Meet Elliott McKenzie

We recently connected with Elliott McKenzie and have shared our conversation below.

Elliott, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I truly believe the purpose I have was actually given to me by my fans. Back when my music career first started in 2017, I was receiving a ton of really impactful and powerful feedback. At that time, I was highly focused on creating music about overcoming life’s challenges such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Songs of mine from back then like “Fight Back” and “Know You’re Not Alone’ were dedicated to showing the world that we can all overcome our struggles no matter how hard the battle within gets. Fans would comment on my social media and send me messages talking about how my music was inspiring them. I received so much positive feedback about this that I realized over time that inspiring others through my music and my personal story was my purpose. The more I accepted this purpose and dove into it, the more success I had. I found it really interesting how the purpose I landed on was shown to me by other people and was something I hadn’t originally thought of. Sometimes I guess the paths we take in life can be a pleasant surprise we never expected.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

“As the world of music seems to be transforming, there is still one R&B crooner who feels the passion behind the music: Elliott McKenzie. Inspired and vicariously mentored by greats like Tank, Joe, Usher, Ryan Leslie, and more, Elliott’s brand speaks volumes and is noticeable from any distance near or far.

Known for his powerful and awe-inspiring vocals, this southern California born and raised gentleman is seeking to change the face of R&B by fusing those good old 90s and early 2000s arrangements with today’s modern production. If you’re a fan of early 2000s R&B, nostalgia will take over when listening to Elliott’s music.”

The above quote describes me quite well. My story of going from being a homeless Veteran to a successful Recording Artist and Actor has been told on NBC, CBS, KTLA, Spectrum News, and multiple other media outlets. I’ve also had the honor of performing the National Anthem hundreds of times in front of hundreds of thousands for teams such as the Rams, Dodgers, Kings, Lakers, SF Giants, Sparks, and more.

In 2021 I released my debut album “Therapy Session” which brought inspirational songs together with passionate R&B that everyone can enjoy. I also started acting around that same time and have been featured in feature films, TV shows, and short films ever since. I spend years honing my craft and finding my true passion. After my debut album, I’ve released multiple singles. All my music can be found on all streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Most recently, I decided to focus more on the R&B side of my career so I have released some romantic R&B songs in 2025 while simultaneously fine tuning my music engineering skills through operating my production company, Take Notes Productions.

For 2026, the plan is to record and release brand new music and lean more into expanding my reach. I’d like to increase my numbers on social media as well as develop a great marketing and promotions strategy to reach more listeners and potential fans. I also plan on working towards performing live in concert more and getting booked for shows anywhere possible. A new album is also definitely in the works. Tap in with me and stay tuned to see what’s coming!

@elliott_mckenzie on IG and TikTok
www.elliottmckenzie.com

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Learn to do it yourself: One huge factor in the success I’ve had so far has been learning to do the little and big things on my own instead of hoping for the support or guidance of others. For example, every single song you hear from me out there was written, recorded, mixed, and mastered by me. I could’ve just paid tons of money at large recording studios every time I wanted to record a new song but instead, I spent time learning how to audio engineer myself and have been self-sufficient ever since. In fact, I’ve become so good at the audio engineering part along with video production and editing that I’ve been able to turn my skills into an income. I learned how to do it all for myself and now I get to also run a small business and get paid to do it for others. Learn to do whatever the THING is…..on your own. Then get so good at it that you can get paid to do it. YouTube is your absolute best friend during the learning part.

2. Educate yourself about the business side of what you do: For many creatives like myself, we start things off out of pure passion, creativity, talent, and a desire to shine. The last thing on our minds most of the day is the business side of entertainment. A big lesson I’ve learned, especially as an independent R&B Singer/Songwriter and Actor, is to study the business side of the entertainment industry to learn how to run your career properly. Creatives never want to worry about contracts, finances, operations, or all those business and administrative things but, the reality is……you HAVE to if you want to actually become successful and make whatever you do your income. Take the time to educate yourself (or go to school and learn) about how the business side of what you do happens. If you are a creative or on the talent side, learn all the nitty gritty parts of the business side. Learn how to write contracts……learn how to charge clients…….learn how to get booked at different events…….learn marketing………learn it ALL and never stop learning.

3. Friends before business: Another huge lesson I’ve learned along the way is to always become friends with the people you want to collaborate with or learn from. If you get the opportunity to meet someone doing really well in your same field and want to eventually collaborate with or work with them, don’t mention the business side right away. Offer to do something social with them like dinner or golfing or whatever you and they like doing. From there, build a friendship and get to know each other socially. Become friends with them and the business collaborations with naturally come. The people I’ve collaborated with the most in the entertainment industry have been people I met and became friends with FIRST. We grab meals, go to each other’s houses and hangout, travel together, and do all that then the music industry collaborations happen naturally in between the fun. Also, I’ve built some amazing friendships and have built what I consider an extended family through these people who I also get to enjoy doing music and film with, too. Remember this: They are much more likely to do things with and for you if they genuinely already care about you as a person first.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

The past year has truly been a year of more personal growth than professional. In late 2023 my Mom passed away and I left a relationship in that same month. Those two happening within weeks of each other really pushed me to finally lock in and grow as much as I can personally. I stepped away from entertainment and did it only part-time for a while while I got into great therapy, focused on healing, and narrowed down what I wanted my personal life to really look like for the next decade or so. I took steps towards making some personal dreams become realities and accomplished things I once thought never possible. I took all the talent, passion, and determination from my professional life and redirected it into my personal life. I’ve grown more personally in the past year than I did over the last fifteen or twenty years of my life. By finally buckling down and focusing on me and only me, I’ve been able to finally cross so many personal finish lines. Now, I’m at a place where I am truly happy and ready to build even more success in my entertainment life (which is the goal for 2026 and beyond). If I were to give some advice about this, I’d tell people to put aside whatever you can for a while and finally do what your personal life needs. If you can hit pause on your professional life for a while, do it. Your internal happiness should always come first.

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