At the time of our call, Toronto-born R&B singer Liza Yohannes—who goes simply by LIZA—had just moved away from her lifelong home city. She also recently made the decision to leave nursing behind in order to pursue music full-time. LIZA’s current state of change would be enough to bring stress, self-doubt, and uncertainty to anyone’s life. But the rising artist sounded calm when we spoke, attributing her good energy to taking care of her mental health—and to trusting herself when it comes to her leaps of faith.
“I think, truthfully, growing up in a first-generation household, a lot of the challenges that I face —and I’m sure other people can relate—are the pressures to take on a tangible career of either a doctor or a lawyer or engineer,” says LIZA (pronounced Lee-za), of her Ethiopian-Canadian upbringing. “It was one of those things where I was like, Okay, well, I guess I’ll be on the path to go to med school and something in healthcare—but music was always at the forefront for me.”
LIZA says her passion for music was so strong that she ended up going to nursing school while also releasing tracks, first on SoundCloud and then other music streaming platforms. “I would finish class and then hop on the train to the only studio I knew to record my songs and then go back home and wake up for classes or clinicals early the next morning. That was my life for a really long time,” LIZA explains.
LIZA’s double life as a recording artist eventually led to her buzzy EP release, Done Is Done, which was entirely conceived and completed during the pandemic with a tight circle of collaborators. While working on the project, even LIZA went as far as renting and living in an Airbnb with her producers. Since then, she’s received numerous accolades, and was evern selected for ASCAP’s “Songwriters: Next Generation” 2021 program. She has also opened for Kyle Dion, Raveena, and Lauryn Hill. “Honestly, I really have to give it all to coffee. That’s been my number one support source,” LIZA jokes.
Some may say it’s LIZA’s optimism that has helped her persevere—after all, to be an emerging musician and have all opportunities somewhat indefinitely on hold because of the pandemic is a hard reality to swallow. “It really forced me to sort of sit with myself and reflect,” LIZA says of her canceled performances and sessions and postponed releases.
“It’s really tough [because performance is the] main way I communicate and connect with supporters and [how I] introduce my music to new people. Shows are the most electrifying thing, especially when you have a crowd that really vibes with your music. There’s nothing like that. So one thing I really forced myself to learn was to focus on the things I could control and a lot of my emphasis went towards writing as much as I could,” LIZA says of her proactive response to these limitations. “It’s seeing what you can do with what you’re given and how you can overcome any obstacles that you have by just changing your perspective,” she adds.
When I ask LIZA if her creative process brings its own set of mental blocks—for instance, reliving painful memories through songwriting is surely exhausting—she says it’s moreso an opportunity for her to reflect. “I think of every song that I write, whether it be released or unreleased, as a chapter in my life. I can go back and listen to that song and remember exactly how I was feeling, where I wrote it, when I wrote it, and who I was with,” she says. “Those moments allow me to look back, especially when I moved on from the situation, to see my growth and overall evolution. I’m so grateful for those moments, even though those emotionally taxing moments can be really burdensome—which is why I really, really try to emphasize the importance of self-care and overall mental health.”
For LIZA, being consistent in daily rituals is how she takes care of her mind and body, even if no two days look alike. This includes waking up at 6:30am or 7 every day (“I’m such a morning person,” she says), meditating, drinking coffee in the sun, and writing in notebooks. “I had a really bad pattern of working really, really hard and burning out and then taking a couple weeks off and then working really hard and then burning out and repeating that cycle,” LIZA says of the time she felt least in control. “The important thing that I learned was that self-care isn’t only when you burn out—it’s every day. It’s waking up in the morning and meditating consistently and not looking at my phone and doing things that make me happy for my overall emotional wellbeing.”
As a Black woman stepping into the precarious and sometimes toxic recording industry, practicing self-care also offers some sort of mental protection. “I don’t even know if I can simplify the complexities of racism in a couple of words—and, it sounds cliche, but Black women have to work twice as hard to get half as far. That’s just what the reality of the situation is,” says LIZA. “I think we’re making strides, but we definitely have a long way to go.”
For now, LIZA looks forward to working on a new music project (“I think it’s the best stuff that I’ve written yet,” she says with pride) and to finding a place to live. And though big changes can be difficult, she works hard to view her life through heart-shaped lenses. “Sometimes I think of my life as a real-life rom-com, which may be unhealthy at times, but I really do love writing about love and happiness and everything related to it,” LIZA enthuses. “My favorite movies are basically every ‘90s Julia Roberts movie—one of my favorites is My Best Friend’s Wedding, where Julia Roberts’ character is named Julianne Potter. The first track on my project is actually named after her.”
From her nursing career beginnings in Toronto to becoming a rising voice in R&B, one could even say that LIZA’s life has always exuded main character energy—and to this day, she confronts all her ups and downs like the protagonist that she is. It shows in all of her work. In essence, every song of heartache LIZA writes also honors the optimism of what can come from the other side. It seems like an ideal place for LIZA to be, mentally, even if everything around her is in flux. “I think I write songs to manifest the love that I want or how I picture love being,” says LIZA. “I really love to capture the essence of good wholesome love.”
*The information contained in this program is not intended to dispense medical advice, and is not intended for self diagnosis or treatment. If you have any questions or concerns about your health, and/or before starting or stopping any treatment or acting upon any information contained in this program, you should contact your own medical physician, or health-care provider.
