In this interview spotlight I chat with Sunshine Art Therapy about the new music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
When people ask where I’m from I usually say that I’m from the suburbs of Jamaica, Queens. I think when people think of Jamaica, Queens they think of a very urban environment. Queens is very big and has a lot of different kinds of neighborhoods. I’m from Queens Village which is on the Eastern Long Island border of New York City. Think stand-alone homes and grass in the front yard and BBQ’s in the backyard with no problem finding parking. I grew up about five blocks from the beginning of Nassau County, Long Island. So that’s why I say that I grew up in the “suburbs” of Jamaica Queens:) My neighborhood, Queens Village, is also called Shadyville. They call it that because it has so many big beautiful old trees but the other reason is because a lot of shady ish goes down there behind the scenes…
Whether I say “I’m from Queens Village” or “I’m from Shadyville” depends greatly on who I’m talking to. I grew up very sheltered in some ways. The kids on my street were a very tight-knit group. We grew up on a dead-end street where all the families know each other and we didn’t curse or fight. We organized games and put together talent shows. We taught ourselves how to play volleyball and Kickball. We jumped rope… (I never learned how to jump Double Dutch though… It secretly haunts me to this day;) We taught ourselves how to play spades and we would have full on tournaments. We used to play freeze tag on summer nights until our parents would whistle for us to come home… cause you know you had to be inside when those street lights came on:) I was very blessed to grow up with the kids I grew up with. They helped shape the best parts of me. That’s Queens Village.
I didn’t hear the name Shadyville until I was a little older. I was talking to a friend of mine from South Jamaica, Queens. He asked me where I grew up and I told him Queens Village. He said “Oh! You’re from Shadyville?” and he laughed. He told me about Queens Village’s nickname and its origins. I was blown away by all of the stuff that was going on around me while I was completely unaware. I had no idea. That’s why I say I was a little sheltered. When he was done. I said “wow.. thanks for enlightening me.. now when someone asks me where I’m from I’ll say I’m from Shadyville”. He said “No hun.. Now you know about Shadyville… But you… you’re from Queens Village”
Queens Village is also right next to Hollis, Queens, and close to South Jamaica… A lot of legendary musicians come from Jamaica Queens and New York in general. Queens music roots run deep deep.. My complex roots affect the style of music I create but I’ll get more into that in a later question…
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I have had a very winding journey to end up here making music and talking with you. I went to LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and the Performing Arts in Manhattan. LaGuardia is also known as the “fame” school. LaGuardia is special and unique among high schools with an alumni list that you wouldn’t believe because of its long history of educating and training students with equal emphasis on the creative arts.
LaGuardia has a rigorous audition process just to get in, and once you get in your gonna work twice as hard as in other high schools because in addition to a full course load in academics, you’re carrying a whole second full class load in your art discipline. I traveled 4 hours on the New York transit line every school day for four years of high school to receive the gift of this stellar education… as Debbie Allen says in the TV show based on my high school. Whatever you want, “You gotta pay in sweat… and here is where you start payin”. I learned that at LaGuardia High School.
My major at LaGuardia was visual arts. After I graduated I went to the Maryland institute college of art and got my BFA in Photography then I worked as a graphic designer at different ad agencies and corporations in New York and then eventually in Atlanta, including NBC, for many years. When I was working at 30 Rock for NBC, my dearest memories are of working with SNL Studio 6H… I connect so deeply through laughter. People that can make me laugh are my most favorite people in the whole world. Watching the cast of SNL make the world laugh week after week, and being able to contribute to that in my small way, taught me the value of grinding day and night and the beauty and joy in using our own unique voice. I think it’s important to develop the skill of feeling comfortable talking to anyone at any time particularly on the subject of yourself.. after all.. you are the authority!! This is a very difficult skill for me because I have Borderline Personality Disorder which is a pretty severe form of depression/anxiety and can be very difficult to navigate life with.
