We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Moka a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Moka, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I’m so exited to announce some new collaborations and events I’ve been working on! To start off with fashion, I got to collaborate with a two new clothing brands I really love named Kolly and Chnge. Now I have two discount codes my followers can use to get cool clothes and cute lingerie. I’m still brand partners with Parade Underwear and Zig-Zag World rolling papers as well, which has been so much fun getting to try out products from brands I’ve loved before we were in collaboration. It’s honestly been kind of surreal to think about! I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made and I think it’s so important that we celebrate our small wins just as we would celebrate our big ones! I also have a music gig coming up February 1st at The Ship! It feels so good to get back into preforming live and I can’t wait to interact with my local audience in a more intimate way. I look forward to more live shows in the future and I also will be performing at one of my favorite places, Prospero’s Books! We are in talks of doing one of their recorded sessions, so you all will be able to hear some new original music very soon! That date has yet to be set, so this is a sneak peak for the future.
Moka, 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?
For those who don’t know me, I am a fashion influencer, gamer and musician. I’ve always loved expressing myself through my clothes and one day I decided to start posting my outfits on my Instagram. After posting pretty regularly I finally had a few videos go viral! After that I had started to have brands reach out to me for collaborations and the rest is history! I started posting for brands, trying out their products and eventually getting my own discount codes to share with my followers. Now, I’m actually talking with a few local KC stores about helping run their social medias after seeing the success I’ve had with my own.
That’s fashion, now let’s talk about games! I went viral on Tiktok after posting a series of videos playing a popular horror game called Doki Doki Literature Club. Then I started getting comments from people asking me to play other horror games and to start streaming on Twitch. I will say my gaming and streaming has taken a back seat since I’ve started putting more effort into fashion and releasing my own music. I’m looking to get back into streaming very soon! Gaming has always been something I love and I would love to work in that industry one day, writing gaming soundtracks and maybe even doing some voice acting. I’ve since taken a few voice acting classes and I’ve really loved the process of getting into character and using my voice in other ways besides singing.
Last, my music. I have one single out right now called 2030 and I’m in the process of writing and recording more original music to release! I am also so excited to get back into recording and preforming live! Music has always been my number one and singing especially, has been the thing I love to do most since I can remember. I’m so blessed to have so many musically inclined friends to make music with. I can’t wait to be able to share more with you all very soon.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being a creative is getting to connect with other creatives! I know this probably sounds so cliché but, it’s true! I’ve loved making friends online with similar passions and interests. I love that we can all support each other from around the world and inspire each other to keep creating. Connecting with other creatives has also opened the door for collaborations, For instance, I’m not an artist when it comes to graphic design or things along that nature but, I’ve been able to connect with some amazing artists who are professionals in that area. Always keep your mind open to collaborating with other artists because you never know who could help enhance your own art.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to learn is to not care about what other people think and just post what I like. The people who like what you like will find you. You will find your niche so don’t feel self conscious about posting things that you like or the way you like to express yourself. When you post with the intention of going viral it almost never works how you want it to. It’s always been my most authentic and last minute videos that have gained me the most traction and attention. There are plenty of my videos I could use as a backstory for this question but I’d say my most viral video is my most genuine interaction with a total stranger. I posted this video of a woman complimenting my outfit when I was just trying to get a video of me walking. It was such a nice memory for me so I posted it! Then it got 8 million views. Point being, post what makes you happy and your people will find you.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Mokaaa_x
- Facebook: Moka Moka
- Twitter: Mokaaa_x
- Other: Twitch: Mokaaa_x
Image Credits
Dream.capture.co Motive Creative Studio Cesar Marquezii Vaughan Harrison