Meet Renasant's Newest Brand Ambassador, Ajani Huff
Ajani Huff is Renasant's newest brand Ambassador. He is a dancer, content creator, actor, gamer, and so much more. You will soon see Ajani in Renasant's latest commercial dancing to 'Bout to Dance (In My Pants)' by Tony Joe White & Flying Mojito Bros. We sat down with Ajani to learn more about his love of dance and what it's like to be a content creator.
You grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia. How old were you when you started dancing?
Ajani: So art kind of runs in the family. We've got a lot of singers and a lot of dancers in the family. My dad was a dancer, so when I came out of the womb, I was already introduced to that scene with movies, videos, in-person events. Just seeing all that stuff, it just inspired me, and I was super young. So I'd have to say I've really been dancing my whole life.
Tell us more about your family's history in the arts.
Ajani: Absolutely. So my sister is a singer. She is 25 years old. She was signed to Republic Records, and she had a deal with Sony. She's amazing. She's got a beautiful voice. She learned that from our aunties - my dad's sisters. He has four sisters, and they all sing - all have amazing voices. My brother - all my brothers, actually - are all dancers.
How many siblings do you have do you have?
Ajani: I have seven siblings. So six brothers and one sister. She actually has 2 million followers on Tik Tok, and my oldest brother has 1.7 million followers on Tik Tok. So we're all creative content creators. My dad's a dancer. He used to produce, make beats, make music. And my mom - she loves to draw, and she loves to write, and so she's more of a creator of books. My stepmom - she's a painter, and she's in a band. She's the lead singer in a band. So yeah – creativity is literally all over the place.
Did you ever take dance classes, or was this something that came naturally?
Ajani: I did not take any classes until I went to L.A. for the first time at the age of 18.
How was your first dance class experience?
Ajani: Oh, I was super cocky, super confident. I went there, and I was like, "Yo, like this class is gonna be easy!" You could take beginner, intermediate or advanced. I went, and I signed up for the advanced class right off the bat. I go into the class, and everyone has the moves. Halfway through the class, I'm looking around, and I'm like "Yo, why is no one sweating? Why am I the only one sweating?" It was terrible! I could not keep up. It was crazy. It was a whole different world. So - I got humbled. I was humbled, but since then, I've done a handful of classes, maybe like around 20-30 classes. I'm not a big choreo person. I'm very freestyle. I love freestyle. I love creativity, and to be able to create and express myself through wherever my body decides to go.
You have 4.7 million followers on TikTok and over a hundred 100,000 followers on Instagram. When did you start creating online content, and what do you think propelled you to where you are today?
Ajani: Yeah, I love to create. I've always been that way. I posted a few videos back on Vine, on Dubsmash. I've been creating all my life, but I really started the whole journey when I started to kind of take off and on TikTok, and that was November of 2018. When I was in high school, my friend told me about the app TikTok. That’s when I thought it was called Tic Tac. I got to school, went to the bathroom, and I did a "Shuffle Dance" video trend. And then I forgot about it. Put my phone in my pocket. Three class periods later, my phone is like going off, and it's got like 200 likes throughout the day, and I'm like, wait, what? There's something here. So I kind of just struck through with that first video. Six months later, I graduated high school with 600,000 followers. Then we bought a one-way ticket to L.A. to go to VidCon, and everything happened from there. We never went home. We were supposed to be in L.A. for four days, and just never went home.
What other dancers or influencers inspire your dances and creativity?
Ajani: As far as like deep dance goes, like deep into the Hip Hop scene, there are some dancers that aren't really known over here in the U.S., but overseas I have one of my favorite dancers. His name is Waydi. He's so insane. Definitely an inspiration. I love the way his body just - he's so fire, he's so fire. He's actually retired now, and he teaches kids. He doesn't dance anymore. He basically came in, took the crown, and was like "All right. I'm done."
Other than 'Dancing in Your Pants,' what are your other hobbies and interests?
Ajani: Like I said, and we're gonna circle back around again and again. I love creating - anything creative. I love to create. I love video games. I love to stream. I love acting. That's one of my hobbies - acting.
I saw on your social media that you had a few comedy skits.
Ajani: Yeah - I love doing skits and just creating as far as that goes. I love making people laugh. That's my favorite hobby - making people laugh.
What do you find to be the best parts of being a dancer and a content creator? And what do you see as the more challenging?
Ajani: Let's start with more challenging. Sometimes you can get overloaded and get kind of like a creative block. I would say, that's the most challenging part, just, you know, having to be creative every single day. It definitely comes with its pros and cons. But as the best parts - total freedom. Being able to choose and create and move the way I want. That's the best part about it.
With TikTok being the platform where you have the most followers, what were your feelings about the potential of TikTok going away?
Ajani: I’ve gotten that question a lot, and I give the same answer every single time. TikTok might get banned, but my talents won't be. My love for what I do won't be banned. I'm not worried about anything. I'm going to continue to create no matter where it's going to be. That’s been my thought process the whole time.
Interview by Liz McIntyre, VP of Marketing, Director of Social Media & PR, Renasant Bank.
To learn more about Ajani, follow him on social media:
- TikTok: @Ajani.Huff
- Instagram: @Ajani.Huff