Meet Karee Bennett

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karee Bennett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karee below.

Karee, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

In terms of my resilience, I would say that it stems from both nature and nurture. Due to being born with cerebral palsy, I learned at an early age that giving up was, quite literally, not an option for me. Where this was viewed as a disability in most cases, it actually fueled my drive to persevere. What was considered a handicap helped me to learn the importance of perseverance, even when all seems lost. In addition to this, my family was full of survivors. In my immediate family alone, I’ve had an older brother survive cancer, a mother who managed to show perseverance despite battling substance abuse issues. She’s been quite the fighter. I’m also the product of a father who went from the streets to construction to city hall (all while being present for me and for my younger sisters).

My entire life, I have been surrounded by resilient people who lifted me up just by watching as they lifted themselves up. Even to this day, my entire inner circle is defined by inner strength and resilience. It’s really all that I know.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As stated, I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Due to this, I was limited in physical activities that I could participate in when I was younger without risk. As a result, I developed a love of writing and reading. Around the time that I began writing, my older brother was beginning to record music. Seeing his journey with music made me fall in love with it. Before I knew it, I was writing rap verses. Fast forward, that passion remains. I’ve been able to release two projects under my stage name Azrael DiCaprio (White Rose Project Episode 1 & 2… Both available on DSPs), as well as older projects under a different name. The music is a reflection of who I am and what I’ve experienced. Much of that music speaks to being a black father in a society that doesn’t always embrace those who share my ancestry. I’ve also used it as love letters to my daughter and explaining my perspective on life, as well as explaining my cerebral palsy, which she did not understand until I began to explain it musically.

The music is also a collaborative effort with my inner circle. My older brother (Rob Stashiz) being a mentor, my childhood friend (Dre Flow) serving as producer and my sisters (B’lush and Fenyx) serving as creative consultants for the most recent projects allows me to be as personal and honest as needed, while having those closest to me providing input on the art.

I also recently started getting into photography. Where music allows me to express innermost thoughts, photography allows me to appreciate the beauty of being present and in the moment. Artistic expression really has been a lifeline for me.

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

If I’m being reflective, one of the things that I benefitted from was my studies of psychology. It allows me to understand the behavior of those that I interact with. Understanding the behaviors of others allows me to navigate through situations with more insight than some.

Another skill that has been of great importance is the aforementioned love of writing. This has been vital in more ways than just the music passion. Writing also has allowed me to express myself in an unfiltered way with my wife, my sisters and my daughter. At times, it is hard for me to find the words to communicate verbally, so writing allows me the time to gather my thoughts if the subject matter is heavy or sentimental. I actually recommend writing to others who struggle with finding those right words at a given moment.

I find that patience goes hand-in-hand with the perseverance and resilience that was mentioned earlier. But, the most important form of patience in my opinion is the patience that you show to yourself. Knowing one’s own limitations and having self-awareness allows for personal growth and does take more time than some realize. Even in terms of art, the patience that I show myself artistically (especially with the most recent projects) has allowed me to grow and mature even while creating the art in the moment.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Life can often be overwhelming because we are all racing the clock and we only have so much time in a given day. The cliche of living in the moment proves to be so true. Each moment is extremely precious so the best thing that we can do is try to appreciate the moments that we are in while we are in them. This is easier said than done, so, when I feel overwhelmed, I am grateful for my inner circle for allowing me to bounce ideas and emotions off of them. This has been extremely important to me this year, as I have recently suffered the loss of my nephew and have had to lean on that same inner circle every day while still trying to be a good father, husband and deal with work frustrations. So, instead of closing my remarks by talking about myself, I want to specifically thank that inner circle for their love and support. My brother Rob, my sisters Sabrina, Charita & Monica, my wife Rayne, my best friends Justin and Dre. It is has been this group of people that have been there every step of the way at this time where we all have felt overwhelmed. My advice to others would be to lean on your loved ones and cherish your time with them every chance you get. Long Live Lil’ Stashiz

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Karee Bennett

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