Hi Mare, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in any urban environment, but for me in particular Philly, as a kid I was exposed to a lot. A lot of trauma, a lot of sad stories, a lot of grief, struggle, and loss but as well on the flip side it’s a city with a lot of creativity, a lot of individuality, passionate energy and just love. Experiencing such strong influences early on, I never knew where to place all those big emotions I felt at such a small age so I turned to the music. Music was always a part of my life, from my grandma taking me to sing in the church choir with her at 3 to my dad teaching me about the cultural impacts of hip hop and playing me the first Lauryn Hill song I ever heard at 8. I wrote my first song in the first grade after my parents split. Could barely spell but I somehow knew how to express my own pains. After that first heartbreak song I wrote at 6, came more life disappointments so I never ran out of words to write.
It definitely hasn’t been an easy road to get to where I am currently and of course, there’s so much further I’d like to take my music brand and career. I started taking my artistry more seriously in college, going to an HBCU (S/O to Hampton) and being around so many talented, smart and creative young black people really pushed me out of my shell. For a long time, music was just a source of personal healing and I was too protective of my writings to share to the masses even though the desire was always there. I had experience singing/performing in front of crowds from like choir and school plays but it was in college where MARE aka MareTheSinger was born. Being encouraged to showcase my talents and original content as an actual artist gave me the confidence boost I needed to take the first steps toward building the music brand that I now have. From that moment on, it’s been a true evolution of grind mode: performing, networking, collaborating with others and studying the game.
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