We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trenyce Williams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trenyce below.
Trenyce, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I thought taking the collegiate route would be safe and secure. That’s what the “American Dream” promises us right? Go to school, get good grades, graduate, and in return, you get a career in your field making enough money to sustain an upper-class lifestyle. So with that in mind, I went to Tuskegee University AND University of Southern California (USC) for Strategic Communications and Public Relations. And though I had luck getting great positions in my field after school, it was ALWAYS something. From layoffs to racial discrimination, I couldn’t seem to get a solid footing at any position for an extended amount of time. Why does the economy decide to crash when I became an adult? Why was I a target for filling a diversity quota only to be gravely mistreated in the position? The cost of living is an insurmountable issue compared to when my parents were my age and it just seemed like the harder I tried to do things that were supposed to guarantee my advancement, the harder life became. After my last job faced a significant loss of revenue, I had a lot more free time. And in that free time, I decided to fulfill my sense of purpose by creating. I wrote songs that I didn’t even know I had inside of me. I shocked myself at how good they were. I made TikTok videos. I expected them to get a few likes, but was blown away when I woke up to 200,000 views. That is when I realized my 9-5 would just be a means to pay my bills for now…until I can make my creativity pay me full-time. The risk I’m taking is cutting way back on the career that I thought would be my safety net to focus on chasing my dreams. Everybody wants to be a singer, a songwriter, and a content creator. The opportunity is open to all who aspire to do it. The risk is putting myself out there and trying to set myself apart from millions of people doing the same thing. Some people may have WAY more followers than me, better ideas than me, a better voice, and more people streaming their music. The risk is choosing to leave a field that I studied for 6 years to chase a dream that may or may not keep me stable. The risk is believing in myself even though I don’t see it right now. And as crazy as it sounds, I’m still down to take it.
Trenyce, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Trenyce, but I go by my first and middle name Trenyce Monee. My first introduction to the complexities and beauty of music was through church. I was singing at church before I hit double digits, apparently much better than the other church kids, because I was the only one getting asked to sing solos and lead songs. Trust me, it’s not a flex. It was quite embarrassing and nerve-wracking to have my friends snickering in the background as I belted my heart out to “Because of Who You Are”.
Aside from that, my dad is a singer and producer. I felt like God orchestrated me to sing because He placed me in a position to have all the resources I needed in order to make music. Most people have to come out of pocket for engineers and studio time. But when I’m ready to make magic everything I need is just a phone call away. My dad engineers all my songs for me, free of charge. He also gives me great advice and correction. I can be in the mic singing full out and hear the beat stop in my headphones from him telling me “That was cool but I think you can bust it better than that. Run it back!”
I knew I was a great writer when in 6th grade my teacher and principal made me read a paper I wrote in front of a board for a state-wide essay competition…and I won. Eloquent words just strung together effortlessly for me. Most of my peers were in awe of my writing. I couldn’t figure out the circumference of the square root of anything but if you put a pen in my hand, it was over!
My first single “Scared of You” was written by my dad. And though I liked the song, I knew it wasn’t me. Having an adult male write a song for a young lady in her 20s will leave one feeling that way. So from then on, I knew if I was going to take singing seriously I had to write all my own songs. Thus my favorite single “Intimacy” was born.
Put a love for singing and writing together and you’ve got yourself a singer-songwriter.
I want to set myself apart from other artists by showcasing that good values still matter. In a world full of vulgar, wildly explicit, almost unbearable lyrics, I want to show that true lyricism is more than just wordplay, but how those words resonate and impact the lives of the listener. I don’t want to write or sing a song that I wouldn’t feel comfortable playing in front of my church-going, bible-reading, Sunday school-teaching grandmother. As the old saints love to say, “Holiness is still right!” and I want to show people that you can live life to a certain standard without being boring, self-righteous, or stiff.
I am most proud of my willingness to take the unconventional route. I am proud of my efforts in balancing both the normalcy of everyday work and spending my free hours paving the way for my passion to become my new normal.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
What drives me in my creative journey is leaving an impact that will outlive me. I know so many talented individuals who don’t use their gifts. There is no way I could let all of this purpose dwell and fester within me and not do anything special with it. I have to make something worth remembering. I want my kids and their kids’ kids’ to be able to look back at my music catalog and my social media content in amazement at the life that I lived. I also believe that there is something within each of us that another person may need in order to carry on. Who am I to deprive someone of what could possibly be their favorite song if I keep my projects to myself? Someone could have another person’s favorite painting, favorite clothing line, favorite tv show, etc collecting dust in their mind due to refusal to share their talent. I don’t want to be that person.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the woes of people-pleasing. It simply is not realistic to make EVERYBODY happy, especially as a creative. Once I learned that sometimes a person’s dislike toward you is purely internal, the game completely changed for me. It also helps me in my creative journey because it eliminates the pressure to cater to the likes of people. Instead, I do what makes me proud and if others enjoy it then that is an added bonus, not the main goal. I notice the need to impress others within my friends and how it literally dictates the decisions they make and how they feel about themselves. Constantly worrying about how others perceive the life that God gave ME to live is entirely too draining, and I just refuse to do it. The people who truly love and support you just want to see you happy regardless of how it looks to others. Those are the only type of people I want around me. I can be corrected when I’m wrong, and I welcome constructive criticism and feedback. But I draw the line at jealousy, bitterness, hatred, bullying, and overall spewing non-sensical opinions from a place of malice rather than love.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trenycemonee/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@trenycemonee/videos
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wW0ZNiBIcxi61i1Use58c?si=CcO4Rm8zSDiaoHvELvVuVg