We were lucky to catch up with Brenna Damatta recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brenna, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
After years of bending the rules of reality, failing, and trying again, risk seems like an ever present temptation for me. It’s like this; when you get a taste of freedom, you can never forget it. And thus, risk always seems to be the catalyst between “stuck” and “liberated”. My first great risk was taking my first breath.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’ve always thought there was more to life than what I saw around me. That is why I found my peace in creating art. My mom was a single mom so she could never afford classes, I just always found myself creating something with whatever I could et my hands on. Going outside I would create soups made up of all the different natural ingredients I found in my backyard. I created figurines out of trash, I put on dramatic plays in my living room by convincing my brothers to dress up with me. There were absolutely no limits. Singing…this was a constant. Through all of the exploration, I had my song, singing it out loud of playing on repeat in my mind.
When I was 10 years old, my dad decides to move to our hometown so that he could be in our lives. One day, I was sitting in his kitchen and I started to sing a song, I want to say it was “hallelujah”. He comes running out of his room with this awestruck look on his face “honey you have a Beautiful voice!!”. I was extremely embarrassed! No one had ever noticed me like he just did. Immediately he starts telling me he can get me on the radio and that I could basically be a star! The next time I come to his house he has bought an entire recording studio! I was completely overwhelmed..so overwhelmed that I never even touched it…
Over a decade later after an overdue breakup, I step into a music studio for the first time. There were about 6 people in a small run down room in the middle of downtown Wilmington. When I saw these rappers going off the top (improv) I was in awe! The energy was electric, the producer was playing beats as he was making them, and people were hoping on the mic back to back. The spirit of music was in that room and I was lucky it was my first experience in a recording studio. Beneath all the grime, I found the spirit of music, it wasn’t just inside of me anymore. Since then I’ve been making my own music, recording, engineering, and producing.
Alongside my creative spirit, I have a very analytical mind that does well with strategy, and management. Being the rebellious woman that I am, I decided many years ago that I could be an artist and an entrepreneur too! Why not?? If I can’t decide, then why not be both? In 2020 when COVID hit, my partner and I decided to hit the road and drive all the way to CA. We were both done waiting for our opportunities and decided to take a huge risk by leaving everything behind and chase our dreams. Over three years later, that choice is still reverberating through my life. After a year on the road, and way too much credit card debt, my partner and I get an office in Downtown LA where we came up with an idea called “Uni, the streaming platform just for independent musicians”.
Uni has since evolved into Youni, but it’s purpose has never changed. We are on the mission to support local independent musicians through education, network, and opportunity. Youni Fest is an annual event that we put on at SXSW and this year on March 14th is our second one! Youni is a shared project with the other Co-Founder being Cannon and the Manager being Victor-Alan. We have a great team, and we have many years ahead of us. After 30+ events, I have listed my service as Event Producer on Fiverr.
As my life unfolds, my brand, BECOMING, continues to evolve in meaning and value. Under its umbrella, my Web3 portfolio showcases various music collections and collectors. Despite the success in the Web3 space, it hasn’t fully sustained my life. I got into the Web3 space when I was working with a startup that wanted to pivot towards tokenizing their company and becoming a “DAO” (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in the “DeSci” (Decentralized Science) space. I fell in love with the idea of putting more power into the people’s hands.
In the past year, I’ve devoted myself to building the BECOMING brand, not only through music but by revealing my personal interests. One such interest is fungi, whether psychedelic or not, they are the most interesting and important organisms on Earth. Four years ago, just before leaving to CA, I grew my own batch of Psilocybin Cubensis in my room. It was such a magical experience to see these little guys & gals grow and then being able to experience their medicinal properties. I was also able to give some to my mom who had been struggling with severe depression for many years. Since then she has taken them on here on three times.
To express my passion for these organisms, I created the project Wide Feels (widefeels.us). With this project, I will be able to fund research in the Mycoremediation and Psychedelic space. It is inspired by my album “Wide Eye Feels” out on all platforms under my name Brenna Damatta. This comic book series will cover the journey of Gaia who is 2,000 years into the future when technology has overthrown humanity because of our abuse. Gaia finds plant medicine in the woods after the tragic death of her mother, she seeks death, but get’s enlightenment instead. The comic will be created by the 49 collectors of the project, and we will sell the full version of the comic online and in stores everywhere!
I am laying the foundation for my life’s work, and I can’t imagine how it will continue to unfold, but I’m here for every step!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The greatest lesson I’ve had to unlearn is the scarcity mindset. I bet we have all heard this before, but we each have our own definition of what it means. For me, my scarcity came from the feeling of not being enough to live up to my dreams, and become the person I saw in myself. I responded to this feeling by overworking!
This is the key point, many of us may feel the same feelings, but our response to that feeling is probably completely different. That is why, getting to the bottom of why you do the things you do is so important. One feeling, can be the root of several different issues/habits/mindsets.
I think part of what makes us artists or entrepreneurs is the feeling of not fitting in, this is a beautiful thing, but don’t let that feeling isolate you from other people because we are each other’s greatest lessons. To be witnessed, is to experience great change.
I’m still in the process of unlearning scarcity, coming from a poor home, it was very deeply rooted in the way we lived. Although we had love for each other, that love could easily be overshadowed by the fear of instability, or poor finances. Accept that you are capable of great change, and that in order to experience new versions of yourself, you have to be willing to do things you’ve never done before, say things you’ve never said, and have thoughts you’ve never had.
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.
Deep down we all have a creative spirit, I truly believe this. As someone who nurtures and lives in their creative spirit, I think that “non-creatives” look at me and see chaos, they look at me and see instability. Although they may be correct, in part, they are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. As creatives and thought leaders, our whole purpose is to see beyond what is right in front of us, then take that and trying to show it to the world. Naturally, people who don’t have this super power, will be unable to see what we are seeing!
That is why expression is so fundamental to our existence, the transformation of our visions is what satisfies our purpose as artists. When someone can witness our art, and MAYBE get just a glimpse of what we see or hear, it is our connection to the world that can seem so distant. Our art, is our translation, and depending on how we translate the world, will determine who is attracted to our art. As a musician, I learn more about myself and my craft when I witness who resonates with the sounds. I see them, and I see me.
As a consumer of art, I hope you know how important it is for you to truly acknowledge the things that resonate with you. In your enjoyment of the art, the artist is being seen. Arguably, the only reason we do what we do is to be seen or to show, if only for a moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bonfire.xyz/brenna
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brenna_inc/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenna-damatta-862724197/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brenna_inc