Interestingly enough the Borderline, which is my biggest challenge in life, is also what keeps me motivated and going. The stigma that people who have mental health challenges face on a daily basis is insane…. pun intended..lol.. sorry. But no seriously… When you think of a group in our society that it’s still politically correct to cross the street when you see coming… crazy people are literally the last group left. A protected class under the law but if someone shouts run.. there’s a crazy person coming… we wouldn’t think twice. Mentally ill particularly get a bad wrap in movies/TV and the entertainment industry as a whole. How many villains in movies are identified as crazy versus how many heroes?
The truth is a mentally unwell person is ten times more likely to try to hurt themselves than they are to try to hurt you… The stigma is so deep. Ending the stigma is what motivates me to keep going.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
this is my first release.. lol!! I have another song coming out right after New Year so stay tuned but instead of answering the question of how this song is different from previous ones, I’ll speak to your earlier question about what kind of music I make.
From the time I was very young, I connected deeply through music. Since I was a child I’ve loved to write and make up lyrics but I never felt any good at it. Recently I realized if I wait to feel good at it, I’ll never do it at all. So I started trying. Before I knew it I was completely addicted to creating music and I had turned a closet into an impromptu soundproof studio for the pure pleasure of creation.
When it comes to defining what type of music I make… I don’t like to break music down by genres. I think it’s not helpful. I think we work so hard to try to create and uphold these labels and artificial categories and they act as false separators between us when it’s all really just sounds and not so easily definable. I create stories. If that was a genre, I would wanna be part of that genre. I create stories. I am a storyteller.
I grew up in Queens, as I mentioned before, and Queens has amazing rap roots. My mom is from Augusta, Georgia and my dad is from Antigua in the West Indies. We listened to everything… I’m not just saying that. I heard rap outside of my home and on the radio growing up but I had to work hard to hear it. Inside of the home my parents listened to everything…We listened to Soul, jazz, funk, pop, folk, calypso, steel drum, reggae, country, classical, Gospel, opera, a ton of R&B, and musical theater… sooo much musical theater. my mom loves musicals… I do too. I love the storytelling. I love the emotion that I feel through a well-told story. I connect with it. That was my biggest goal with this release. The goal was to connect.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I don’t know how to effectively answer this question because I disagree with the premise. I don’t believe we are over saturated. I believe every single person deserves a voice… every single person should sing their own song and until every person alive comes out with a single we can’t be overstated. Even then we will not be over saturated. Technology, ease of use and the lightning speed availability of information we live in the digital age… there will still be space. Creativity and self-expression do not exist to shut out and exclude others. There is space and love enough for us all… I open to the premise of over-saturation and refuse to answer on those grounds:)…lol
The stigma and misinformation around what mental illness looks like keep so many people from getting the treatment and support that they need. I know so many people scared to come out as having mental health challenges because of what other people will think of them. The only thing worse than suffering is suffering scared of judgment alone in the dark. That’s what keeps me going. My goal is to bring transparency and light. There is no shame in talking to someone. If you break your leg, you go to a bone doctor.. if you break your feelings, you should go to the feelings doctor. We wouldn’t shame someone for a physical illness and mental illness deserves to be treated with the same respect. It’s not a choice. It’s an illness and there is no shame in treating an illness. That message is why I’m here. I want to preach “get help if you need it, If you don’t, that’s cool too… sit back and enjoy the product of me getting help:)”
The message of the music is the art and the art motivates me, sustains me and keeps me going.
I love being a visual artist. I design all my own graphics for my music and I’ve just launched a website to support other artists which I also designed myself… and that’s cool and everything but if I work all week designing, it doesn’t compare to one hour spent in the studio speaking my truth and singing my story. That’s what motivates me to keep going. Music truly is my art therapy. I’m so happy to have found it.
What was the last song you listened to?
Chance the Rapper – Same Drugs
Lauryn hill – lost one
Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Soundcloud
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
@sunnyarttherapy IG and Twitter for updates
Spotify for my music likes and playlists and
Soundcloud for more music
Anything else before we sign off?
NOPE…LOL!!!! I think that was plenty!!! Thanks for listening, check out “I’m Not the One”, and stay tuned 🙂
Listen to “I’m Not the One” here: https://soundcloud.com/user-400216018/im-not-the-one-wintro
