We recently connected with Stoney and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stoney, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My debut single “Better Off” and our Better Off Here Campaign is by far the most meaningful project I have ever worked on because the message is so deeply personal to me and my history with suicidal ideation. This song is all about raising awareness for childhood depression, especially as it relates to young black girls, and sharing the message that no matter how dark the world may look to you now, you are better off here. Because I remember what it felt like to truly believe that I was better off dead.

At around 13 years old, I began to struggle with body dysmorphia, an eating disorder, and bullying in a majority white private school. As a chubby black scholarship kid, the only thing that really made me smile back then was my love of music and storytelling. Even though I was never given a real opportunity to shine the way my heart wanted to, I never stopped writing. Poetry, novels, short stories, scripts, songs, you name it. I always like to say that writing is in my heart and music is in my soul. The darkness in my little heart poured out of me and onto those pages, and all those thoughts that felt so isolating were made shareable by some of my favorite artists whom I listened to. They made me feel less alone, and at the end of the day, that is the most beautiful thing about being an artist to me — sharing in our collective human experience and tearing down the walls that this world loves to build between people from all walks of life. You’ll never know what someone is going through just by looking at them, but you might be able to by listening to a song they wrote about overcoming the demons they were facing while putting on a smile for everyone.

That is why, at the start of my career, I knew I needed to shine a light on that little girl’s voice and all of the struggles that she had to overcome to get to this place. I can now carry her with me as I embark on the journey to making all of her dreams come true, all because I decided to stay in this world. And I am so glad that I never let those voices in my head convince me otherwise. I never would’ve met Stoney — the woman who I am today, had I let them make a decision that a person can never come back from.

I want this debut single and the Better Off Campaign to make everyone going through mental health struggles feel less alone, and to encourage people to continue this conversation. Having someone to talk to can be the difference between life and death. We are all better off here, together.

Stoney, 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?

Who is Stoney, and what is the Stoney Project? Well I can start with who I am hahaha. Hi! I am Stoney, a bubbly, creative, and passionate young woman who loves being around people and building entire worlds for them to experience. I have a love for singing, acting, writing, and directing, and that love helped me graduate from USC with a degree in film production. My goofiness and flair for the dramatic is what isolated me as a kid, but it’s also what makes me stand out as an artist today. The music I make combines my love for acting and storytelling with my love of singing, and that’s why the team and I like to call it “Cinematic Pop,” or pop with a soundtrack feel to it. I build characters based off of the things that I’m going through in my life, and create a story that you can close your eyes and feel like you’re a part of.

The Stoney Project is an immersive body of music that tells the story of an insecure girl blossoming into a confident, powerful woman. It’s my ugly duckling into a swan story, a heroic epic if you will hahaha. It delves into my history of depression, my triumphs as an artist, my lamentations about the tragedies facing kids in our world today, my feelings about love, confidence, betrayal, manipulation, happiness, sadness, I mean I could go on and on. Yeah it really is just a fun, dramatic, and beautifully uplifting work of art full of the depth of my emotions, and I am so excited to share this first chapter of my story with everyone.

As for how I started in the music industry, my first time getting into real rooms in this business came from Don Terell. We actually met while working out doing a vocal fitness training class called Vocal 360, led by the amazing artist (and absolutely crazy fitness instructor) Josh Moreland. After hearing some of my demos being played on the mountains while we were all sweating and singing together, Don Terell asked me if I wanted to work on a song together. Our creative synergy just worked so well, man. I think he expected me to stop showing up, but I never did hahaha. I’d show up every day that he was available, begging to keep working. When someone believes in you, like really really believes in you and is willing to put his money where his mouth is, after being overlooked for so long, there was literally no way in hell I was gonna let that go. We made 15 finished records in just one month, on top of him having an insanely busy schedule and me working my service industry job. Everything we worked on was just magical, and as other people in the industry started hearing our work, the buzz just kept on building from there. We knew we were building something incredibly special. And we were only supposed to make one song together!

He’s worked with the likes of L.A. Reid, Bunny Sigler, Joe Stonestreet, Chubby Checker. He was the final missing piece, and now we’re ready to bring this amazing collaboration to the world. All of those years of hearing “no,” to finally hearing the right “yes…” It just goes to show you that everything happens for a reason. To all of the young artists out there who are feeling overlooked or are having many doors close in your face back to back, trust me, I get it. I was there. DON’T GIVE UP. You might miss your window of opportunity banging on the door of someone who was never meant to be a part of your success story. Keep doing what your doing. The stars will eventually align.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I think the most valuable resource for any artist is the artist community. So many times people are caught up in the monetary gains or the “clout” or “influence” of the people around them. They ask how many followers do you have before they talk to you, or have an underlying mindset of “what’s in it for me” when it comes to creating with other people. The most important value in any business, creative or otherwise, comes from the depth of your relationships. And you don’t build that depth by being averse to helping people achieve all of the things you want to achieve for yourself. Is your friend building a business? Go support them. Post them on your social media. Actually BUY the product. Is your cousin making a short film and you want to enter into the film industry? Help them with their script. Show them the love and support that you’d want them to show for you. And I promise you that supportive energy will find it’s way back to you. Most, if not ALL of the opportunities I’ve gotten have come from being a great person before being a great artist. I’ve had gigs come to me all because of one conversation, BEFORE they even heard me sing anything. Having a good heart is an asset, I promise you. Don’t be a pushover, and definitely be selective about who you give your energy to, but don’t get caught up in the “me me me” of it all. Relationships get you way farther than any of those other things will. Trust me. You never know who’s watching. One favor for a friend can be the moment that changes your life.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The support I’m gaining from social media is building slowly but surely, and it’s all coming from AUTHENTICITY and CONSISTENCY. Knowing the core of who YOU are and being willing to share that unapologetically with the world will help you organically build your audience. People aren’t just buying into the art or product. They want to support a PERSON, a MESSAGE. They want to know YOU, especially if you’re an artist. What is your art saying, and why should I care about it?

For a long time I was very scared to share my story online. I didn’t want to be seen as sensitive or a victim or “too soft.” I’ve had people tell me that my whole life, that I was too sensitive. But my strength comes from all of those moments I’ve had to overcome. Your story isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s something to be proud of. And you can’t care what people who don’t support you have to say about it, because you are building a community of people who love who you and who genuinely want to see you win. Those are the people who will buy your product, whatever it is, and tell everyone who’s willing to listen to go check you out. Those are the people who will fill your stadiums and wear your merch with pride — the people who you allowed into your soul and gave your whole heart to through your art. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable, and spend time figuring out who you are so that you can relay that authentically to your audience.

Oh, and if you’re just getting started, post. Every. Single. Day. That is now your new full time job. Welcome to making art in the modern era hahaha.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodmorningstoney/?hl=en
• Other: GoodMorningStoney on all platforms, and “Stoney” on all streaming services.