We had the good fortune of connecting with Danyelle Speaks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danyelle, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
The value that matters to me the most is my value and belief system. I believe each and every one of us need, wants and has to have something to believe in. It’s a quintessential part of who we are and what we do. Our beliefs will either brake us or propel us.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As far back as I can remember I’ve always loved music. Music was the foundation of our home. My parents were both singers and my father was a part of different professional singers WELL into his 60’s. Music and the creative arts is just something we did. Both my brother and my sister was accepted into a performing arts school and as the youngest in the house it opened my imagination. To see my sibling transform themselves on stage and be able to take the crowd on a journey with them was something I very much admired. Although I had received a guitar as one of my first major gifts it wasn’t until my parents bought me a keyboard that things started to change for me. I began hearing music in my sleep. But not just simple chords, I was hearing symphony’s. Only problem was, I didn’t fully know how to play an instrument which amazed people at my compositions. I was writing full song’s and melodies without a single lesson. My first struggle started with sheet music. After hearing instrumentals I had composed people would ask to see the sheet music of which I had not one sheet. I didn’t have it because I couldn’t read it. People would always tell me, “Your good, but you will never go anywhere if you can’t read music”. So my mother got me piano lessons and put me in orchestra at school. 6 months into my lessons, after a piano test my teacher looked at me and said “you’ve come a long way and are a very very good player but I just realized that you still can’t read music. You’ve been remembering the notes and playing them back. Call me when you’re serious about your lessons”. With that she picked up her purse and walked out. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to read music my brain was simply wired to remember the notes. By the time I graduated High School I played over 6 different instruments, was in both band and orchestra and had released my first jazz single entitled You Mean The World. My ambition was to travel the world, write great music and retire by 30. Little did I know that being a woman in a male dominated industry would be such a challenge. I have been on stages of thousands, traveled throughout most of the US, Jamaica, Canada and Alaska sharing music in efforts to heal and unite communities. This is something I learned with my first visit to prison to do a concert, on the yard, at an all male, maximum level facility to a group of people who had never heard of me or listened to my music. I saw how much everyone stayed in their own “group” and I prayed that I could find a way to help bring unity. The answer was music. Music was the one thing that no matter how big and strong or frail a person was it had the power to make someone think, smile, cry or may I dare say, Change. From that point on I was hooked and began doing concerts at any prison, juvenile detention center, children’s home, youth ranch, drug and alcohol facility and places who housed victims of human sex trafficking. I saw the greater vision of not just making music to retire but creating moments. Helping creatives like me who struggled to get there ideas from their head to the paper or simply to express themselves in a positive way. This is what sparked the bases for my clothing brand. I AM A CREATIVE, I Speak and Creative King and Queen apparel. It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to be you!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend would visit and we could do ANYTHING we wanted we would be very tired lol. We would head straight out to Ottawa Canada where they have one of the best BBQ places I’ve every had in my entire life. Then we would shoot over to Alaska to do some deep see fishing and at the local restaurants. I highly suggest the reindeer (sorry Santa) and a moose burger. Yum! From there we would finish the rest of the week out in the Philippians enjoying the culture and cusine because eating in something I absolutely love doing. That and a good cup of coffee from the local shops.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shout out goes to life lessons. Without learning from my past mistakes, dares, adventures and struggles I would not be where I am today

Website: www.danyellespeaks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officiallydanyellespeaks/

Facebook: danyellespeaks/dpm

Youtube: Danyelle Speaks

Other: https://linktr.ee/DanyelleSpeaks

Image Credits
Whaum

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