We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Latik McNeil a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Latik, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Though it has taken some time to come to this conclusion, I don’t think I’d be happier doing anything other than being a creative. It has been not only a dream, but a goal to live life as a creative, on my own terms. When i was really young, like 10 years old, i already had a plan in mind that i wanted to be an entertainer, who graduated with a degree in video game design from GA Tech, and would be running from president while rocking braids like Lil’ Bow Wow. As we can see, that didn’t work out exactly as planned, but the basis of desiring to achieve and create has never left. I’ve worked a dozen different “regular” jobs and no matter how easy or how lucrative, they either didn’t last time-wise, or didn’t last circumstantially. I was always at the whim of someone else’s decision making and it never seemed like that decision benefitted me, nor any of the purposes I feel I’m here to achieve. So making the decision to invest in myself was a difficult and somewhat universal/circumstantial decision for me, but it had to be made to allow me to make my own happiness!

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?

Creativity, music, and bringing smiles has been my motion I was in motion! From dancing on tables in Pre-K, to rapping at lunch tables in 2nd grade, to writing my own poetry on floppy disks in 5th grade, to singing opera in 9th grade. I’ve always wanted to move and create and see positivity come from anything that I do. When I graduated high school, though it was a turbulent time, I ended up meeting a group of creatives at community college and the connections and memories i made there propelled me into the Baltimore art scene. Ever since, I’ve been building a genuine and multifaceted self to share with the world! I have since taught many dance classes/private lessons, been beside greats such as Les Twins, opened for artists like Keke Wyatt, and most importantly, become a model for supporting my community in any way possible. I am always adding to my skills and talents, even teaching myself guitar basics over the last couple of years and starting my newest endeavor of DJing. Let’s see what I know by next year…!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The best thing a supporter can do to support is communicate! Tell the world what you like! Tell the people you’re supporting how to be better! Tell a friend to tell a friend! Seriously, the best things that I have experienced in my artistic journey have come from people saying my name in the right places or because I communicated my needs/skills in a genuine, non-opportunistic way. And some of my greatest growth has come from people who had the love for me to let me know how to do better, or even sometimes, just different.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

They say in order to start in business, you have to find a void and fill it. Though I didn’t hear that until my teenage years, from childhood, I found myself trying to fill the void I saw: genuinely good people. Even noticing sometimes that those genuinely good people were existent, but not seen. So my mission has been to show a genuine and loving person to those who may be questioning if that even still exists in this world. Art has been not only my favorite way to accomplish this, but the most impactful. I’ve danced with children who lost parents, I’ve danced with older folks who’ve lost homes. And I like to think that each and every one found enjoyment in life, if even for just that moment. And THAT moment is what I work to recreate until my dying day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_illestrate
• Facebook: Latik Illestrate McNeil
• Linkedin: Latik McNeil
• Twitter: @_illestrate
• Youtube: youtube.com/user/kaylyn2005

Image Credits
Mike Jon Shae McCoy