Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevante Williams
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Starting from the age of 11, I always viewed the world differently and I felt that God gave me a gift to give to the world. Watching different family members be apart of the industry had a big impact on me falling in love with music. I oftentimes would find myself listening to old school music at the tender age of 6yrs old. My dad started to teach me the artistry of becoming a singer and really honed in and molded my songwriting skills. From that day forth, I knew that becoming an Artist was my destiny. Shortly after, I branded myself as “Tre’” and my mom established Sel Sum Records, where I released my first two singles, “That Girl” and “Baby Girl”, which were written and produced by my father Joe “Simply” Halliburton. Soon after the release, I secured a major distribution deal with FYE (12 yr old Tre’ at this time) and embarked on a regional in‐store tour of the South to promote the records and build my fanbase. “Baby Girl” hit the Billboard charts and spent 15 weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart and peaked at #50. “Baby Girl” then later hit #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop single sales for multiple weeks beating out Chris Brown, Ray J, NeYo & more. “Baby Girl” ended up selling over 80,000 units independently. In 2007, I also became apart of Radio Disney’s Incubator which broadcasted worldwide and aided to my success. The FYE tour as well as radio airplay opened the door for future tours as I began an aggressive schedule performing and meeting with artists such as Bow Wow, B5, Keke Palmer, Romeo, Jagged Edge, Crime Mob, Jonas Brothers and Nick Cannon just to name a few. I also had a role in Lil JJ’s Nickelodeon (Ralph Farquhar produced) show “Just Jordan”. Alongside this, I went on to perform on Lil JJ’s stand up comedy special “Almost Grown”. Eventually, I attracted the attention of industry heavy weights and I inked a major deal with Imani Entertainment Group/Geffen Records in 2011 and officially re-branded and changed my name to “TreVante”. By the summer of 2011, I embarked on BET’s “Closer to My Dreams” tour alongside fellow heartthrobs Mindless Behavior, Lil Twist, Tyga, Diggy Simmons and Jawan Harris. This era was coined by fans as “a time to be alive” as frequent viral posts highlighted the artists alongside myself who blazed the charts during that time. Shortly after, I also opened up for selected dates on Mindless Behavior’s “All Around the World Tour” as well as being featured alongside Jacob Latimore on Jive recording artist Jawan Harris’ “Keisha Remix”. I have had the opportunity to co-write and collaborate with some of the industry’s elite producers, artists and writers over the years: Chris Brown, Dark Child, Rico Love, Diane Warren, The Underdogs, Eric Bellinger, Diamond Love (which was recorded by Jacob Latimore), Vedo, Shameik Moore, Harmony “H Money”, Samuels & more. I also co-wrote one of the biggest hits of the era with Ezekiel “Zeke” Lewis of the writing and production team “The Clutch”. Alongside this, I also co-wrote a historic song for the OMG Girlz, (i.e. “Where the Boys At” in which hit #1 on 106 & Park for multiple weeks with over 18M+ views and #77 on the Billboard charts). Later, I was able to secure a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Publishing. At the top of 2012, My first single “Be Your First”, which was written and produced by Tank, allowed myself and Tank to perform live on the world renowned Wendy Williams Show among others. Following this, I dropped a 2-part movie-like music video directed by Benny Boom which included “Be Your First” and “Forever” (produced by Rico Love). Both music videos including “Bad Girl”, hit the 106 & Park top 10 countdown with “Be My Girl” peaking at #6. I later returned to 106 & Park in 2013 with “Bad Girl” featuring Lil Twist, which also peaked at #6 on the countdown. Despite my solo success, in 2014 I decided to fulfill my childhood dream of doing what I always wanted to do, which was to be in an all male r&b group. During my ten year tenure in the group, we were able to also have billboard chart topping songs as a group and joined Jacquees on stage and Soul Train as well as on the road on tours. Now, I have finally decided to rebrand myself as a solo contemporary gospel/inspirational artist and fulfill my God given destiny and purpose. I have recently released my first Christian R&B single “Remember” that is available on all platforms.
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?
Through out my journey, I think a big struggle was dealing with fake people and the politics of the industry, I have always just wanted to create and I have often times felt that I have had to fight just to be myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a contemporary gospel/inspirational Artist. I am most proud of being myself, my past experiences and being able to write songs, vocal produce, & having an A&R approach to choosing records. What sets me apart is me being me and not being afraid to merge my different influences and what I like together in a perfect blend.
How do you define success?
I define success as the amount of people that you touch on a daily basis with your art. I know that I am living in my destiny when people walk up to me and message me to say that I inspire them with the songs that I create or that my story will change the world or that person in some way. In my opinion, it’s not really about number ones or money in the end, it is essentially about the lives that you touch.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heis_trevante/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TreVante
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/trevante-williams-584247953
