Share

Deyjah Harris is a household name and not because TI is her father, but because of the stand, she is taking in society for her generation. Deyjah Harris is the oldest biological daughter of Atlanta rapper and King of the South, TI. This gentle free spirit took a moment to sit down with SHEEN and open up about who she is and the different struggles she has faced in the media, behind closed doors, and in life. To know Deyjah is to know that inner peace and healing are real and both are obtainable. This beauty doesn’t look like half of what she has been through but taught SHEEN that inner peace comes from within. 

Being a person with a heavy music background, what is your favorite music genre and why? 

“Honestly, I don’t have a “favorite music genre” because I’m very open when it comes to music.. I listen to anyone and everything whether it’s hip-hop, R&B, rock, pop, metal, country, jazz, reggae/dancehall, Latin music, and much more! My music taste is very diverse. Growing up, my music taste was influenced by my mother being that she is the only person I know who listens to a wide variety of music like myself. My older sister, Zonnique, has influenced my music taste as well. A lot of people around my age that I have known for years always looked at me funny whenever I would play music that isn’t Hip-Hop or R&B. I feel grateful to know that I don’t limit myself when it comes to the type of music that I listen to consistently. Although I wasn’t blessed with talents like singing, rapping, or playing an instrument/making beats, I can say that I was blessed with having a good ear when it comes to music.”

With her father being TI, Deyjah was able to witness the rap/hip-hop scene firsthand. Even though both parents have different tastes in music she feels blessed to have the best of both music worlds. 

Your beauty and inner glow are amazing and beyond attractive! Have you ever thought about picking up modeling professionally? 

“Well first off, I am surprised and honored to know that you feel this way about me. Although I don’t fully agree, I do receive the compliment and I thank you for that! I have never thought about modeling professionally nor have I ever considered myself to be a model. I’m always so confused when people just randomly give me the title of being “a model” because all I do is take pictures for companies that pay me. Of course, it wouldn’t be something that I want to do as my main career, but it could be something that I do in the future one day.” 

Deyjah opened up to SHEEN about her bully experiences growing up. She never looked at herself as a celebrity kid because she lived a very normal life. However, other peers looked at her in that spotlight and became jealous. Being teased about her physical features that she could not change or control took a toll on her mental well-being. It caused her to look at her beauty and doubt it. Surprisingly, she never really had high self-esteem due to the bullying that started in elementary school. Deyjah informs us that she still has a lot of growing and healing to do in that aspect. 

You recently took to IG a post that was spreading awareness about self-injury/self-harm. What made you do that? 

“The reason why I decided to share my truth as far as self-harm is concerned was to not only bring awareness to self-harm, but honestly it was to make sure that individuals who can relate know that they are seen and their stories matter. Unfortunately, I started to self-harm at 11 and as life went on, I realized how much of an impact pain, loss, and trauma can affect someone. I finally understood what self-harm truly is, as well as how there are multiple forms of it once my Auntie Precious passed away.”

The passing of Aunt Precious was a shock not only to the family but friends and fans of the show, TI and Tiny: The Family Hustle. She passed away following a car accident that was triggered by an asthma attack in Atlanta, GA. If you watched the show you could tell that Aunt Precious had a special bond with her nieces and nephews, especially Deyjah. Unfortunately, that passing triggered Deyjah more than anyone knew. 

“I got tired of always having to have someone edit my arm for me and I didn’t want people to look at me as a hypocrite because here I am always telling people “live in your truth, don’t hide who you are or what you’ve been through, be okay with being yourself unapologetically” only to see me doing the opposite of what I encourage them to do by hiding my arm scars. I want people, especially in the black community and in this generation, to be more vocal or transparent about what it is that they go through when it comes to mental health when THEY are ready and comfortable enough. Nobody deserves to have to spend the rest of their life hiding because they’re scared of how others will view them. Your story will heal and save so many lives and you don’t even know it yet but your Higher Self does and trust me, he or she cannot WAIT for you to see how much greatness and potential is stored within you.” 

What is your favorite tattoo? 

