VOICES THAT NEED TO BE HEARD(Archive)
Artist of the Month Archive
By Lara Karuna
In the land of ubiquitous corporate
sponsorships, non-stop ads and
sophisticated marketing, those without
funds have little chance of
getting
their voices heard. Consequently,
innovative expression, often
considered
“too risky” by big money is
marginalized and eventually sentenced
to
obscurity. Here at I Want Change, we
want to highlight those artists
that
take risks and continue plugging away
not because of ego, fame and
fortune,
but because they have a passion, a
voice, and a message.
Destani Wolf is one of those unique
voices that sings, not for glory,
but
because she HAS to. Already a well-
known artist in the Bay Area,
Destani was
the youngest member of the critically
acclaimed So Vo So, an acapella
group
started by members of Bobby Mcferrin’s
Voicestra. In 2000, she joined
the
Afro-Latin, Hip-hop band O-Maya that
has become a force in Bay Area
music.
Though she’s not selling millions of
records, Destani has managed to
earn a
living at what she loves – not a small
feat for an independent artist.
Move
over Clear Channel, we got something
with substance. Recently I Want
Change
interviewed Destani to find out what
life was like as an independent
artist.
IWC: When did you first realize you
could sing?
DW:
I think when I learned that I could
sing, I was eleven and I asked for
voice
lessons, it was either karate or voice
lessons.
IWC: What’s your definition of good
music?
DW:
I think it’s a completely personal
experience. For me it’s little
things
within music that move me. Especially
with a singer, I think it’s
someone
who truly lets go of their ego in the
moment, experiencing their true
voice,
when I can feel that I can be
moved.
IWC: What’s the thing, musically, you
are most proud of?
DW:
After I graduated from college, I put
together my own demo that I
produced,
wrote all the material for, hired the
musicians… That was probably the
time
I was most proud of … since then I’d
say, the fact that I’ve pushed
myself
to be a part of different projects
like being a part of a [Sundance 2003
Award winning]documentary
that
was on HBO or contributing to a
Grammy nominated album and…not giving
up!
That’s something I’m proud of because
it’s a hard business.
IWC: What’s the biggest challenge
you’ve encountered so far?
I would say [as] an independent artist…
when you don’t have a support
team
you are starting grassroots so it’s a
matter of dealing with the
simple
projects you’re putting together. You
must believe that they have the
potential of being greater than they
are in their first stage and
continue
pushing through that.
IWC: Let’s talk about O-Maya. Give us a
brief run down.
DW: O-maya is a ten piece Afro-Latin
hip hop band from the Bay that’s
been
together for four years and…It started
because we wanted to do
something
different... unique. And all the people
involved…truly believe in the
project and our audience in the Bay
Area has grown tremendously. In
2003 we
got voted “Best of the Bay” by SF
Weekly in the Latin category…It is an
exciting group to work.
IWC:
What is your ultimate goal as a
singer and how do you plan to
achieve
it?
DW: My ultimate goal is to have my
music out there enough [so] that
people
can find it and get to it… so that I
can touch a vein of people and
have
people continue to support the kinds of
messages that I hope to stay
true
to.
IWC: How do you plan to do this?
DW: I think you can only take it step
by step... I feel like my main
goal
right now is to let people hear the
music I have created. [For me]that
means
putting
out my own album and finding a team of
people who can help me... How do
I do
that? I think once you believe in your
project you need to get people
around
you who believe in your
project.
IWC: What’s the Bay Area music scene
like?
DW: There’s a couple [of Bay Area
artists] that are coming out right
now
that I’m happy about because they’re
producing some really good songs
and
they’re getting recognized beyond
California. But the club scene is
really
great out there… the Bay Area has so
many incredible musicians but not
a lot
of outlets beyond [the Bay
Area].
IWC: Now that you’re here in L.A. how
would you compare the two places?
DW: What I’ve seen so far is that L.A
doesn’t really support
musicians… although I
think
that there’s a lot of work in L.A. for
musicians but maybe not from an
original standpoint.
IWC: What is the up and downside of
independent music?
DW: The upside is that you have space
to create, nobody’s telling you
that
you need to wear this or that you need
to not talk about that. The
downside
is that there isn’t [a lot] of support
to get your music out to the
world.
IWC: What words of advice do you have
for an aspiring vocalist?
DW: They should focus on their art.
They should figure out when they
sing
in front of people what it is that
touches people because you can feel
that
when you perform and you can feel when
you touch someone...develop
your
skills and know that no matter what
no one can compare you to
someone
else. You are a unique individual and
all voices are unique and
different so
hone in on what’s special to you.
To learn
more about Destani Wolf
and her music go to:
www.destaniwolf.com
or
www.O-
Maya.com
Destani
Wolf also teaches private voice lessons
and seminars
