Mae Ya Carter Ryan
By Erick Johnson
Mae Ya Carter Ryan has been home waiting for the important call. The rising young singing sensation who lives in Bronzeville, hopes to perform at the Democratic National Convention at the United Center next week. After months of emails and follow-ups, she hasn’t heard back from anyone. But if all goes well, her appearance at the DNC represents the biggest stage in Ryan’s singing career.
It will also be the first time the world will hear Ryan’s rich, mesmerizing vocals. Some compare her to singers Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holiday. For Ryan, the opportunity of a lifetime, performing at the convention, could be the breakthrough she needs to crack the highly competitive music industry. Her performance as a Chicago native during the high-profile national event is also good for Chicago as the city basks in the national spotlight.
But for now, all Ryan can do is wait for the call from Democratic National Committee Chairman Minyon Moore, who has been reviewing Ryan’s biography and recordings after she received them from the Crusader, which for months had been working to help Ryan’s mother have her daughter to sing at the big event.
The effort to get Ryan to sing at the Democratic National Convention began in June when Crusader Publisher Dorothy Leavell emailed Kieana Barrett, a senior advisor for the DNC host committee. Leavell highlighted Ryan’s impressive singing abilities and sent her portfolio, asking Barrett to identify the decision-maker for the opportunity.
Barrett did not provide a name but promised to pass the information along. Over a month passed without any response.
As the convention date approached, the Crusader contacted Moore on August 12. Moore said she was unaware of the request. The Crusader then sent her Ryan’s portfolio and a recording of her singing the national anthem. The next day, Moore responded, stating she would look into it, but there has been no further communication since.
Born in Chicago, Ryan has wowed many audiences with her voice. She’s a contralto with the voice of a seasoned professional. Her voice is deep, rich, yet feminine, and supple. New fans are in awe when they hear her high-pitched voice when she speaks after she sings. She sings jazz, R&B, classical, but prefers not to be labeled by any genre.
Ryan has performed at numerous concerts and venues, including WGN, CBS 2 Chicago, WCIU, the Chicago Theatre, the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, and the Bud Billiken Parade. In 2015, she performed at the 75th Anniversary Gala of the Chicago Crusader at the Loews Chicago Hotel in River North.
When she was just 12-years old, Ryan performed at New York’s famed Lincoln Center, where she opened for the Jacksons in an event honoring Berry Gordy, Jr.
She has also performed at galas hosted by NBA star Dwyane Wade and rapper Common. In 2016, Susan L. Taylor, former editor-in-chief of Essence Magazine invited her to New York to perform at her birthday party.
In 2023, Ryan graduated with honors from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music, with an emphasis in music business and songwriting.
She received a full scholarship but still needed money for personal expenses during her college years. Tuition at Berklee is $48,000 per year. While tuition for a four-year degree at Berklee is $187,200, Ryan told the Crusader she graduated “debt free.”
Ryan didn’t have a full scholarship in her freshman year in 2019. She was short by over $20,000 and the school wanted her to take out a student loan. Carter sent a letter, appealing to Berklee to give her daughter more financial aid to pay the remaining portion. When the Crusader contacted Berklee’s financial aid office about Ryan’s financial problem, the school made up the difference.
Ryan received her high school education at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts, a world-renowned boarding school in Interlochen, Michigan, where many children of A-list celebrities attend.
In 2018, the Crusader published a story that reported Carter spent six weeks in the dark after using her money for her ComEd bill to pay part of her daughter’s $62,000 high school tuition at Interlochen. Carter said singer Jennifer Hudson paid the rest.
An anonymous donor read the Crusader story and paid for Ryan’s airline and travel expenses during a college tour that included visits to five colleges in Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Because of top grades in her freshman year, she received a full scholarship that covered her entire tuition during her sophomore, junior and senior years at Berklee.
Before she earned her Berklee degree, Ryan won a songwriting award for “Broken Nation,” a song she wrote. Ryan also won a $2,100 Bill Pierce Dr. Martin Luther King endowment scholarship.
During the pandemic in 2020, Ryan recorded “Good Job,” a song that praises first responders. Originally recorded by singer Alicia Keys, Ryan’s version of the song is on YouTube.
She also recorded a version of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All,” also available on YouTube.
Those are a few of the many blessings Ryan has experienced during her budding music career. At her young age, Ryan has been compared to other vocal legends, including Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Dinah Washington.
Time is running out for Ryan to receive the opportunity of a lifetime. The Crusader contacted Moore for an update on the request to allow Ryan to sing at the convention. Days before the convention is scheduled to start, the Crusader at press time is waiting to hear from Moore.
The Chicago Crusader originally published this story at chicagocrusader.com.