We were lucky to catch up with Destinii Wells recently and have shared our conversation below.
Destinii, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
My debut independent EP was conceived and delivered to all streaming platforms from my janky HP laptop in September of 2020. It was my pandemic baby; an insanely resourceful and imaginative body of work that no one, not even myself, was expecting. I’m a Pisces, so of course I’d compare my project baby to water. It emulates the eb and flow of life before and after heartache. The eb being the trauma I brought with me into the relationship and the flow being the pent up emotions that roared like a tsunami after the relationship ended. Not only did the relationship end, but so did a version and several aspects of my self. They say “you were fine before them, you’ll be fine after them”, but what do you say to a person who wasn’t “fine” in the first place? That’s what “Feelings In Isolation” (my debut EP title) encapsulates.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a 24 years young independent artist of Los Angeles, California, with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dillard University (New Orleans, Louisiana). My dream is to be an award winning actress, but my passion, and what I’ve concluded to be my soul’s mission, is to tell my own written stories through music. My appreciation for cinema and film production aided my ambitious idea to film a music video based on a dream I had. I said “I have to make this tangible it felt too real”. So I wrote a song or “the score” and turned my dream concept into a 3 minute short story titled “Weakend”. I want people to know that I’m no savior, but a fascinating dreamer. A realist in contrast. I have things to say that are on my conscience that haven’t been given to a silver screen character that looks like me. So the fastest way to get my thoughts, theories, ideas, my dreams, in your reach is through the small blue light screen that fits in your pocket. I want to act, sing, dance, rap, tour, write, direct, produce and shift the Earth’s consciousness while I do it. I don’t want to be a guru, or even Spike Lee, but I do want to encourage cultural and psychological enlightenment. My music doesn’t scream “conscious rap” like the buzzing Kendrick Lamar, but if you listen close enough to my music, you can certainly tell who I think won the rap beef.
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.
I put out a freestyle titled “Band-Aid Freestyle” on my Instagram just before the 2024 new year. It was about several family members of mine and even strangers who I’ve felt deliberately doubted me. They took doubt a step further by speaking negatively of me and my endeavors in any capacity they could. Non-creatives might not see how I could utter the lyrics of the record, as many claimed it was cruel and disrespectful. You don’t have to be creative to understand the difference between a diss track and a cry for help. The absence of a creative bone in one’s body, the lack of a good ear for music, and the total disregard for mental health across every community is why many, creative or not won’t understand how that “diss track” set me free. My loyalty to other people’s hatred (blood relatives who were not connecting with me emotionally nor creatively) was binding me to wasting my potential.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
If society wants to contribute to a thriving creative ecosystem, they’ve got to understand the magnitude of their effect on driving “industry plants” to the forefront of the industry. If they’re going to swear so and so are industry plants because of their over night success and mediocre display of “artistry”, they’ve got to stop giving them attention altogether. No streams, no comments, no hate conversation either. Family hating on me fueled what is now one of my first most popular live performances on my Instagram. If those family member’s didn’t show up for me by hating on me, I wouldn’t have shown up to the booth. Stop showing up for these “artists” that don’t actually make art, even if it’s by hating on them. Show up for the artists you care about by endorsing their work. Like, comment, share, save, download, buy everything they put out! Tell a friend, recommend to everyone you know, and add their work to your playlists!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cozygirldes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cozygirldes/
- Youtube: https://tr.ee/m7hrQ2mSMR
- Other: https://linktr.ee/cozygirldes?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=94dfa825-9824-4945-82b6-811cd9f9109c
Image Credits
Brian De LaO aka Shady Brian