NEW YORK – I have known Arianna since she was a child, because she was a student at Saint Demetrios School in Astoria. I will never forget her as a little one, just in the fourth grade, serious and dedicated to her role, with great success playing the little wooden soldier, the only girl among boys, in the school’s Christmas pageant. She is an active multi-talented girl, who leaves us speechless with her gift for music, song and dance. As her mother, Sandy, told us, Arianna, among other things, can make a beat box, that is, she can create the sounds she hears or the sounds of musical instruments with her mouth, which is very difficult and requires great skill.

At the same time, however, she is a mature and responsible teenager, who thinks "outside of the box" and who dreams of helping the world around her to become a better place.

She recently posted on YouTube a song she wrote called Black Lives Matter, which was much loved by the public. The National Herald interviewed Arianna about her music.

TNH: When did you start writing songs and how did you get started?

Arianna Steele: I grew up in a house full of music and instruments that I could use whenever I wanted, and since I can remember I used to make lyrics and then try to tie them to music by pressing the keys. I had a baglamadaki and a ukulele, a piano, a guitar, and a xylophone, and played music all the time, since I was five years old.

TNH: Do you write both music and lyrics?

AS: Most of the time I create my own beat on my computer, I have musical instruments that I can connect, but sometimes I use beats that I find on the Internet and that are free from copyright, as I did for the song Black Lives Matter.

TNH: What inspires you to write music?

AS: I’ve always made music, but what inspires me is to talk about issues that concern me, such as bullying, God, the environment.

TNH: What kind of music do you listen?

AS: I usually listen to hip hop, rock n’ roll or blues. For example, when we go somewhere by car we always have music and I like to listen to these three genres. I also really like the songs of Remos that I sing with my sister Anastasia.

TNH: Do you prefer to write in these genres?

AS: I like to write rap music but I don't like listening to it, because rappers usually talk about material things and use inappropriate language.

I want to inspire people to help them think about issues that are related to problems or issues that really make sense and are worth dealing with.

TNH: Who is your role model in music?

AS: I don't have a role model in music, I like to be creative when writing music. I like a lot of different musicians but I don't consider them role models.

TNH: How did you think of writing the song Black Lives Matter?

AS: I wrote this song because a lot of people don't understand what the problem really is. Many believe it was just George Floyd, but in recent years, many people have died because the police misunderstood their behavior or thought they were armed, and I want to help people understand what is really going on.

TNH: What is your favorite verse from this song?

AS: My favorite verse from the song is the beginning "Why do we have to be the ones fighting, why do we have to be the fighting people.” Because we (African-Americans) have to hide, watch out and fight for our rights, they have to be ours since we are human.

I think all lives are worth living, but the lives of African-Americans seem to be in greater danger now, and that's why we have to be very careful.

TNH: Did anyone help you or did you do it all yourself?

AS: I wrote the lyrics myself, but the basic beat for the music, I found it on the internet and then I clicked on it and adapted it to my song. A friend of mine, a neighbor, helped me with the video. I did the editing.

TNH: What do you want to do growing up?

AS: I want to be an architect and a rapper. I really like to make foam structures and paint them. Many architects do this or make something out of a photo and I really like that.

TNH: What is the message you want to get across in your music?

AS: I like to write rap music about problems that need to be solved, such as global warming, bullying, equality, and general issues that have meaning and significance to me.

Follow Arianna on Youtube as Dj Awi and on Instagram as dj_awi.