Meet Courtney Monaé | Singer-Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Courtney Monaé and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think risk taking is VERY important in life! The reward can be SO sweet if the risk pays off! No one is making it out of here alive so why not! Risk has shaped a big part of my life and made me who I am today. The first big risk I can remember taking was moving to California from Georgia at the age of 17 to attend California College of Music. I moved all the way across the country with no friends or family. That was such an eye opening experience for me. I feel like I fully submerged myself into adulthood. I learned so much more about my music and myself! A little over a year later, one morning I was walking to school for the first day of the new semester, and I got hit by a truck. I flew over the truck and hit my face on the ground. I suffered a broken jaw, my bottom lip split open, and I lost my top 3 front teeth. My world, my life, and everything I knew changed from that day on. I had to drop out of school immediately, drink food from a straw, and I wasn’t able to sing for over a year. That accident was the lowest I had ever been in life. I was only 18 at the time and felt my life and music career were over. After a year and a half of surgeries I was finally healed. That accident alone taught me that life can change at any moment. You can wake up looking one way and go to sleep looking another way. From that time on I told myself I was going to fight for everything I want, live life as full as I can, and chase my dreams even harder! Now all I do is take risks! Like the most recent one I’ve taken, which was quitting my job of 4 years at trader joes to be a full-time artist and street performer. The single most best decision I’ve made in my life so far. I was given a 2nd chance in life. If i don’t take risk it would be a slap in the face to myself after all I’ve been through!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What keeps me busy professionally is finding new ways to connect to people through my music. I enjoy sharing my experiences with love, loss, pain, happiness and hurt. I sing the things I couldn’t or didn’t get to say face to face. I’m always looking to find new ways to express myself. If I can express myself and release my feelings, then I can relate and connect to others which is the ultimate goal.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since I’ve moved to LA, a few places that I love are Dockweiler State Beach and Joshua Tree. I’m big into the nature scene, so anything outdoors would be my go to recommendation!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would first like to thank my mom for allowing me to chase my dreams growing up. Secondly, I would like to thank Shaquille for supporting the BIG decision I made to quit my job and become a full time independent artist!

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hai_itscourtney?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Other: https://linktr.ee/courtneymonae

Image Credits
Sean Bartley Roux Ali