Meet Montre’

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

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Since a young age, Montre’ has always been drawn to art, music, fashion, and entertainment. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, he Joined the best drill and dance teams in the city, which opened the door for him to travel all over the Mid-West, East Coast, and South. After gaining a wealth of knowledge from these experiences, Montre’ would soon venture off and start making a name for himself.

Beginning his musical journey, while having a style outside the norm in Hip-Hop, Montre’ was given the cold shoulder many times. For example, during rap ciphers, he was laughed at or not taken seriously because, in Hip-Hop, men who look like him are not expected to really rap, and be good at it. While pursuing a professional dance career, he was told to look more “masculine” to advance in the professional dance industry. Montre’ had every reason to just be like everyone else and go with the flow, but he had so many more reasons not to. This fueled Montre’ with a burning desire and determination to open doors for people who didn’t fit the norm in a different way. That’s when he decided to focus whole-heartedly on his dreams of a music career.

Ever since, Montre’ has been working non-stop to become a force in the music industry, while making a mark with his androgynous style! In 2015 he self-released his first mixtape “Old Soul, New World,” which spawned the fan favorite “iLIVE (Paris is still burning). Montre’ followed up the release with classic visuals full of fearless fashion, captivating choreography, and nostalgic flows reminiscent of legends who preceded him. This solidified Montre’ as a true artist, visionary, and exactly what his aka states “The Boy George of Rap.”

Please tell us about your art.
Well, at the core I am a true Artist, and I can express myself in any medium. Rather it be drawing, fashion design, graphic design, choreography, modeling, etc., but Music is my burning passion. I love music especially Hip-Hop Because it truly mirrors who I am. Hip-Hop was created out the result of being oppressed and having limited resources, so you were forced to be creative and truly use what u got. That is the story of my life, I was never given any handouts nor was I born with a silver spoon in my mouth. So I found inspiration in the smallest things the normal person would ignore. Hip-Hop also provided a voice and source of Expression for the oppressed or outcast of society, to be able to tell the world who they were and what they went through, raw and uncut and that’s who I am, which is why I named myself the “Boy George of hip-hop” or “rap.” The boy George part represents more so my style of dress. I gender bend, and this reflects my deep love for the 80s and 90s pop Culture and nightlife. I love the club kids of the 90s; I love Little Richard, I love the kings and queens from the documentary “Paris is burning” who have inspired me enough for this lifetime and the next lol. So “The Boy George of rap” is a blend of my personal style and my music style. Don’t get it twisted even though I gender bend; I spit harder than most mainstream artist today. I’ve studied and looked up to the greats and with me having a deep love for Hip-Hop, lyricism, and creativity is a big part of the music I create. I stay true to the core values and expectations of an mc in Hip-Hop, regardless of how the industry has changed. So through my music, I strive to maintain the core values of Hip-Hop, make dope ass music and content, while bridging the gap between Hip-hop and Androgyny at the same time.

What do you think about the conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Whew lord don’t get me started lol. It’s harder for REAL artist these days. You have artists who live and breath their craft and do it for the Culture. You have artists, like myself, who stay on task and do what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, These artists are often looked over these days due to social media. We can not deny the fact that social media is a big part of the industry these days. And you would think that wouldn’t or shouldn’t be an issue, but due to the fact that people who are not real artist can simply take 20 dollars and buy themselves some followers and create this perception that they are poppin when In fact they are not, it makes it harder to penetrate through. The MUSIC industry is saturated with reality stars and not MUSIC stars. So not just sites like yours, all sites pertaining to music should really hone in and not lose sight of the quality of the artist and their product and base it off of that. Sites should know what a real artist is and be able to spot a true artist and not.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
The best way to keep up with me and my work is through Instagram and soon, my website which is launching very soon. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel to keep up with all my visual content.

Contact Info:

• Email: montreofficial@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MontreOfficial

Image Credit:
Tall Tower Photography

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