Daily Inspiration: Meet Montre’

Today we’d like to introduce you to Montre’.

Hi Montre’, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Since I was a child I’ve always had a deep connection and love for Art, Music, Fashion, Pop-culture and Entertainment. Any way I could express myself and my creativity I did. Growing up attending the ymca was my first outlet to do so as we had talent shows, arts and crafts, field trips and more that allowed me to expand my mind at a young age. Growing up loving entertainment I naturally loved everything about it. I was inspired by the classic early 2000 music videos, awards shows, and reality competition shows. One thing these things all had in common was Dance. I loved the art of dancing and performance and after watching the movies Honey and You Got Served, I knew this was a burning passion of mine. As soon as I could I joined a drill team and then dance teams around the city and started dancing. This was my dance training as growing up in a small city, dance class wasn’t even really a thing, especially for the style of Hip-Hop. You became a better dancer through rehearsals and performances. Being on these teams gave me the amazing opportunity to travel as a teenager all over the mid-west, south, stretching as far as New York. By the time I was eighteen I was blessed to have already performed on major platforms such as B.E.T’s 106 & park for the “Wild Out Wednesday” dance competition and the Apollo Theatre, winning first place one night with the dance team “House of Adonis” I was a part of. After high school I stayed productive dancing, designing, and modeling in Hair shows and fashion shows around the city. By this point I was ready to hit the big city and start really living out my dreams and visions I seen for myself and my art. So in 2013 I finally figured out a way to get to Atlanta, Even through I really wanted to move to New York first, I don’t regret my decision. Ever since I moved to Atlanta I’ve been consistently building my brand and my name in various communities. I’ve always stayed true to myself and my style, and people who know me can a-test to that. I have been building a legacy that represents fearlessness, fierceness, creativity, and boldness. My journey in Atlanta has been magical, not easy, but magical. I’ve got to live out so many of my dreams and have grown in so many ways as a person. I’ve gotten to where I am today through hard work, persistence, and lots of sacrifice, and faith. I could on into so much detail about my journey in Atlanta so far but I’ll save that for my documentary coming out soon! (Wink)

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not, but that’s the beauty of the journey. In life there is the ying and yang, you can’t have the light without some darkness. The bigger your calling and purpose is, the bigger the opposition will be. As an artist it’s hard not to see the beauty in everything, even the hard times, but it’s important that people reading my story know it has not been easy. I have faced homelessness many times from being young and sacrificing my livelihood just to get out a project I felt so passionately about. I’ve been evicted. I have to go without so many times. I’ve used public transportation or walked just to get to where I needed to go. Sometimes traveling an hour and a half just to get to the city on a bus. I’ve had to live in sketchy parts of town which was scary at times being someone who dressed androgynous and flamboyant like me. It’s been times I didn’t have money for food. I’ve never had a lot of money or a family with money. No handouts. I’ve had to mentally and physically put in the work. Going through periods of depression and challenging my mental health. Not to mention the roller coaster it is being in the entertainment industry and the politics that comes with that. I always find a reason to keep going though. As cliche as it may sound, every obstacle in life is challenging you to rise to the occasion and grow. I see every obstacle as a lesson and now I’m that much stronger having went through these things. I believe if you can find peace in the darkness, there is really nothing that can break you because you know how to find the happiness in your lowest moments.

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?
The best way to sum up Montre’ is a multi-faceted gender-bending artist, entertainer, creative, and visionary. I’m best known for being multi-talented and always serving a LOOK, with a fashion style all my own. As I’ve stated before I’ve always loved Art, Music, Fashion, and entertainment and have been blessed to have done everything under these umbrellas in some way. I’m known as a rap artist, dancer, choreographer, director, host, socialite, actor, designer, and more I mean I’ve done it all at some point. I’m most proud of everything I’ve accomplished because I had no one telling me to go and do these things, I had a dream and just followed my intuition. I went out into the world with no guide and created my world. Everything I’ve accomplished has been independently coming from a small city in Ohio so I am proud of everything I’ve been able to accomplish.

Now if I had to choose one of my favorite accomplishments to highlight, it would be performing at The Red Bull music “ATL is Burning Ball” where I also caught the eye of a PAPER magazine editor and I ended up being featured and premiering my new song at the time “2002” accomplishing this independently was a huge.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Work smarter not harder! Don’t spread yourself thin trying to do everything at once. Instead use all your resources to create one major meaning project that can propel you into your career. For example, it takes one good single to get an artist signed to a label, if that’s your goal. Instead of spending all your money creating a whole album. As a new artist, spend that money on one single, a strong music video and the rest on marketing so it can actually reach people. Quality over quantity.

Also NETWORK!!! A lot of times it’s who you know, but make sure you are also worth knowing!

Lastly, Stay true to who you are no matter what. Create your own opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montreofficial?igsh=YXlhMzR1dXV3MmRr&utm_source=qr