Singer-Songwriter, Recording Artist, Musician

 

                   "Jacerase" formally known as Ashley Engram is a devout follower of Jesus the Christ! She is a loving and devoted wife to Zachary Engram and they have been blessed to see eight glorious years of Marriage and six (6) beautiful children!

Ashley was born in Upstate, NY in September 1990 to well-known church musicians Cynthia Adams-Scott and Allen Jefferson. Ashley began singing at age 4 doing duets with her younger brother singing “Yes, Jesus Loves Me.” By age 5 her parents were divorced and Ashley would be raised states away in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina. At the tender age of 7, Ashley made the conscious decision to begin her own journey to salvation, receiving the baptism of water on one bright Sunday morning at Ishi Temple PAW of Winston-Salem, NC. From about the age of six, Ashley delve heavily into the performing arts, taking her first engagement as a drummer in 1998 playing alongside her mother. They continued to travel together along the east coast ministering through music for 10 years.  When she was eight years old, she led her                                                                                                                       first choir song with the Carolina State Council Mass Choir, singing "Just                                                                                                                    As Soon", by Beverly Crawford. Being so young Ashley didn’t quite                                                                                                                             understand how to adlib so when the choir reached the vamp of the                                                                                                                          song, she passed the mic to an adult singer. As Ashley went through                                                                                                                          grade school, she took an interest in symphonic band and fluently                                                                                                                              played many various instruments including Clarinet (with which she                                                                                                                        won yearly competitions & contests), Flute, Trumpet, French Horn,                                                                                                                              Baritone, Tuba and various percussion instruments on the Drumline.                                                                                                                          She also played Violin in her high school orchestra. In 9th grade Ashley                                                                                                                    began writing sheet music of popular songs from the radio to be played                                                                                                                  by marching bands and she dabbled a little with comprising Half-Time                                                                                                                      Field Shows. She sang in both her middle and high school chorus classes                                                                                                                  and Gospel Choirs. She gave her first solo in a chorus concert in 9th                                                                                                                            grade singing Diary by Alicia Keys, playing the entire piano part on her                                                                                                                    own, self-taught. She began playing the keys at about 4 years old,                                                                                                                              learning common kid’s songs melodies. Ashley began writing songs at the age of 10, expressing her feelings about life as a young girl, school and boys. Ashley would perfect these gifts over the next eight years living with her mother while completing grade school. When she graduated High School in 2008, just a few days later, she would find herself permanently relocated to Utica, NY. Ashley had endured a very frustrating senior year that she desperately needed to find peace and clarity before entering the world as an Adult.

 

In the summer of 2008 Ashley grew closer and became best friends with her soon-to-be husband, Prophet Zachary Engram, whom she’d met a few years back while visiting NY with family. They courted for several months and held a wedding ceremony September 9, 2009. Ashley’s husband is a Musician, Rapper, Songwriter, Sound Engineer and Producer, and the Founder of Triumph Productions and ZLEA Traxx, both affiliates of gbG Records Inc.. Ashley joined his Label shortly after their courtship began, recording their first duo The Fight Is On for their local church’s youth Spring Bling Conference Midnight Musical in April 2009. She went on to write her first song as an individual Artist under his label using one of his tracks Hear My Prayer which featured on her upcoming debut album Something To Say. Together they were blessed to work with local singer/songwriters such as Tia Pearson, Algieres, DezzaRae, Simba Mason, Mal P, Darren Page, Jimmy Jackson & Voices of Faith and the popular Thornton Family. Growing in production they worked with National Recording artists Saqred and Rafael Robinson where Ashley was featured on a few songs and recorded all background vocals.

 

Over the last seven years, Zachary and Ashley have been abundantly blessed to conceive and raise six children. Shortly into their marriage she took back up a childhood hobby, crocheting. In 2012 she started ACRE Handmade Crochet Accessories and to date it is still growing having reached 1000 Likes on its Facebook page. After the birth of their 2nd son in 2012 Ashley began another journey; helping pregnant moms with holistic information in order to carry and birth their babies and encouraging them to breastfeed their little ones. Today Ashley is a volunteer with the Mohawk Valley Breastfeeding Network and Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central New York. She is a Natural Birth Consultant, Doula and Childbirth Educator. She is also a Certified Lactation Counselor working at her local WIC office as a part-time Breastfeeding Peer Counselor. Along with these passions of hers she has found time to Homeschool her 4, 5 and 6 year olds.

 

Ashley’s upcoming debut album Something to Say is inspired by her testimony of God’s grace and protection. Up until she accepting Jesus whole heartedly without any intervention from her parents of loved ones (for she had long before received Christ in her life under pressure from those that felt they knew the way to salvation) Ashley spent a few long years in confusion about what she wanted in her life. Spending most of her life without a constant physical presence of her biological father, she learned about peer relationships in the more difficult way. When Ashley became a true follower of Christ, she with a better, more mature understanding was now possessing the ability to live an exciting life of purpose.  In 2015 Ashley released her song entitled You Can Use Me to be featured on a compilation album her husband’s label produced entitled The Dead Living: Emergence. This song was written after she gave birth to a set of girl/boy fraternal twins. They faced many trials throughout that pregnancy. They were forced to have great faith despite the doctors’ advice and recommendations. After this experience she decided that she wouldn’t let anything ever stop her again from believing God’s word. She decided she wanted to be an honest witness and testify to God’s miraculous wonders using her own life! She finally whole-heartedly told God “You Can Use Me.”