We were lucky to catch up with Cari Melodic recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cari, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I would say that every project I involve myself in has meaning! I enjoy being authentic and when I am focused on something I give it my all. I would say currently my first musical project titled “I Dedicate” is very meaningful to me because, it took extended periods of time to create, lots of hard work, and serious introspection to bring to life. I created this 8 song project to shed light on things such as the fentanyl epidemic, homelessness, incarceration, and overall making a change by shining light on some things I see going on in my community. I enjoy making music people can relate to & the feedback I’ve been getting is the most fulfilling part! For instance people have shared with me their stories surrounding fentanyl and how my song has impacted them in a positive way. This is because fentanyl affects so many but is often times not taken seriously. This project took more than a year and a half to complete. I wanted to make sure every song painted a picture, and truly captured the raw emotions of how myself and many others may be feeling. It feels great to do something that I love! But, it feels even better to help others overcome something they may be going through by showing them that they are seen, they are heard and I too have overcame many obstacles & that they can too! Overall music has been a positive outlet for me, as it has helped me in so many ways! I am just getting started and will continue to make music that I feel goes with the times.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Cari Melodic, I am a 23 year old artist and entrepreneur from the Bay Area, California. I enjoy making music, and creating all natural cosmetics/clothes for my brand “Mashauni Maurea”. Like many others music has played a very important role in my upbringing. I got the rare opportunity to be exposed to all kinds of music because, my mom is from the west coast, while my dad is from the east coast. From that I gained a lot of inspiration and feel I have a combination of both styles in my music. I started writing music in high school and would freestyle in the car with my friends during lunch and afterschool. I loved music so much I wanted to create something I felt was meaningful and that could maybe help and inspire others. My first project was released September 9th, 2022. It includes 8 unique songs written by myself and features my younger sister on some of the hooks. I would say the hardest part was putting myself out there and allowing myself to be heard! The best part was being able to bring my creativity to life, and performing the songs live. Watching the crowd and seeing how they relate to my music gets me hyped. I get inspiration from my community, as well as many artists locally and worldwide. My favorite kind of music is old school hip hop, the kind that tells a story with an important message. I inspire to do the same. Everything I do I put my all into and am ready to let my voice be heard. I would say the main thing I want people to know about me is that I am passionate about my craft, and that I am in it for the marathon, rather than a sprint.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I would say a story that shows my resilience is starting the process of creating music. It is not as simple as some may seem. Being that I was the first in my family to make music, I had no prior knowledge of how and where to start. I started doing research online and found that I had to make a youtube page, and signup with a distributor, and register with a PRO. On top of that I had to find beats, read contracts, and be my own marketing agent and manager. Often times I found myself frustrated and hit so many roadblocks. As an artist you get writers block, and poof your creativity is know where to be found for weeks or even months at a time. I’ve learned that you cannot be an artist without having resilience because, there’s a long journey ahead. If I would have let discouragement get the best of me, I wouldn’t be where I am today. 11 songs later and still pushing forward. The best advice I could give another artist is to keep yourself surrounded by things you love, and always write no matter if it makes sense at the time or not. This is because, later on you might come back to your lyrics at a later time and create that song. Every song is important! never stop promoting yourself and being an artist overall is such a great thing.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I would say I built my social media presence, and am still building it by doing a few important things. The first thing I do and think is so important, is to be authentic to what it is that I am doing. I feel its important that you allow your followers to get to know you but, also just as important that you get to know them. The next thing that has played an important role in the advancement of my social media presence, would be getting involved with my community and networking with others in person and on social media. This allows me to put myself out there and opens the door for opportunities that I wouldn’t have known about other wise. I’ve met so many different people! from artists to business owners who also have high hopes and visions of their futures. The last thing I would say is important when it comes to your social media brand is having the confidence of standing out. This ties into being authentic and when you separate yourself, find your niche and then pitch it to the world with confidence, I feel that one cannot fail. Remember to always aim high and believe in yourself. If I can do it, so can you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/carimelodic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carimelodic/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/carimelodic/100070834960478/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/carimelodic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTIIHh8okybd4V_VoQMuF6g
- Other: Cosmetic/clothing brand: https://mashaunimaurea.myshopify.com/
Image Credits
@kwelchvisuals