Veronika Petrova is an indie musician based in South Florida who is passionate about rap music in English and Russian. Her inspiration for music came from her sister who grew up listening to underground Russian rap.

photo essays

Mic-Check: The Hustle – How an at-home indie artist produces her music (includes photo essay)

Gabrielle Foster, Gabrielle Estrada, Juliana Pavao, Milana Stryhun and Ayman Natour

January 10, 2025

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Petrova has a home studio where she can produce music with greater accessibility. She uses FL studio, a very popular DAW (digital audio workstation), and records with a dynamic microphone to help lay down her vocals on the editing program.

Petrova started writing poems and creating music when she was a teenager. She started her career making freestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic on TikTok.

An instrumental part to her music career is the jaw harp. It consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame.

To play the jaw harp, Petrova places it against her front teeth which must be slightly apart. She then plucks the reed with her other hand and to alter sound, she has to use her mouth shape and tongue position. To create different tones and rhythms, she has to adjust her breathing and jaw movements.

Petrova prepares to record by listening to the beat to better express herself through the melody and flow.

Petrova uses a portable dynamic microphone to make sure her audio levels are stable and vocals are clear when recording. She holds the microphone close to her mouth to avoid any static or rubbing noise.

Petrova has a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) that allows electronic musical instruments, computers and other audio devices to communicate with each other. It enables control over instruments and softwares for the music process to run smoother and to experiment with different rhythms that expands the creativity of an artist.

Social media allows Petrova to build her own network with other artists to grow in the industry. She now has 102K followers on Instagram and 441.6K followers on TikTok along with 20.8M likes.

Gabrielle Foster

Gabrielle Foster is a junior at Florida International University who hopes to work in the entertainment industry. Foster is heavily involved with Newsbreak, where she enjoys being a part of a community that brings stories to air. She records content for the shows, edit stories, and prepares talent for airtime. She hopes to work behind the scenes creating a film in the feature. Foster will graduate from the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media with a bachelor's degree in digital communication and media in Spring 2025.

Gabrielle Estrada

Gabrielle Estrada is a senior majoring in Digital Communication and Media. She enjoys writing stories, reading the Bible, art, writing movie reviews, and watching films. As a student with autism, she wants to use her voice through films and storytelling, to educate people about autism and create more representation for the autism community. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a career in the film industry, creating stories on diversity and inclusion.

Juliana Pavao

Juliana Pavao is a senior at Florida International University who is interested in interactive media and digital marketing. Pavao has experience knowing what the public interests are and how to guide them with a strategy that will lead to high sales. She has been involved in creating a brand's identity from the ground up. She has also worked on special projects like website creation and logo creation. Pavao will graduate from Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media with a bachelor's degree in digital communication and media with a minor in social media and E-marketing analytics in Summer 2025.

Milana Stryhun

Milana Stryhun is a junior at Florida International University who hopes to work in the entertainment industry. Stryhun is originally from Ukraine and has traveled to 36 countries. She hopes to start her own travel blog to are her love for exploring new cultures and places. She has experience in movie production and hopes to become a movie producer in Los Angeles. Milana will graduate from the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media with a bachelor's degree in digital communication and media in 2026.

Ayman Natour

Ayman Natour is a junior at Florida International University who is passionate about the film industry. Natour has experience in screenwriting, directing, and videography. He plans to build a team to jumpstart his own production company. He believes that his individuality and ideas will generate a big impact in visual production and wants to deliver quality to his audience. Natour will graduate from Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media with a bachelor's degree in digital communication and media with a minor in business in Spring 2025.