
PJ
Photo by Ana Paula Sanchez
Quarantine Diaries: PJ Is Making TikToks, Covering Roddy Ricch's "High Fashion" & Binging "Ozark" On Netflix
As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, R&B/soul performer PJ, who has penned hits for Charlie Puth, Meek Mill and Wiz Khalifa, shares her Quarantine Diary.
Wednesday, March 26
I have been extremely lazy and eating everything in my path. Like, way more than usual. And honestly it’s been very hard to switch that up. I keep hearing that it's good to make an actual schedule, so I def have that on my to-do list.
[8 a.m.] I typically wake up around 8 a.m. every day—today was a little later. Around this time is usually when I reach for my phone and get sucked into the black hole that is Instagram by 8:15 a.m. And it isn’t usually until my dog licks me to death to take him outside that I actually roll out of bed. His name is Zombie, by the way. I walked him for about 35 to 40 minutes.
[11:30 a.m.] I finally convinced myself to do something halfway athletic. I don't really know when this mandatory quarantine will be over, and I don't want to come back from it heavier. Honestly, this quarantine has been more of a hibernation period for me. And I've had trouble convincing my body to be active. It's almost as if my body is in a constant state of sleepiness. My friend Fresh sent me a workout. I think it’s only supposed to take about an hour, but due to my A.D.D. and lack of fitness, it was probably about double the time. For the record, I hate squat jumps. And it's very hard for me to take cute fitness pictures, so I’ll pass on that, LOL.
[1 p.m.] Nothing too crazy, but I did download Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. Even though it's been super hard for me to be productive. I'm not gonna lie and pretend that I've just been churning out songs and content. But I do want to make sure I'm able to create stuff. So I thought it would be dope to figure out how to make some of that content on my own. So I've officially downloaded it, and I really hope I actually get to it.
[3 p.m.] I ended up with enough courage to make a TikTok for my cover of Roddy Ricch's "High Fashion." It took me unlimited tries, and I destroyed my room changing clothes, trying to pick an outfit. It definitely stressed me out. But of course, after that, I took a million selfies, since my makeup was already done.
@justpeej ##roddyrich ##highfashion ##remix ##covid19 ##happyathome ##comingsoon
[4:30 p.m.] I sent changes to my engineer Blue for a cover of Justin Bieber’s "Yummy" I'm doing. I've been doing covers to put out during this quarantine. I needed him to move the drums around, and some vocals. Luckily, Blue has his own home set up, so even though Atlantic [Records, my label] is closed I’m still able to get some work done. I ordered some equipment yesterday, but it doesn’t get here till tomorrow.
[7:15 p.m.] I ended up in the danger zone, a.k.a. my couch. So as we speak I'm binging Netflix. But really I'm just waiting till "Ozark" comes out tonight at midnight. Best show on television, in my opinion. I have other faves, but I'm addicted to this.
So that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing; this was probably my most productive day. And I hope to keep it going and not sleep this entire quarantine away.
Also, tip.
For those of you still looking for toilet tissue, check Big Lots before 10 a.m.
Love, PJ.
If you wish to support our efforts to assist music professionals in need, learn more about the Recording Academy's and MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
If you are a member of the music industry in need of assistance, visit the MusiCares website.