Over the summer of 2022, I was lucky enough to attend Grammy Camp: a selective camp for teenagers across the United States created by the Recording Academy. We met in Los Angeles for a week, and students were involved in a variety of programs related to music (production, performance, and journalism being just a few). Before I traveled across the country, I made a playlist of music released by some of my fellow campers.

Rijah’s songs immediately stuck with me.

Since that summer, I’ve kept up with her music. It was a pleasure to see her perform at Emerson’s Uncommon Stage in October, and I interviewed her shortly after about her experience as a singer-songwriter.

Rijah, a current senior at Berklee College of Music, has been in Boston for four years now. She’s been involved with music for even longer.

“I grew up in a very musical family,” she said. “I don’t remember my life without it. I’ve been performing since I was three years old. I used to do Indian classical dance and sing Indian classical music.”

Choosing to pursue music professionally, however, was decided in high school. Rijah went to High Tech High School in New Jersey, where she pursued music and audio technology. “I was really fortunate to grow up where I did,” she said. “It’s a very culturally diverse place and it’s a really artsy environment. Before I got to college, I had already released my first EP. I kind of just kept going from there. Ever since I’ve got to college, it’s been a whirlwind.”

Although I saw Rijah at Uncommon Stage, she’s played dozens of other shows in Boston and elsewhere. In 2021, she started performing in New York City as a solo artist. In college, though, her live career took off.

“I’ve had some of the most incredible experiences while in college,” Rijah said. “I played the Soundside Music Festival last year, with Norah Jones and Noah Kahan. One really good memory is this show that I played at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art. It was a full-band show, outdoors in the summer. That one stuck out to me because of the amount of people who resonated with the music. Live music is a huge part of my artistry.”

Besides being a touring musician, Rijah also wants to focus on a career in songwriting. When I first listened to her, I was struck by her introspective and relatable lyrics.

“I talk a lot about the different eras of my life and movement and change and how I’ve observed that. I feel like my emotions are pretty big. I reminisce a lot, and I think about the future a lot. I feel very inspired by other time periods of my life, whether I’ve experienced them or haven’t yet.” While her focus on song production has grown since she started creating music, her love for words and lyrics stays true.

One such song of hers — the one she’d recommend to a new listener — is “House In Tattoos.”

“When you’re in your house and looking at different objects, you remember different people and different memories that you’ve had with them. People have always told me that they like that metaphor, that the house is tattooed with different memories.”

Rijah, through years of growth and practice, has built upon her skills in every aspect of music creation: “I feel like if you put me in a room with other producers and writers, I could take any seat. I could be the writer in the room, I could be the producer in the room, I could be the artist in the room.” While she’s only 21, she’s made an effort to put herself out there, gaining more experience with every opportunity that arises.

When I asked Rijah what advice she’d give to an aspiring musician, she stated that young artists should create what sounds good to them. “Trust your gut and your ear. I was actually thinking about this [recently]. I’ve been doing a lot of songwriting sessions lately where it’s been for commercial purposes, and I’ve been forgetting that I will create good melodies and good music if I just like it and trust that what I’m doing is good.”

“I can’t even explain how impactful other artists have been for me,” Rijah said. “Throughout any emotional rollercoaster in my life, music has always been a backbone. I want everyone else to experience that through my art. It’s really important to me to connect with people — those I’m close with or those I don’t even know — is a really special thing.”

Rijah: Reminiscing Through Music