“Truthfully, I receive this question a lot and I still never know how to answer this. I wouldn’t say that I have a “favorite” tattoo because I truly love and put a lot of thought into all of them. I would be able to tell you what my least favorite tattoo is before I can say which one is my favorite, but I will say the two that receive the most compliments would be my yin yang or the crystals growing out of the butterfly tattoo. My yin yang tattoo represents (the mountains/nighttime side of it) I got this! When people go hiking/whenever they climb up a mountain, of course, it’ll be pretty hard to reach the top or to find the motivation to go through with it sometimes (just like how we are with certain situations in life). When things get hard, we find it hard to want to continue with our journey. When it comes to the sunrise side of my yin yang, this can represent a new beginning or new chapter of your life. It can symbolize that you’ve reached a light, truth, and peace through a dark/difficult period of your life (such as the mountains). In other words, the sun shall rise again and you’ll have a new day or fresh start to try again and make it to the top. It’s a metaphor for the hardships that we’ve all gone through and survived. Overall, the tattoo represents harmonic balance and completeness. It’s a reminder that we weren’t ever meant to be perfect, but we are meant to be whole. With my crystals and butterfly tattoo, those both have their meaning individually. However, the crystals are supposed to mimic titanium aura quartz. I have crystals growing out of the butterfly so that anytime the butterfly feels weak or doesn’t feel like carrying on (the butterfly represents “me”) then the healing properties from the crystals can flow into it to cleanse and recharge “her”. 

Deyjah got her first tattoo at 18, a sun and moon tattoo. Her mother has a whole leg sleeve which began to spark interest for Deyjah in getting tattoos. Aside from the beauty, she was teased about having in elementary school, she found beauty in tattoos and thought they made her more attractive in her eyes. She was searching for something new and wanted to put thought into her ink. All tattoos have different meanings and represent balance, who she is, and tranquillity. 

For those who don’t know Deyjah Harris, what is one thing you want people to know about you? 

“For the people who have no idea as to who Deyjah Harris is aside from me being known as “T.I’s daughter”, I would want people to know or view me as “the safe space” for any and everyone. People who have been following me on social media for a while now are very well aware of the fact that I have always made it known that my page is a safe and nonjudgmental place. There is NOTHING that someone can NOT come to me about seriously. I want people to get whatever they need to off of their chest with me. I feel as though everything I have been through this far has only happened so that I could be the sagacious and magnanimous person that I am today. As I stated in my self-harm post, we hurt so that we can help others heal from that same pain so, to make sure that I put my experiences, lessons, and business ideas to use before God has my spirit return back Home, I’ll make sure that I will continue to be a voice and use my platform to help those who don’t have one. One thing people should know about me is that I am a reminder that genuine, kind, and empathetic people with a pure heart/pure intentions still exist in today’s society.” 

This gentle soul sees people for who they are. Being bullied herself made her see how she doesn’t want others to feel. Deyjah is a light in our world that allows people to understand that kind souls still exist. 

What is inner peace and how do you obtain it? 

“I believe that inner peace is defined as or looks different for everyone. To me, inner peace refers to being mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and energetically healthy and serene on the inside. This isn’t to say that if you ever have moments where you might be filled with tension or stress that you do not know true inner peace. We will experience times in our lives where our current emotions/circumstances alter our view on what’s within, however, this doesn’t mean that our inner peace is absent or unreachable. Inner peace for me looks like spending time with or being around nature to recharge my root chakra. It can be reading or writing/journaling so that I can find new ways to expand my mind intellectually or even cooking! Cooking brings me inner peace. Meditating, doing yoga, going out of town/out of the country, or serving others who are less fortunate than I are the types of things that make life worth living and this is what makes me feel whole at the end of the day.

Even though Deyjah doesn’t think she is at peace at the moment she is taking different steps to do so. She makes sure her energy and aura are cleaned. 

She sages her space, takes spiritual baths, and enjoys the sun. She has noticed that she has been alone a lot recently and is making strides to gain her peace with that. Bullying is not ok and has long-lasting effects on a persons mental and emotional health. Just as Deyjah loves to be a listener for others in need, a listener needs a listener too. Take the time to accept people for who they are and not mock them for what you don’t understand about them. If we all do this, the world will be able to find inner peace.