La Hara Releases Her New Single “Mindful”

Hailing from Washington D.C., rising multi-talented artist Bri Hall is ready to reveal her true self with the launch of her alter ego La Hara and musical debut. At only 24-years old, the singer-songwriter, influencer, and motivational speaker has amassed over 700,000 subscribers and over 36 million total views on her YouTube channel. Using YouTube as an outlet for her art during college, everything on her social platforms have since been inspired by her unique take on life, beauty, and art. Hall never aspired to be a YouTube sensation but family, friends, and fans gravitated towards her down to earth appeal, humility, and compassion towards humanity – her beauty videos were just an extra perk.

Overall, Hall uses her platform and reach to address a wide range of social issues from abuse and wellness to black feminism and self-love. In 2018, she gave a TEDx Talk at TEDxBethesda, “Just Give Up. It’s for the best.” which detailed her own journey working in the retail industry during her college years and how she followed her dreams to achieve the success she’s experienced since. Hall also has 255,000-plus followers on Instagram, working with brands ranging from Calvin Klein, Google Pixel, and Suave to Kellogg’s and Vaseline; she also assisted in launching ads for Freeform’s Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish (both featuring Tracee Ellis Ross and Yara Shahidi). After achieving such a massive level of triumph in the digital age, most would be content to settle on their laurels – but not her. Possessing a natural inclination towards music, Hall started exploring another side of her creative personality, drawing from her formative influences of ’80s and ’90s R&B, including Denise Williams, Lauryn Hill, and Sade.

Now she’s thrilled to release her new single “Mindful” which premiered alongside an exclusive interview with PopSugar. They raved: “La Hara is ready to make waves in the music industry.” Initially written as a poem dedicated to her previously estranged father and those who turned their backs on her, the words took on new meaning following her humanitarian trip to Ethiopia. Earlier this year, the songstress fundraised over $3000 total, collected school supplies and vitamins for children, then flew off to hand deliver the products herself. The lessons which came out of the trip were priceless and will forever be cemented in who La Hara aims to be and the stories she’ll grow to tell. You can listen to the tune below:

We all need a reminder that someone out there is there for us – whether it be those closest to us or someone we maybe haven’t even met yet – and that we need to be there for others in our lives too. That’s where Bri Hall’s indelible debut single as La Hara, “Mindful,” comes in: the 24-year-old singer/songwriter, artist, and influencer is stepping out with a lovely and woozy tune that melds contemporary R&B’s colorful drip with classic-sounding pop songwriting. It’s a solid introduction to a true original of an artist you’re sure to be hearing more from in the future.

“R&B was a fuel for my art. All art blends fluidly together, so I listened to music a lot while I drew and painted.” From her musical inspirations sprung forth her La Hara persona, as well as her debut single “Mindful,” which she conceived out of a melody in her head and an accompanying poem she wrote on a flight from L.A. “I liked the poem so much that I transitioned it into a song.” All it took was the titular inspiration—literally—for that final piece to come together: “I saw the word ‘mindful’ somewhere and it was light bulbs all of the sudden,” Hall remembers. “I started humming, ‘I need you to be mindful of me,’ and I thought, ‘Whoa, this could be a thing.'” Thematically, “Mindful” finds Hall digging deep into her personal life to reflect on who she is and how she’s been shaped by the people around her: “I reflected about who in my life I needed to be mindful of, and who affected me the most as far as my relationships with people were concerned, and I thought about my biological father. It can go hand in hand with a relationship in which someone’s thinking about themselves and not your needs, or if friends don’t check in on you enough because you’re always okay. It’s what I would say if I was sitting in an empty room with the people who made me a second priority.”

What’s next? A series of singles throughout the year, as well as a numerous humanitarian efforts off the back of her philanthropy trip to Ethiopia – reconnecting with Hall’s charitable roots dating back to her days in elementary school, which was also the home school for Andrews Air Force Base during the time of 9/11. “Philanthropy and volunteer work has been a huge part of my life,” she explains, but as she grew older, she wondered what more she could be doing: “I was still doing all the things that drove me, but there was something I was missing that I couldn’t put my finger on – it was the community service aspect.” After talking to a family friend who worked at a nonprofit, she set off for Ethiopia, a trip in which she raised $1300 for school supplies, as well as $2000 in prenatal vitamins and infant care, which she personally delivered.

La Hara, all in all, is not only an alter ego of Bri Hall’s but a movement, a voice for the people, a place for the community. Through her work she delivers audio visual experiences that elicit empowerment, inspiration, but most importantly, deep thinking and connection. After all, being mindful comes in all forms.

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