We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sherri Amoure a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sherri , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

As a creative, the average person misunderstands me on a daily. Many people seem to have this common misconception in thinking that creating art is merely self-indulgent. For this fact, the work that it takes to attain success as a creative is often devalued being as though the average person with this frame of thinking is unable to see what we do as a “real job.” The only way that the average person is able to credit the work of a creative as a “real job” is when they are able to see tangible evidence of success (ie. materialistic items – money, cars, houses, etc.). With that being said, the creative who is working towards achieving the success that would allow them to be able to make a comfortable living off their art giving them the ability to attain those assets, is very often mischaracterized as “lazy.” A couple of the gaslighting statements I’ve personally received on a daily are, ” You just don’t want to work” and “You don’t want out of your financial hardships if you are unwilling to work a ‘real job.'”

It is very frustrating to have to interact with so many people who have been brainwashed into this very closed-minded way of thinking, especially as an independent artist who works day in and day out towards making a comfortable living without the support of a team or the backing of a major label. This narrative that creatives are “lazy” could be further from the truth. If anything, it takes more work and more strength to be able to continue to produce art and work towards the bigger picture when you are not reaping the immediate benefit of that hard work and effort.

As creatives, we live outside of the constraints of the normal social construct and when people who are trapped within that construct see us outside of the box, they will often try to pull us back in. Working towards the bigger picture always has to be your end goal at all times when it comes to being a business owner so whether or not the masses understand, I ensure that I always do what’s best for me. As a creative, only you know exactly what is best for you. That end vision is yours and yours only. No one else can see it and there is no convincing them so you must keep your blinders on and remain focused. No one has ever attained personal success by working tirelessly to keep the dreams of others alive. Do not allow small minded people to kill your big dreams.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an independent multidisciplinary artist. I do everything from singing, rapping and songwriting all the way to writing, shooting and editing film/video content. For my listeners and supporters, I fill the need for the consumption of music that has a relatable message. So much of what we hear in mainstream media is repetitive and the bulk of it lacks true substance. With that being said, the fact that I ensure that my music includes true meaning and timeless messages that resonate is what sets me apart from other artists. I am most proud of the fact that my music is 100% authentic. I allow myself to be as raw, vulnerable and uncensored as possible knowing that while I am allowing myself to release my emotions in a healthy way, I am also able to aid in helping and healing others who may have had similar experiences to those that are within my songs.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I put out a LP called Resilience in December of 2020 on the anniversary of my dad’s death. Within every song on that LP is an expression and/or explanation of a feeling or experience I have undergone in my life many of which have been traumatic. For example, the first song on Resilience is entitled “Fake Love” which is simply about how it has felt to have to continue to be alive after losing my father who was one of the only people who actually unconditionally loved and cared for me. My journey all the way up until now has and still tends to be very heavy, overwhelming and lonely. Being able to be brave enough to share that story with the world through my music alone illustrates my resilience but so does the fact that I am still here today despite the the odds.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my view, society can best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem by expanding their minds. It’s not a very easy thing to do given that it requires unlearning so much of what society has taught us up to this point and rewiring our brains against the way that social media has changed the way that we think and the way that we consume content.

For example, many people today define an artist’s value simply by the amount of followers they have. Just because someone has a following does not mean that they have talent but it seems as if we have come to a point where talent no longer matters so as long as a substantial following exists. This is one of the most detrimental things to artists and creatives given that there are so many of us who have quality content but it is being overlooked and ignored due to the fact that one may not have yet attained what is considered to be a large following. Society would need to kill the “jumping on the bandwagon” way of thinking and get back to being able to differentiate content that they personally like from the content that they don’t without having to consider someone’s number of social media followers in order to make that decision. Someone’s following or lack thereof shouldn’t keep anyone who likes their content from fully supporting that content.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sherrientertainment.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherriamoure/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSherriEnt
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nickiz_Daughter
• Youtube: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCxEfYPRc6e_uW0qnEJ_XvcA
• Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/sherriamoure/trdrama-class

Image Credits
Sherri Productions™, Sherri Entertainment™