Mayhrenate Hassan, the one-time child actor on working hard and holding on to dreams
When Mayhrenate was young she would collect cassette tapes and take her mother’s boom box, belting out Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. She grew up surrounded by love and genuine appreciation for music that later sculpted her own path as a singer. She was entranced by artists before her time, absorbing their rich, soulful style. Now at 28, Mayhrenate shares some of the regal qualities of her heroes. She has a theatrically enchanting way of performing with ease that others would strive for.
School of rock star: how Mayhrenate’s career started
Mayhrenate’s story is a tale as old as time: a young singer dreams only of the big stage. It was only when a family friend called her about a casting flyer that she found herself in the spotlight. She was 10 when she was cast in Richard Linklater’s, School of Rock. Jack Black starred as a grubby, wisecracking rock guitarist who scams his way into a substitute teaching position to teach music. Mayhrenate played Tamika, a timid girl who was initially appointed to the role of the band’s transportation. But she belts out a few notes, and Jack, who grins as he’d just discovered his winning ticket, reassigns her to the lead singer role. She was able to share her talent, notably her Chain of Fools vocal blast, and the Battle of the Bands solo performance.
The call sheet fits little Mayhrenate perfectly, “They needed a little chubby girl, who had the range to sing Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle, and I’m an old soul who grew up with that sort of music.” It had been simple, and she’d only needed to string a few notes of her smooth, powerful voice to be selected. “It was probably the easiest thing because singing was something that I’ve been doing all my life,” she tells me. The magnitude of performing in front of a real audience allowed her a taste of what life as a performer would feel like.
“That was when I though, okay…I can get used to this.”
‘I’ve always wanted to perform.’
But despite the transformative effects of her role in the film, she was not content. Her true passion was singing. Real singing, creating music, and having her name on dozens of albums that would sell out. “Playing Tamika meant a lot to me, as a kid, it meant I got to do what I always wanted to do, which was perform,” she says. But it wasn’t enough.
When the School of Rocks premiered, Mayhrenate tried to ride along with the momentum. She kept auditioning but to no avail. Dripping with talent wasn’t enough. She needed to look the part.
Plush EP 2021 and singing debut
Yet all was not lost with her. Dropping acting completely, she pivoted to music. Mayhrenate’s Plush debut co-produced by Gourty Maxx, a Grammy-nominated producer, is her pride. The six-track record, released on her birthday as a gift to herself, yields everything from modern RnB, with witty lyrics, polished melodious voice, and progressive backdrops. “This album is my baby, it’s my first body of work that I’ve been able to present to people,” she says, though she’s discrediting herself from her first single Million Reasons, Takeout in 2020, and her feature on Willie Hyn’s May It All Be Well. Yet, although she’s been in the industry for a while, her unfiltered creativity is now finally visible in her work on Plush.
The creative process for this album felt scattered, she recalls. “This entire process was completely different.” The entire project was created through countless FaceTime calls and voice memos with Gourty, her co-writer. “I had just purchased my very own studio equipment around February 2020, so it was just me in my small apartment, 25/8 putting the pieces together,” she tells me. Mayhrenate’s full control over her own work, and having reigned over the vocal arrangement taught her more about herself as an artist. Out of the eight tracks, the one she most treasures is Baby It’s You.
“It feels like home to me, I remember when I was writing to the beat and saying it felt like springtime in Brooklyn.”
Mayhrenate’s time to shine!
It doesn’t end here for Mayhrenate. In fact, the dim road to stardom is getting brighter for her. With music videos, merch, and a second album on the way, she won’t rest until her name joins amongst those who’ve sold out Madison Square Garden. She’s bold, exuding both talent and charisma, but her drive is what is commendable and unbreakable. Mayhrenate is ready to face the world in her own way.
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