We recently connected with Antonae Palmer and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Antonae, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I started off rapping. The first rap I ever wrote was the last day of fifth grade. I rapped for almost ten years before I transitioned into poetry, I still have a deep love for rap/music but I feel like poetry lets me express myself on a deeper level without worrying about the beat/flow/rhythm. If I had started writing poetry sooner, I would know a lot more about self-publishing or being published in general, would’ve been able to do more open mic nights to touch more people, etc.

Antonae, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Antonae Kelisha Palmer the first. Born and raised in Riviera Beach, Florida. I am 25 years young. I was always a very creative kid (highly inspired by my mother). I used to create purses out of jean pants, design shirts, write raps, dance on the drill team, play sports (flag football & soccer), and I used to rock some very unique hairstyles. I moved to Georgia at 16 and joined the Marine Corps at 17 years old. I plan to get out of the military in 2024 and pursue a career in dental hygiene ( I’ve wanted to be in the dental field since I was a little kid. Never wanted to be a princess or astronaut).

I started writing at 10. I used to write about two raps a week. I performed in many talent shows all throughout middle school and high school, that’s somewhat the thing I was known for back in the day. I carried this passion into young adulthood and would post my rap videos on Facebook from time to time. In 2019 (ish), I was deployed on a MEU (Marine expeditionary Unit) (basically was on a ship for nine months) and they conducted a talent show. I decided to rap a remix that I wrote to “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae. Just as it was time for me to perform, the audio stopped working so i performed the entire thing acapella and still won second place so that was cool. But that was my last time rapping and during that same deployment I transitioned to poetry. So far I have only done a hand full of open mic nights and self-published two books, ” A Daydreamers Diary ” and ” The Storms My Mother Prepared Me For ” (via Amazon).

I feel as though every poet has a unique facet to them. My unique facet in poetry is that I make it plain. Poetry can be very deep/intricate at times and due to this, some of its beauty may be lost to the reader. So in order to alleviate this, I make it plain.. like I’m talking to god or saying my affirmations.

I am most proud of the fact that I still continue to pursue my passion of poetry while being an active duty Marine living outside of the United States and a college student. What I want potential followers/fans to know about my work is so far everything that I have written has stemmed from me just learning to love myself down to the bone. It’s not always pretty, easy, or politically correct but it’s me.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

It’s always in you but it’s not always in you.

By this I mean that, I may not always be able to just spit out an idea or a plan or a piece. Sometimes I have to sit for days, weeks even, and process a situation before I can put forth an idea. My creativeness comes in waves. Sometimes so high that i nearly drown in ideas/motivation/plans and sometimes so low that I fear that I’ve lost it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I don’t have the largest following but I can say that a decent amount of my followers have been following me or knowing of me for a while. From Instagram, to YouTube, and now even TikTok. They’ve followed me through all of these phases and journeys, I believe, because I have always stayed true. If I wanted to post a dance video, I would. If I wanted to post a rap, I would. If I wanted to post a video of me being funny, I would. Never fearing ridicule, just doing what calls me. Being genuine and authentic in everything that I do.

If you are just starting out trying to build your platform, 1) do it and 2) don’t seek approbation.
For 1), whatever you want to do, do that shit. The last thing that you want is to not pursue an idea and then see someone else do it months or years later and they blow. Don’t hesitate, don’t be afraid, just do it. If it works out, great, and if it doesn’t, get a good nights rest and try again tomorrow. Every good idea or good creation began by someone taking a chance. So DO IT!
For 2), if you are “performing” just so people can clap, you are doing yourself a disservice. If you are waiting on approval or an applause, you are doing yourself a disservice. Other people can’t see YOUR vision how you see it or feel it how you do. As long as you believe in yourself and your work, you will never fail!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Antonathegoddess
• Youtube: Antonae The Goddess
• Other: My books on Amazon: A Daydreamers Diary by Antonae Kelisha Palmer The Storms My Mother Prepared Me For by Antonae Kelisha Palmer