Successful Sistas is an interview series featuring successful women pursuing their dream careers.
Job Title: Female emcee with the mission to represent the moonlight, to be a light in the dark; she describes her music as a lyric-heavy combination of hip-hop and spoken word– music that can’t be boxed-in. (taricajune.net)
Who is Tarica June?
I’m an artist. I use words/poetry over music as my primary medium of expression. I don’t try to make it fit into any particular category or limit its subject matter. It’s not easy for me to describe it, but some call it rap or hip-hop. I like to think it’s bigger than that.
How did you become interested in music and hip-hop?
I’ve been interested in music for as long as I can remember. But I’ve always been a writer primarily. I specifically became interested in hip-hop around the age of eight. I would write rhymes and say them to myself while I walked to school in DC. Then a couple of years later, once we got cable, there was a channel called Jukebox– I used to be glued to that channel after school. They played all the rap videos you couldn’t see anywhere else. Around that time, I really got into artists like KRS-One, Salt-N-Pepa, Sweet Tee, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah. I looked up to them. Also, my parents are really into all types of music. They used to play a lot of Bob Marley, Fela, Steel Pulse, etc. when I was growing up. This really exposed me to the use of music as a vehicle for change and social commentary.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in music?
I’m a very reclusive person so I used to just write songs for myself for most of my life. But then one day something clicked in me, and I started to feel like I was meant to do this. I started to feel like my presence was needed within the larger musical space, and hip-hop especially, because I felt like no one was speaking for me. I didn’t really relate to most of the stories that were out there. That’s why my movement is called ‘Make the Music You Want to Hear’ movement. That’s what I’m trying to do.
What do you love most about doing this?
I love being able to say whatever I want to say and say it unapologetically, without edit and without equivocation.
What is the most stressful aspect of it?
The only stressful aspect is just keeping everything organized and getting everything done. Since ‘Moonlight Revolution’ is my first project, I don’t have an established team, staff or anything yet so sometimes it gets stressful to try to keep it together.
What advice or tips would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?
Wow. I have lots of tips and advice. First, I would tell them to make sure that this is what they really want to do because once your music, your thoughts, your vulnerabilities are out there, you can’t take ‘em back. Second, I would tell them to be prepared to not make any money and to make sure that’s okay with them. Third, I’d advise them to plan well and make sure that they have a good support system consisting solely of people who genuinely want to see them succeed. No ‘yes’ people but people who have their best interests in mind.
Finish this sentence: This career is for you if ___
This career is for you if it’s all you think about– if you know that not pursuing it would haunt you for the rest of your life. It’s like I say in my song, Why I Write: “I might not wake up tomorrow if I don’t write for tonight, that’s why I write.”
I will have to check her work out. Thanks for the review.
Peace, Love and Chocolate
Tiffany