Today we’d like to introduce you to Luna.
Luna, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born to two wonderful parents in Prince Frederick, Maryland in the year 1997. I come from an intermediate family of four, including myself, and I came basically a decade after my sister, so my parents had the whole adulting thing down by the time I came around. My father is of European-American descent, and my mother is of African-American descent. Growing up and bouncing between different worlds like my black side of my family to my white side of the family, PG County to Calvert County (a majority black county outside of DC and a majority white county below PG county) proved to shape me and confuse me alike. My father had a studio in our basement so I would grow up watching him create beautiful music from our own home and later on I would watch my sister do the same. The DC Metro area had so much persevering soul to it when I was growing up it was undeniable. It was like this collective consciousness you could hear and see, but no one had to point it out. It was awesome to grow up and see African-Americans in my own family and around me in these positions to help affect positive change in their communities. My grandfather on my mother’s side owned two soul food restaurants in the city, one where the Nats Park is present day and the other on U St. I watched him provide jobs to immigrants unable to find work elsewhere and help out victims of the horrific crack epidemic that plagued the city. He raised three girls, two who became educators (my mom and aunt) and one who had her own law firm on Capitol Hill by her 20s (my other aunt). I say all this to say that I come from music and I come from hustlers; the two things have become my main focus. I moved to South Florida almost two years ago now, and the hustler mentality of the wide range of people that live here has been added motivation. South Florida gave me the confidence to be in a new space and really take the time to identify self. I used to be a very quiet, insecure little girl who let people make fun of the kinkiness of her hair and ran from interactions but that was because the world tried to shape me while I was vulnerable. Once I got older and began to see things more clearly, I knew I had to put all my efforts into the one thing that has always moved me, and that is music. I don’t make music for a quick come up, or for some kind of status, I make music because it keeps me alive and I want to keep others alive with it. Truthfully, music is the only thing on this earth that moves me to pursue. Trying to pursue a career in anything else would make me feel incomplete, it’s important that I can say that I did everything I could to make music work. My whole life I’ve never finished anything because my heart wasn’t in it, but my heart has always been in music. I rap because I want my women and my people to hear me so they can hear themselves. I rap because of the soul that I come from. I write from my experiences and my words jump off the page. I’m blessed to be able to pursue my dreams, and I hope the same for everyone. I’m so thankful for the love and support I’ve received thus far. Thank you Voyage for the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Luna, and that’s my story.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I rap! I sometimes sing, but I always write lol. Music is my everything; it’s my truest love. I’ve always had a love for it and wanted to pursue it, but I believe it takes a level of courage to pursue. I had to earn my courage over time through life, and it’s many experiences. I feel like I was bound to pursue music because of my family’s strong influence. I create for myself, for black women, black people, people of color, and women…in that exact order. If you weren’t listed its not like I’m excluding you from enjoying my music, you just aren’t a priority because you’ve always been one if that makes sense. I would like to say that I’m heavily inspired by lifestyle rap. People from Curren$y to Nipsey Hussle, may he rest in power, and the endless group of women that have been shining from Princess Nokia to BbyMutha are big inspiration. These people rap about their experiences; they aren’t put together machines for anyone. Also, these people make their own models for their career. The main thing I want people to take away from my music is to be who they want to be with power. I don’t want people to live in fear and insecurity as I once did, I want people to be empowered and own their individuality. I want to lift people up about features they were once made fun of, I want girls to rap my lyrics with pride during a girls night, I want my music to change the world. You should know that my art will give you smooth, groovy, empowered, African diaspora feels. Whatever song I’m making, a specific experience was intended.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities, and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
OH MY GOSHHHHHH. Praise you for asking me this question because no one ever really does when interviewing an artist but it’s lowkey a huge part of being an artist. It is not easy to make money to survive and try to pursue your artistry as well, but it’s all about how bad you want it. I took a break from college because it’s just been making me really poor and depressed recently lol I switched it up and got a 40-hour full-time job and decided to use the money to fund myself and my music. When I was in school, whatever bread I got had to go towards me eating or school because school is expensive and took up all the time I had to make money PERIOD especially for music. It’s not easy taking money that I could be putting into my savings or debts into studio time or paying a videographer, but it’s just what I have to do right now. When you really want to focus on your artistry, and you’ve got that drive, you’ll make whatever time you gotta make to make sure you eat, and your art gets finished. I work five days out of the week and more than likely when I clock out of my job or have a day off I’m at a show or something. Fight for what you want so the endgame is a life fulfilled. I also recommend learning how to do whatever services you need to save money. As a musician, making music is obviously only half the battle. I need cover art, music videos, quality pictures, etc. To try to take the load off myself, even a little, I’ve learned how to do my own graphic design so if I need to make a flyer for casting or cover art I can just do it myself. I do wish though that, with financial challenges in mind, more people would acknowledge exactly how much an independent artist has to invest in themselves before they try to make you pay to perform or ask for a crazy handout. I understand being broke. I AM..but I think there’s a level of familiarity you need to be asking someone for certain favors and even then you should respect your man enough to wanna pay for their art (within your means, of course, like if you don’t have it, you don’t have it). If you’re completely honest about your financial situations, some people are still willing to barter or help it’s just how you go about things.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can see my songs on any streaming platform! All you gotta do is type in a song like “Pam Grier Luna” into your Spotify or Apple Music or whatever and I’ll be there. You can find my visuals on my youtube doing the same thing. I have an EP coming this summer that y’all should definitely stay tuned for. It’s going to be my first piece of work, so I’m very excited. I’m also releasing the visuals for my “Femcee” song on the 12th! The newest video and my ep alike are very aligned with my feminine energy. I think the best way to stay updated would be my Instagram since I’m always posting show updates, sneak peeks of new content, etc. Supporting my work could mean anything from a like to your presence at my next show. I’m not picky with how you support…only thankful.
Instagram is my most valuable social media resource. Email me for any inquiries!
Contact Info:
- Email: plsreachluna@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunabelunar/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lunabelunar
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5idmd7yvEK8Q-lMIDaQqKA
Image Credit:
Dreina Bautista
Ariana Teran
Daniel Ortega
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
