We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Donte Massengill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Donte below.

Alright, Donte thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Donte , 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?

Hello, my name is Donte Massengill. I am a 33 year old husband, father, musician, and entrepreneur. I have been a musician for the majority of my life, but I never imagined it would be my profession. I began playing drums for the youth choir at my local church when I was 7 years old. By age 9, I became the main drummer at my church. I know I was born with the gift of music, but I also greatly benefited from my musical upbringing and surroundings. I am fortunate to come from a very musical family. Many family members on my father’s side sing, and most members on my mother’s side sing, play an instrument, or do both. Once I got to Middle School I was introduced to percussion in Concert Band. Participating in band allowed me to learn how to read sheet music and learn the concepts of sight reading. As my knowledge grew, I was able to incorporate those skills with what I already knew, on the drumset. From 6th grade to12th grade I continued to participate in concert band and grow in my skills and knowledge.

After High School I attended Lee University from 2008-2012. During the second semester of my Sophomore year, (2010) I joined the “Lee University Singers” as the drummer. During my tenure with The Lee Singers, I toured with former American Idol finalist Phil Stacey, participated in several studio recordings, traveled to over 40 states, and even got to play in the Philippines. Those years really shaped me as a musician and would ultimately help me determine my path for the next 8 years. Although I loved the traveling and touring aspect of music, I didn’t think it would allow me to have a family, That realization was my determining factor in declaring my major in Telecommunications and not Music. In 2012, I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Telecommunications. After graduation, I interned at a local radio station for a year, and then transitioned into working in television. I continued to work in television for 7 years with hopes of one day being an Analyst or Anchor at ESPN.

Years later, when I got into the music industry full time, I had a solid network of friends already in the industry. Being in this industry was not difficut, however getting paid while being here was. When working in TV I had an unfavorable  work schedule, so when it came to playing music I would essentially do it for free, because I just longed to play. The hardship I encountered was essentially flipping a “free” hobby into a full-time job. It’s hard to charge people with a service that you previously provided for free. Not only that, but they have to choose to hire you when there are other people who will still provide the service for free. With much trial and error, it took me about a year and a half to two years to solidify my services and pricing.

I am most proud of my obedience to GOD and taking a huge leap into something I had no plans of doing. In that, I overcame hurdles that helped become the foundation on which my business was built. I’ve had opportunities to work in my community through the avenue of music, and it has been amazing. I never imagined being paid for something I feel is part of me, while simultaneously spending time with my family, and also having opportunities to bring them along on some of my work endeavors.

As an entrepreneur I offer drum lessons as well as professional services for live events and studio projects. This covers everything from private lessons, church events, workshops, public and private events, live recordings, studio recordings, and remote work for recordings as well. This year my goal is to create a studio space where artists, photographers, videographers, podcasters, musicians, and creatives of all types can come together to carry out their respective work. There will also be an opportunity for the public to patron them for their services.

I want people to know that although my brand is small, developing it with intentionality required a considerable amount of work and what seemed to be an unmeasurable amount of time. Through it all, I consider it time well spent. A highlight of what I do is begin able to help instill confidence in others by showing them what they are capable of through the medium of music. Being able to do that goes beyond the music. I get testimonies from students and clients about how confidence developed in class, is influencing their life outside of drum lessons; those are the biggest compliments I can receive. I know that helping people navigate life and find themselves through music positively impacts them outside of class.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My biggest life pivot happened in 2018. I will preface this with this, I am a Christian, I believe in God, not just in a “religious” sense. I profess and believe I have a personal relationship with him. Just a little background, I graduated with a bachelors degree in Telecommunications in 2012. After graduating, I interned at a radio station for a year, and then transitioned into television. I worked in TV for 7 years, with the goal of one day being an Analyst or Anchor at ESPN. Here’s where we pivot!

In October of 2018 I proposed to my wife. Three weeks later, the Lord laid on my heart to leave my job and pursue a career in music. This was not my plan, this was not idea, to be frank, this isn’t even what I wanted to do. Not to mention “pursuing music” is very broad, and I had no idea what that actually meant. To add to that, now I have to tell my fiance’e, her parents, and my parents that i’ll be leaving my job, but not sure what I actually will be doing. I officially left my job in Feb 2019 and spent the rest of the year trying to figure out what I would be doing for work. During that time I was also preparing for my wedding in August.

After getting married, the last quarter of 2019 seemed promising and the beginning of 2020 looked even better. In fact January and February were very good months for my newfound music career. Then, just like that, COVID! It felt like the rug was pulled from under me. To make things more complex, my grandfather was gravely ill and my family was dealing with making the tough decision to take him off of life support. The same day that we decided to take him off of life support, my wife and I found out we were pregnant. To say this was a tough time, was an understatement. Thankfully, I was able to pick up odd jobs such as working in a kitchen and catering service, construction work, and Uber Eats and Doordash. Through that time I was still playing music but lessons were very minimal. During COVID many churches prerecorded the music portion or their services, so that was a little niche for me, and I got a chance to network with and meet new musicians during that period. I actually picked up few pre-recording gigs in that time frame.

Although it was extremely uncomfortable, the downtime from COVID gave me time to get my products and procedures in place. Once regulations started to decrease, I was able to integrate the things I set into place for my services. That allowed for a smoother transition for my music career.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I love this question, because in the beginning I would not have considered myself a creative, (sometimes I still struggle to do so.) Something I think that is difficult to understand about the journey would be leaving stability. I had a job, I had a career, I had plans, goals, insurance, benefits, all of it. Not only did I have it, I wanted the security those things provided. I wanted the opportunity to continue to grow and climb the cooperate ladder, and to be able to afford my family with consistent financial income.

I left that stability for the unknown because God prompted me to do so, and his only assurance to me was “I will keep you, and your family.” I didn’t know what that meant. Sometimes it’s still difficult to grasp even now, but his promise has remained. My family has always had what we have needed, and God continues to further my business and my reach. My goal is to spread hope through my teachings and the way I live life. So even if you don’t know me, you can see and hear God’s love through the work I do!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://donte-m-music.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donte.m.music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donte.massengill/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donte-massengill-06ab092b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsg9QZSoWJWK8UDDl_TfWwg
• Other: Tik-Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@donte.m.music?_t=8ioHL2PqQUI&_r=1

Image Credits
Black & White photos – Abby Law (Instagram abbylawphoto & abby_law) Photo with pink shirt – Roberto Fontanet (Instagram robfont21 & momentsofworship)