Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooklyn Michelle.
Brooklyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My first introduction to music was when my mom put me in piano lessons in the first grade. Though I was too shy to start singing until about the 5th grade when I entered my first talent show and sang “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles. My grandpa (I call him Paw Paw) was the one who encouraged me to learn guitar and start writing my own songs too. I used to sing to him after dinner every time I would visit. He is my biggest inspiration. Unfortunately, I lost my Paw Paw to Pancreatic Cancer at 13 years old though I promised him I wouldn’t stop making music. I swear at the time my whole family thought I was going to be the next Taylor Swift haha. Though right around 7th and 8th grade is when I discovered Kid Cudi and Childish Gambino. That’s when I dropped the acoustic guitar gigs and became so inspired to get more into music production and discover my own style. Fast forward to 2019 I am now the founder and head chair of Purple Palooza, an annual charity music festival for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network San Antonio Affiliate and I have finally released my debut album “Lithium”.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing about my life seems like a smooth road haha but it’s all definitely been worth the struggle in the end. After high school, I was accepted into the Sound Recording Technology Program at Texas State University. I was the only girl in my class accepted that year which somehow intimidated me and gave me confidence at the same time. My classroom was literally Fire Station Studios, a famous studio tons of classic artists have recorded at. It was such a cool experience to get to learn hands on there rather than from textbooks. I didn’t realize at the time though I had been slowly developing numerous autoimmune diseases my whole life. I got so sick I was missing class constantly and could barely keep up that I eventually had to drop out to figure out what was going on. It’s taken years and years of testing and misdiagnosis to figure out but to my knowledge as of now I have MTHFR disorder, chronic gastritis, celiac disease, and bipolar schizoaffective disorder.
The reason there are so many illnesses is that unfortunately autoimmune diseases take so long to diagnose. The time period just allows one bodily system to attack another and develop more diseases along the way. It’s the most frustrating cycle I’ve ever been in. Though just because I dropped out of college didn’t mean I’d let that keep me from the album. This is actually when I dove into it further. Music has definitely become my main outlet to cope with all of this. The exhausting mood swings I’ve had to live with for years are what inspired the title of my album, “Lithium.” I spent seven years making this project and I swear every single year I said that I was releasing it “this fall” haha. My illness and perfectionism are the culprits of this unnecessary amount of time but I don’t regret a thing. The final product is perfect. “Lithium” is an album meant to take you on a seven years journey into my psyche and the emotional rollercoaster pre-diagnosed life felt like in my shoes.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My favorite question I get from men is “who makes your beats?” I produced the entire album on my own and the majority of it while I was still in high school too. What took so long was the perfectionism. Over the years, I would be listening to all different styles of music but kept finding myself coming back to Amy Winehouse and realized how much better my album would sound if I had an actual jazz band playing the instrument parts. So I made the decision to contact the musicians I met back in college and Fire Station Studios. I was thankfully able to hire my friends to replace all of the midi (computerized) instruments on the album with live tracks. I think this is what really brought the album to life and set it apart from other debut albums in my area and age group. Being the choir nerd I am I also spent two years focusing solely on vocals and harmonies. Almost every song practically has a full choir of myself at one point. I’m most proud of the vocals on “Gone”. I recorded that song at least seven times. I refused to let it go until I was in love with it. Overall I think what sets my music apart from others is that I have no clue how to live in a box. I have so many different inspirations and elements to my music that when people ask me what my genre is to this day, I don’t know how to answer. Maybe you can listen and let me know.
What were you like growing up?
I think I have always been true to myself. My mom says I’ve been quick-witted and cutthroat ever since I could start talking haha. Other than being terrified of talking to boys in middle school, I was very outgoing. My main interests were Ripsticks, making YouTube videos, and Modern Warfare 2. I wish those three things were still my only responsibilities. It wasn’t until I started developing these illnesses that I started to not act like myself anymore. I became very anxious, spacey and on edge at all times. Many people are afraid that getting on mood stabilizers will dim their personalities but this is what actually brought me back to myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: BrooklynMichelle.com
- Email: contact@brooklynmichelle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbrooklynmichelle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBrooklynMichelle/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBrooklynM
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWuZKYIyXkC0Rw0y7UOjYlw
Image Credit:
Angelica Duong, Madeline Ritter, Nicholas Pargas
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