We recently connected with Acacia Grace and have shared our conversation below.
Acacia, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
The past few years, I feel like I have really cultivated my creativity. I started to journal is that I can put my thoughts together in one place. Sometimes I get inspired with lyrics throughout the day, and I write them down. I have a playlist of instrumentals that I want to write to, and sometimes the thoughts or lyrics that I write match the lyrics. I am a very self reflective and expressive person, so I could write about many things. With my next project, I want to keep it positive and about self care, self love and love language. When I get stuck, I get together with my co-writer and producer to brainstorm.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I started singing in the choir like most artists today. I actually wrote an entire neosoul gospel album that I’ve never recorded. I decided to write and record my own songs around 2016. I didn’t release my first project until 2021. It was alot harder than I thought to write, record, produce, release and promote a project solo. At the time, I decided my first project would be a neosoul album with a few love songs since that’s my passion. Back in high school I wrote a book of love poems and that’s just the direction I felt I should go. When I decided to work on my current project that I hope to release summer 2024, I wanted to bring in a producer and co-writer so that my fans can see and hear the growth and direction of my music. I worked with my niece to release her first single called Red Wine. It was a really fun side project to do and will be released February 23, 2024 on all streaming platforms. Personally, one of the things that I am also focused on is self healing and mindfulness. I have Lupus so I struggle with health issues a lot and it can make you feel down to be sick so much. So, I started doing meditation as part of my self care routine to make my mind, body and spirit grounded. In the next month or so, my Merch section will reflect the new direction of this chapter in my life. Another thing that has really helped me grow creatively is playing the guitar. I bought an Epiphone Les Paul Special II during COVID and honestly, I am just now playing with intermediate proficiency. I started to post some clips playing some soul and R&B songs, and I am trying to post more as I get better. My goal this year to play out more at open mics and utilize my Stageit.com account for livestreams.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I have a resilience that even I underestimate. I networked with other artists and stayed true to what I wanted to pursue as an artist. It took a while to meet my Producer Desmond Parson but we work well together and he helps me to vocally and grow as an artist. Being open to learn, open to criticism and willing to take direction can be difficult for a creative. But I realize that I needed to learn from others if I am going to learn. So my three qualities are resilience, persistence and being willing to learn. My advice is to be willing to learn from others, don’t be afraid to approach other artists for help and be persistent until you get the advice or assistance you need.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would love to collaborate with other artists. I am looking for Neosoul style artists like Cleo Sol, Jill Scott, Rayana Jay, Raheem Davaughn, Jaheim, Dwele or Smooth Jazz artists (the sax is my favorite instrument). I would love to do a duet or perform backing vocals for an artist on their project or mine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://acaciagrace.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acaciagracemusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcaciaGracemusic/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCrYQcMq2JobnhRubhI-Fa0w/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/47iXlfc6a21sIgHWawJA0D
