Saturday, January 2, 2021
And we’re the roses, that grew.
From concrete.
From concrete.
The lyrics float out of the car’s stereo and into my eardrums. I allow the two to coax my head into a steady nod that follows the soulful beat and the smooth voice of the artist who goes by The Moon. I’ve been to California once before this, but it’s still hard for me to not be in awe of the coastline as my friend and I drive on the two lane road towards Malibu. It’s early and the weather is perfect. The sky still has some orange in it from sun rise and the Pacific is in motion, but calm. I try to listen to the song in a way that is going to brief me with what I might need to know about the artist as I’m on my way to meet her.
When we arrive at the beach I hop out of the car to spot a beautiful girl sitting on a soft umber colored blanket. She’s a lone and expecting me, I bring my duffle bag, with my camera, notebook, and pen and try not to fall on the crunchy rocks below my feet as I make my way to Moon. She smiles and waves when she sees me. Her energy is the best mix of warm and inviting. When I finally make it to her we try to figure out if we should hug or not given the pandemic, he decide on a light side hug and instantly start talking. This is going to be great, I decide already.
han: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
“Yesss.” She replies softly and with excitement. “My name is Moon, I’m from Compton California and I am a singer, songwriter, and film maker. I’m also a Taurus and the middle child. I have an older sister and a younger brother.”
han : Im pausing for a compliment but I just wanted to say your makeup looks so good!
han : Where did the name Moon come from?
“I got that name from my sister. When I was younger I would stay up all night and I didn’t go to sleep until the moon went down. I finally got my rest when the sun came up. That’s where my name comes from, I was always up with the moon.”
han: What craft tap into first as an artist?
“I would say writing. I was in a poetry contest when I was like 11, I thought it was the best thing in the world” she adds with a nostalgic chuckle. “That was definitely my first step towards falling in love with art.”
han : When did you start taking music seriously?
“My family has always been really supportive of my music. And what’s crazy is for a long time I went to singing lessons but wouldn’t anyone them hear me sing.”
“I was pretty shy growing up but over the years I’ve grown out of that. This past year in 2020 I’ve finally put out music and really opened up to promoting myself as an artist. For myself and my family you know, we’ve always known about my love for music, but this past year I was able to show everyone else who maybe didn’t know that side of me.”
han: The songs I've heard from you so far have a lot to do with love. What is your philosophy on love?
han : How important are music videos to your work?
“Music videos are very important to my work, especially because I get to work with other directors on some of the concepts and compare how I see he world to how they see the world. I really value that element of collaboration.”
han : I recognize collaboration might come with having to pass certain ideas. What's your go to method for having to tell someone no?
“That’s a really good question. I was actually just talking to my dad about how the way you respond to things when they aren’t exactly how you want them says a lot about your character and your relationship with those people. He complimented me brought to my attention that I’m good at expressing myself when certain ideas are not what I want, but I still take time to dissect the idea and make sure in the end both me and the other person are happy and experiencing something that is fulfilling.”
han : Was it more difficult or therapeutic to work on the song We Gon' Be Okay which speaks to a lot of the atrocities black people were struggling with this past year?
“My producer and I created that song almost seven months before I put the song out. That speaks to not only how it’s a topic that I was dealing with mentally as far as seeing our black people and families effected, but its also an issue that never fully goes away.”
“I really feel like as black people who have to deal with certain racism and bias’s so often we don’t realize how much it effects you until it manifests in little sprinkles in our lives. And for writers sometimes you don’t realize you’re speaking on certain things in your work until you listen back a week or so later. For this song especially it felt like it was just flowing out of me.”
“I was just listening back to the song with my family and it’s a beautiful song but its also heavy.”
“Sometimes you don’t realize you’re speaking on certain things in your music until you listen back to it a week or so later…it felt like it was just flowing out of me.”
-Moon
han : What parallels do you draw to yourself and to one of your biggest inspirations Tupac?:
“My big sister is actually who put me on to Tupac. I have one of his books and he was an amazing writer and someone who was just themselves, authentically. He wasn’t afraid of the repercussions he’d have for who he was. And that’s what I aspire to be. I want to be free and without worry of judgement. Tupac was just himself.”
han: What do you have planned for 2021?
“I have a lot planned. More music for sure. And finding out more about myself and tapping into who I want to be and who I am now”
“More film too! I run a film program for kids called Young Movie Makers of America and we’ve been in the works with a lot of content thats been waiting to drop. We just want to make sure we’re on point with the preparation and timing.”
“Like I said before, my family is my support system and sometimes they ask why I don’t drop projects as soon as their completed, but I’m a very feelings based person. I like to do things when I feel the flow is there and everything is working in unison. I believe people can see when projects are rushed. They can feel the missing pieces or holes in work, whatever it is. But people can also feel the richness in work that’s been marinating.”
han : Would you say "Young Movie Makers of America is a passion project for you?:
“Honestly I wouldn’t put the word ‘project’. behind it. It felt like the work I do with my kids (those involved with Young Movie Makers of America) was meant to be. When I see how happy they are and how comfortable they are to be around me everything feels like it was supposed to flow that way. I know I’m supposed to teach kids how I do what I do because I love it that much. It doesn’t feel like charity or anything like that, it feels like something thats apart of my journey.”
“And you can probably relate to this too she adds” As you dive deeper into your career you want the help and guidance of people who are more established than you in your craft. And not a lot of people are willing to do that or help you on your way up. I want to be the person to change that because I wasn’t always afforded that opportunity by people who said they would give it to me.”
han : What's your favorite Movie?:
“Ugh.” She says pretending like she’s frustrated with herself. “I have a new favorite like every year along with 50 favorite songs.”
“But right now I would say I have two : The Florida Project and Moonlight of course. Especially because I do work with kids I think it’s really important to document life from the perspective of an adolescent. All the work that’s done with my program is done from my kids perspective so when I study that film I’m amazed at how they structured it to provide that perspective. And knowing adults who are 40 – 50 years old move can still operate in a way that was influenced by something that happened when they were a child should make us want to make sure kids grow up around as much love and nurturing as possible so they can provide the same love for their own kids.”
han : What advice to you have for women musicians?
“I would say don’t rush to find your sound. And don’t rush to find yourself either. Nothing happens over night. I had been recording with my good friend for three years before I dropped anything. In those three years I was figuring out who I was, want I wanted my music to feel like, and what I wanted the listener to experience. Whatever I put out I needed it to be a full experience, not just the sound. It that took time for me to build that skill. But by the end of it all, it was just…natural. It was not longer me piecing something together, it was a matter of me digging it out of myself.”
“I would say don’t rush to find your sound. And don’t rush to find yourself either. Nothing happens over night.”
-Moon
han : When is music and film better?
“Music and film is Better when you’re feeling the emotion that you want that song or movie to make you feel. Even though it can be a lot sometimes, if I’m sad, I’m listening to a sad song, I don’t care. You can really amplify emotion when you’re aligning your state of being to what you’re experiencing at the time.”
☪
Stay in tune with Moon on the rest of her journey and listen to her music here: