE began studying music privately at the age of 2, starting with piano, music theory, and composition. Over the years, she’s added keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass, ukulele, dulcimer, melodica, clarinet, cajón, djembe, glockenspiel, bongos, kalimba, and other instruments to her repertoire. When she was 13, she released her first studio recording, a five-track EP called Thankful, which she followed at age 16 with a 12-track studio album, From the Bottom of My Heart, and The Whole Truth at 19. For all of these recordings, she composed the music, wrote the lyrics, and performed the instrumentation and vocals.
Faced with the prospect of zero live performances for the foreseeable future, DAMOYEE pivoted and refocused her attention on virtual performances.
Building on her writing and recording experience, DAMOYEE attended Berklee on a full-tuition scholarship, setting her sights on film scoring. “Someone from the Berklee Film Scoring Department came to my high school in 2015,” she recalls. “After the presentation, I knew Berklee was the college I wanted to go to.”
While still a student, DAMOYEE scored the 2022 horror movie Coming Back for You, along with a handful of independent short films. Putting her scoring degree into practice, she’s since composed music for the inaugural season of the 2023 Cartoon Network series Jessica’s Big Little World. “The goal for me was to compose some relaxed synth-pop, ’80s-ish-inspired nostalgia to make viewers feel like kids again,” she says. “I had so much fun working on Jessica’s Big Little World. It’s a really great show!”
Her ongoing TikTok success took off in the early days of the pandemic lockdown. Faced with the prospect of zero live performances for the foreseeable future, DAMOYEE pivoted and refocused her attention on virtual performances, presenting more than 30 shows across various online platforms. Her TikTok account, which grew to more than 200,000 followers, was one of 100 selected from among more than 5,000 to take part in TikTok for Black Creatives, a three-month educational program for content creators.
Among the many highlights of her musical career thus far, DAMOYEE received a Paderewski Medal for piano-playing and music theory from the American College of Musicians and was named a Webby Honoree by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. She has performed at such legendary venues as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 50th Anniversary, the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City, the main stage at the House of Blues in Dallas, and the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.
DAMOYEE recently wrapped a series of recording collaborations with Berklee students, and unveiled a new song, “little liar,” along with an accompanying music video. Her latest Berklee collab is called “BICY (Boy I’m Craving You),” a ballad she coproduced with Annie Elise Dickinson '22. In the months to come, DAMOYEE plans to release additional songs and head out on tour.
