Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shakara Monique . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shakara, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I come from a musical family. My dad is a musician and my mom is a vocalist. All of my sisters sing as well. When I was a kid all I knew was music and I wanted to be a singer. I was in choir and band in high school, I also sang in choirs and praise teams in every church I was a member of.

My mother would tell me that I needed to have a Plan B so as an adult I ventured away from music and joined the military and eventually got a job with the government but music never left me. In 2012 I decided to take a leap of faith and step out on my own as a solo artist and songwriter. I teamed up with some friends who were also first time producers and together we created Un4got10 Destiny my very first project as a gospel/inspirational artist.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Shakara Monique and I consider myself an all-around creative and entertainer. I’m a singer, songwriter, actress and host of a live podcast called Nothing Else To Do. I can also be seen on Netflix Voices of Fire with Pharrell Williams. I have two beautiful kids, both are creatives as well. I am a Detroit native and I currently reside in Virginia by way of joining the military in 2001.

I started off as a gospel/inspirational recording artist but have now thrown my hat into the R&B arena. I just released my latest single called From a Distance and Sober releases January 6th. I consider myself a better songwriter than I am a singer. It would be my dream to write for other artists and them bring my words to life.

Everything I write comes from my life experiences. I want the listener to really feel what it is I am singing. I want them to be able to relate, step right into my world and understand exactly what I was writing and feeling at the time.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative especially an independent one is freedom! When you were an independent artist or creative you are on your own time. You set your own rules. You own your brand, your look, your sound, your words and you don’t have to answer to a major label. At the end of the day I can sit back and be proud of what I created and know that it is authentically me!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As a creative it’s important to connect with others, to Network and collaborate. Not all connections are good ones, not all of them serve you well. There were times that I wanted to give up on music because of experiences I’ve had working with others. I have music I recorded that the world will never hear, because I trusted someone to honor their commitment and they didn’t.

So it makes me a little leery with working with others and most of the time I’d rather just do it all myself. It’s easier because at the end of the day, if anything goes wrong I can only blame me. No, I don’t have a huge following and I’m not a big name yet but music is my passion and I will continue to do it even if I never made another dime.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @shakara_monique
• Facebook: Shakara Monique (Official)
• Youtube: Shakara Monique TV

Image Credits
Nyannah Jeffries of NysEyez