Today we’d like to introduce you to EbxnyRxse Queen.
Hi EbxnyRxse, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story begins in Youngstown, Ohio with a very nontraditional family. My mother is an opera singer and my father was a very well-known percussionist. Music was already in my blood when I was born! The basement of the house i grew up in doubled as a rehearsal space for my father’s band; Word, Blood, and Power. It was filled with instruments that my father taught us to play. My brothers and I went to sleep to the sound of jam sessions coming from the basement most nights. I realized I had a place in music when I was about 5 years old. My father had started teaching me the piano and drums but it was my mother who influenced my first song. I was very much a tomboy being the only girl.
When my brothers started playing little league football of course I wanted to play too. My mother said “You are a lady! You can’t play football with the boys.” I was so angry and hurt! Lol. My brothers and I took to the basement where I, in a fit of rage, wrote my first song “I Don’t Look Like A Lady!” It was definitely a rock song! But it gave me an outlet for my feelings. Besides being an opera singer, my mother was also the owner and director of a performing arts school. She also taught voice lessons at The University of Akron, is a playwright, and toured with Broadway Equity summer stock group “The Kenley Players”.
If not at school or church, we were at a rehearsal, a play, a voice lesson, a dance class, you name it. I took ballet and tap classes with my mother, and my mother once had me doing majorette lessons in the summer. I said never again. It wasnt for me but i can still twirl a baton if need be! My brothers and I were well prepared to star in any Broadway play at any moment!
When i was in the third grade i started to get sick and didnt really understand what was happening to me. One day in class i asked my teacher to use the restroom and she said no. I had never needed to use the restroom so bad in my life! I decided that i would just walk out and deal with the consequences later. When i stood up i knew something horrible had happened… everything inside of me was now on the floor in front of my whole class. I was so embarrassed but i also knew something was wrong. I was dying and nobody knew. My mother took me to the doctor a few days later and as we were waiting for test results the doctor rushed into the waiting room and told my mother to take me to the hospital right away. They diagnosed me with type 1 diabetes and the doctor said if i hadn’t come to the hospital that day i probably would have died in my sleep that night. I lived in a children’s hospital for a couple months before i was able to return to school. That was really a traumatic turning point in my childhood. I no longer wanted to sing and dance. I was really confused as to why such a horrible thing would happen to me. I didnt really start singing in public until Jr. High School when i joined the choir in 7th grade and I just kept going from there. I knew i could not live without music. In high school I performed with the show choir and was involved in everything that had to do with singing and dancing. When i was 17 my died. He always told me that i had a beautiful voice and that he believed in my talent. I started taking music seriously for him.
In college i continued singing and touring with the gospel choir and doing features for local artists. My cousin ,Antonio Simmons, started a record label and wanted me to join as the first female artist. My first day in the studio i was ready! Antonio said “Naw… you’re not singing until you write! Writing is where the money is!” From that day on, I wasn’t just a singer; I was a writer, and I didnt realize how much I needed that skill. Writing opened so many doors and put food on my table. He moved the record label to Atlanta, Georgia and I stayed in Ohio. A friend of the family asked me to come by one day and handed me an envelope full of money and said, “Go to Atlanta. That’s where I feel God needs you to be and I believe your husband is there!” At the time I was in college working two jobs, and taking care of my 5 year old son. I couldn’t see a way to just uproot and move to Atlanta. My older brother, who already lived in Atlanta, said, I could come stay with him because I needed to be there. I prayed and prayed because I had no idea how I would get our stuff to Atlanta. My Uncle volunteered to have all my things shipped to Atlanta. I had saved the money from the family friend and bought plane tickets for my son and I and left Ohio.
My first year in Atlanta was ROUGH, I ended up with a choice of going back to Ohio or being homeless. Even though it didn’t feel like it i knew everything was going to be OK because I know God brought me here.
The mom of one of the young girls I was mentoring on the record label offered to let me and my son stay with her until we got back on our feet. That experience was definitely God teaching me how to hustle and have thick skin. Those writing skills fed my son and I most days. I was writing and singing hooks for several artists and working a customer service job so I could get out of this lady’s house ASAP! She treated me like Cinderella, however, I was grateful for the roof over mine and my son’s head. I saved up every cent I could for a little over a month. I got a call from a family member I hadn’t heard from in a while. She was just calling to check on me. When I told her about my situation she sent me the money to pay the deposit to get my own apartment. I borrowed a car and packed as much as I could fit in there legally. I stuffed my son in there with his toys, and I was out before that lady got home from work! I sent her a text thanking her and let her know I was never coming back. God made a way for me every step of the way. Within that next year I started doing praise and worship at a church in Marietta, where I met the pianist who is now my husband. . We have two beautiful little girls and have been married 11 years!
Ive been performing and recording with my older brothers who are better known as Green Dynasty; as well as doing alot of background work, live recordings, and writing for other artists. Since moving to Georgia I’ve been blessed to be a part of many things in the arts and do what I love. IM making music, writing, singing, performing, even modeling but i felt God still had more for me so I decided to come out of the background and become a solo artist. I released my first single “Palm Trees On Mars” on September 19th. Its available on all streaming platforms. The song is dedicated to my husband. He is truly my blessing from God. My next single is coming soon! My story is kind of long but nothing happens by chance, I don’t believe in coincidences. God orchestrated so many crazy twists and turns to bring me to this amazing point in life. Even when we don’t understand, God has a plan!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road was everything but smooth! I really learned how to trust God! Being homeless was probably the biggest obstacle…but being homeless with a child was a whole different struggle! It feels crazy to think back on that time in my life. Some days i didnt have money for a ride and we did ALOT of walking. Sometimes i had to carry him for miles. God always heard my cries. During that time I didnt fall ill and I never went without my medication. God placed blessings around every corner to the point that my son didn’t realize we were homeless! Every bump in the road was just more proof of how good God is!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most known for background vocals and writing. I work with my brothers just as much as I work with my husband and it is a blessing. We do live recordings for artists , writing and arranging, we also compose music for plays and movies. The most rewarding part of my job is coaching artists in the studio. I love helping people find the sounds they’ve been searching for to express their feelings. As a family we also have a nonprofit organization, Green Family Dynasty, under which we perform, do workshops, give scholarships, and sponsor events. Im most proud that I can do what I love with the people that I love! What sets me apart from others is that I do not fit into a genre. I have no box to check. We grew up exposed to so many different types of music that we kinda merged it all together to create a unique sound. People often ask me who I would compare my sound to and my response is always “No one. I sound like me!”
What were you like growing up?
Growing up i always wanted to be a singer and actress like my Mom but I was very shy so I was only a star at home lol. I would make my family sit in the living room and watch The Ebony Rose Show as I performed. I have always been very outspoken. Im 100% Capricorn. Often in trouble for saying out loud what others were thinking in their heads. I’ve always been an individual. I wanted to dress differently, wear my hair differently. Never wanted to look like everyone else…guess I was kind of a rebel. I even went through a phase where I wore purple contact lenses. Glad that didn’t last long! I never had a hard time fitting in because I never tried to fit in. When I was in the 4th grade I started going to a school for gifted and talented students and I loved it. I felt like I belonged with these kids. They were weird like me! Weird is a good thing. Everybody needs a little weird!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealebxnyrxse
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/176wRRsD6S
- Twitter: https://x.com/EbxnyRxseQueen?=09
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ebxnyrxsequeen?si=UzDAUCpgaSCb_P8E
Image Credits
Marquitta Minniefield
