Story & Lesson Highlights with Destinee Aaliyah of Brooklyn

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Destinee Aaliyah. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Destinee, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Music! It always comes back to that. It’s how I discover and alchemize. It’s how I find what parts of myself I’ve been hiding, where, and why. Singing is my favorite thing to do on the planet and writing and producing is how I get to create the perfect world for those vocals to live in. How I sing and what I sing really helps people resonate with what I’m really feeling on the truest level. That’s really important to me.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Destinee Aaliyah! I am an artist and entrepreneur running a full service entertainment firm called DAE; infused with the synergy and philosophies of an artist collective. We are multidisciplinary, but our melomania; a fervent love for and commitment to music, is the common thread that is woven through our collective essence. Our mission is centered around accessibility, introspection, and creative empowerment. I’m really passionate about helping to create a world where the entertainment we consume has more substance and invokes more curiosity and healing; whether it be through a light and boppy pop song or an introspective experimental music video. Having industry professionals who understand how the art is made and artists who understand how the business is conducted means we can all bring more of ourselves to our work and feel empowered to bring thoughtful messaging to all spaces.

I teach dance, create music, manage and train talent, produce immersive experiences, consult businessmen, produce/direct/style/choreograph music videos, and more! If it’s entertainment related and mission driven, I’m the plug!

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that always needs to be understood and understand it ALL. I’m a Sagittarius, we care immensely about getting to the ~TRUTH~ and root of things. I’ve always felt that if I can really wrap my brain around a situation and how someone shows up in it I can make peace with it or learn how to navigate it but some things aren’t work-wit-able! People can only understand you as much as they have done the work to understand themselves. It doesn’t necessarily make either of you a villain. However, if you spend too much time trying to explain and prove your value/virtue to people who are just too uncomfortable with themselves or their reality, you’ll lose your peace. Your essence and how you live your life may make them feel ill about themselves and you never know what they will do to you in response to that. It can and often will become a harmful relationship for you regardless of what their intentions may be; good or bad.

I love really connecting with people in a meaningful way and meeting them where they’re at. I love to understand and be understood. I think it’s one of the best human experiences EVER! However, I release the part of me that thinks it’s possible to experience that with everyone in EVERY situation and internally punishes and questions herself in the instances where it’s not. I love her and she’s served her purpose but now I will keep the parts of her that still resonate and release the rest.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You are so unabashedly yourself and refuse to be hidden or silenced for it. Protect that with your life! One day when you’ve experienced a lot more life that will become more of a daily choice and not as much of an uncontrollable impulse. That’s okay and such is life but enjoy this part before the ego death kicks in! LOL.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That you have to have your big break as a child star or a 20 something. Look around… most of your favs and industry top dogs that are in their prime are in their 30s and 40s. Many of them had to find themselves while being constantly observed and dissected in the public eye. You get to do that in private and have the privilege of deciding how much of your authentic self you want to offer up to the public. Take that and run with it! You’re going to have so much more to offer once that Saturn Return hits baby!

Secondly, the idea that you have to choose one thing and spend your whole life mastering it. First of all, our economy doesn’t allow that to be a financially sustainable way to live life. Second, we are not one dimensional beings. We can and often are passionate about more than one thing. Third, a multipronged approach opens up new passageways in your brain that allows you to be more innovative and think in more nuanced ways. You CAN do it all. You just can’t do it all at once. Follow your joy. Move intuitively and you’ll find yourself dedicated to mastering the right thing(s) in different seasons of life. Build consistency with them and be sure to always carry the last pursuit/skill with you to the next. You’ll see in time how they’re all connected, and trust me they are. Because they all come from and are a part of YOU. Sometimes it will feel out of balance but over time you will feel out how much space one should take up in your life versus the other.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Definitely what I was born to do. Literally nobody asked me to do this. If anything there has been times where even the people I love have fearfully asked me to stop or make it a secondary pursuit, but what I’m after can’t be accomplished through part-time commitment. I’ve succumbed to those fears before. I’ve tried to commit to more traditional paths, but it’s not what I’m meant to be focusing on. The universe always has a funny way of taking them away from me. Some people find comfort in those routes. I find a greater sense of agency and gratification in the path less traveled by. It’s a path no one can take away from me or tell me how to walk. It’s a path that allows me to explore and play. It’s a path with endless possibilities and backup plans. It’s not easy and most wouldn’t and dont choose this kind of life for themselves. Even the people that support me most (outside of a very select few) don’t fulllyyy get what I’m building for myself. They just believe in my aptitude and vision, and for that I am so eternally grateful. Their semi-blind support is more than enough for me and keeps me going every day. It can be lonely but it won’t be for too much longer and I’ve known it’s what I was put on God’s green Earth to do since my childhood living room concert days. To create art that moves people and create space for others to do so as well. I mean I literally turned my Sweet 16 into my own scripted re-enactment of the Grammy’s (yes there were rehearsals…and yes I was Beyonce, duh!). I’ve been unknowingly creating Melomania my whole life. This should be a surprise to absolutely no one, and if it is well welcome to the party!

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Image Credits
RH_03888-230609-3600px was taken by Remy Hernandez
OZ-038, WYCKP24-129, WYCKP24-129, SZAPROM20, SZAPROM51, CLUBRENN-59 were all taken by Katt Manzueta

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