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News 12 Staff

215spotlightnj2_2026-02-15-05-53-49

I'm on a mission. Got my foot on the gas. Full moon ahead. Street lights flying past. Ignite the engine. Now the spirit's a spark with my master's instructions and fire in my. at every event escaping slavery. This time my mind's on track. I'm never going back. I'm on a mission. Shots from everywhere. We dodge every stone, mend every tear. And keep it moving with our eyes straight ahead. No weapon can stop us. It's free, no more. I'm gonna take you high, be on there lying. eyes I'm gonna break the spell, bust you out of your cell. Riding on a wave. Guided by the Sorry. Look. Twisting up the plot of the story. Riding on a wave of. Guided by the light of his globe. Looking to the Twisting up the plot of the story. me. Introduce you to the truth. Let me Introduce you to the truth. Yes, Natal.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/db3bc70f-8390-4720-aa21-63c136939051/db3bc70f-8390-4720-aa21-63c136939051.transcribe

215spotlightnj3_2026-02-15-10-18-15

Don't you love that video and that note that she hit Natalie Elise, New Jersey based soulful pop Christian artist riding on the wave of love. Tell me about the creation of this song and the video. OK, so we actually created it all ourselves, my husband and I, um, and we used a combination of live filming, uh, the use of green. Screen and AI, which is a tool that we just started using and it's allowed us to create things that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to do ourselves, bring things to life and bring things, you know, put together the vision that we wouldn't have been able to do without it and he was saying a lot of this creative vision comes from your mind. Yes, oh wow, how many years do we have? Oh, there's so much in my mind, but I really just want to, um, give, uh, visuals that are interesting and unique and that, uh, can encourage and, and uplift people and just make people feel good and encouraged. What brought you two together as a duo and a band? The music actually the, the one of the first things that we did together was to write a song called Forever for Oxygen Box Band. Um, Jolen is the name of my husband. He sent me the track for Forever and I wrote the lyrics for it and it was just, uh, it came together so beautifully. Say his name one more time. Joolyn. That's beautiful. It's Haitian. It's Haitian. Oh my gosh, how long have you two been together? Well, uh, since 2012, yeah, and as people will see when you're performing together here in studio, it's a wonderful magic. That you won't make, yeah, um, it's really been great and we have, um, 2022 was such an amazing year because that's the year that we got married and that's the year that our first daughter Lily was born and, um, marriage is such, uh, an amazing institution. And I think that it's such a powerful one for. Instilling change and and and and doing good um is to to have that family structure. I think that's the best thing really for for making change in the world. Does Lily watch you all perform? Yeah, she watches. What does she say and think she tries, well, actually sometimes she's just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, now can we do my song because she has her own stuff too, yeah, yeah. So, um, she enjoys it and she, she listens to and asks to hear our songs all the time so and she actually knows our songs better than we do sometimes.

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215spotlightnj4_2026-02-15-10-20-15

Natalie Elise wave of love, New Jersey based soulful pop Christian artist, we're living in tough times. What message do you want to come out of your music to rise up and inspire us all? OK, so, and that is our that is our goal, as I mentioned before, we always set an oxygen box band that is more than music, it's a movement and that is also the message that I carry with me into my solo career as Natalie Elise and so. There's a parable in the Bible that says it's a parable of the talents where um in our faith we're charged to multiply our talents, use our gifts, and make sure that we're using it for the good of other people and that's what I wanna do with my music. Right now, um, there's a lot of political tension and there's, um, you know, oppression that's happening all over the world and in New Jersey and wave of love speaks specifically to descendants of the transatlantic slave trade but it resonates with everyone it resonates with all of humanity and I hope that it's something that will encourage. And uplift people um when they hear it and give hope because that's my faith is really what keeps me hopeful and keeps me grounded and gives me peace and I want to translate that out to other people so that they can also have peace and hope when they listen to my music and be blessed by it. Beautiful. OK, I have to ask about that car. Where did that idea come from? Uh, well, first of all, the, the, the colors came into my head. Just purple, such a royal color and gold, such a royal color. So those were those were the theme colors for the video and um the car. I just wanted something sleek, futuristic, and something that I could, um, carry other people with me. It's a wave of love. Right, so I wanna carry other people with me. I want the wave to reach a lot of people, so that's why it's technically a van, right? So that we can fit other people in there to take us with us on to take to take them with us on this wave of love. And when you're speaking of taking people with you, the birds flying, yeah, that's a beautiful symbol, yeah, and that's representing really the freedom and and and the hope that we have.

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215SPOTLIGHTNJ5_2026-02-15-12-40-09

Woke up one morning, so much weighing on my mind and justice and equality is shaken up mankind took a deep breath, tried to steady up my mind, need a song to wake the people say that we must find some music for the rebels, some music for the revolution bound to come, some roots rock, reggae music for the rebels, some music for the struggling and the voiceless ones. So much deception all around need a real uplifting sound, spirit of youth and seeds of truth to plant under the ground of your soul. Harmony makes us whole. The harmony makes us bold. Take hold and sing with me for the rebels, the music for the revolution bound to come. Summer roots, rock, reggae music for the rebels, the music for the struggling and the voiceless ones. Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up. Don't give up the fight, Bob Marley said it. Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up. Don't give up the fight, stand up for justice. Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up. Don't give up the fight. Stand up for justice, equal rights and justice for all, yeah. Yes, I love that song so much.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/630f15c8-5542-442e-9895-30dffca80a02/630f15c8-5542-442e-9895-30dffca80a02.transcribe

Natalie Alese joined News 12’s Della Crews to discuss her musical background.

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