We recently connected with Sydney Connors and have shared our conversation below.

Sydney, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I started my creative career pretty early in my life. While in high school i actively directed and wrote shows. I sang in the choir and solos in school shows, I worked extra hard to put myself and my talents out there. When i got to college i got wrapped up in a relationship that eventually blessed me with my 2 beautiful children TreVae and Raevyn, but my focus on love and on pleasing people that do not quite understand the opporation of the industry is what i believe slowed down my momentum in my career. What i do wish i did different was believe in myself more and have more faith in my purpose and gifts. Since i struggled with what i could do or the recourses to certain opportunities, or even having a baby sitter sometimes! I feel like i began to give up on myself at a point. In that time that I didnt believe i didnt work as hard as I could have on me and taking myself to the next level in my career.

Early in my life I began to write and direct and executive produce shows. I never stopped, i did it for 10 years straight from high school shows to my own personal shows. The confidence i have around plays and directing and executive producing has never changed. I believe as we become adults we begin to grow into something called imposter syndrome, I started to believe i was not good enough to do some of the things I am great at. The first time i broke this was when I innovated the Play “Dream girls on clubhouse” with my best friend Brandon Patterson. That process reminded me of my power and capabilities. The next jump was convincing myself that I can professionally become a music artist and that I can write, direct and executive produce for televison.

So many things kept me from taking the jump in my music how i look, how i sound, the talent around me etc. but regardless of all that in 2022 I took the jump and released my first EP “11:11 Vol 1. Real R&B.” My father passed 2 days after dropping my tape, so promo was put to a hault. Even with no promo i have still done well in stream numbers and support. This year I am taking the full leap, no matter my size, my look, my “competition” or peoples opinions on my voice. I have taken this last few months to heal and work on myself enough to beat the imposter syndrom! I finally know that I am enough and ihave all I need to make it in this industry. The next leap is Television, hopefully my next article is about our hit shows coming to a TV screen near you!

To wrap all this up, DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOURSELF! you are capable! you are good enough! it does not matter how you look! how late or early you start! how slow or fast you go! it is about DOING IT! you can literally do ANYTHING you put your mind too! I want to remind the kids like me from cities like Cleveland, Ohio. The little black plus size girl thats sitting wishing she looked like the girl on the tv screen, wishing she could write the stories and sing the songs that YOU CAN baby girl! I have talked myself out of my own imposter syndrome to not only be that for my daughter and other little girls but to also be that representation for myslef! Do it! do it broke, do it mad, sad, happy or inbetween. Do not focus on when you should have started but focus on the journey to the finish line. So do I wish I started earlier? No, I believe God started me right on time. See you at the top.

-Sydney “Chichi” Connors

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Sydney “ChiChi” Connors. I am a executive producer, director, curator, writer, singer, songwriter, PR manager, and mother. I have been actively working in the entertainment realm since college. In 2018 I obtained my Broadcasting and production degree from Ohio Media School. I began to take growing artist from the city of cleveland to other cities in the country where i curated shows for them to shwocase their work and talents. Tour management is a love of mine. From this I began to build events in my city and started to plan Manifesto Festival, a 3 day bipoc focused music and arts festival that will be taking place in cleveland, ohio 2023 or 2024. I did my first mini festival during the pandemic in Atlanta, Georgia. 2022 I dropped my first EP 11:11 Vol 1 Real R&B. It is available on all platforms. This year I will be dropping more content surrounding my music. I am currently a co-host on a faith based radio show called “Morning Love With TeeCee” which airs every saturday on New Praise Radio. I created the brand Manifesto because as a magical woman I want to teach people through art the ways of manifestation, also the company is a reminder that anything you speak and anything you put your mind to is yours! you can support manifesto Productions via IG the website is currently under construction.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal of financial freedom, generational wealth and creating opportunities for people that look like me from cities that I am from that normally dont have the privilege of experiencing broadway or ever traveling to atlanta or Los angeles where most of the opportunities are. My mission is to change the world through art.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Non creatives do not understand a lot of what we do or why us creatives do it. There are so many sacrifices wrapped up in this work, 6 months you can have so much money and 6 months you can be looking for a 9-5 or signing up fro unemployment! This choice of career is so uncertain and I wish that society as a whole understood more so that they would help assist creatives more instead of forcing them to work a 9-5. As a creative and a mother I struggle with people questioning how much time I spend with mys children and whether my parenting is good or not. There are so many struggles. It is ok to be misunderstood. KEEP GOING!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Muahchichi_
• Facebook: Sydney Chichi Spacelee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-connors-ba703a142/
• Twitter: muahbychichi_
• Youtube: Sydney ChiChi
• Other: Itunes, Spotify, Tidal: Sydney ChiChi