Trenyce Monee: Telling Stories To Melodies

Trenyce Monee

Meet R&B songstress, Trenyce Monee, who hails from Tinseltown, USA. Monee’s premiere body of work, Issues and Tissues [XTRA’D OUT ENT.], is proof positive that there’s no glass ceiling intact for this still aspiring singer-songwriter. 

Let’s hop into this single, “MEMORIES” — Tell me about this particular track; how did it come to fruition?  

I wrote “Memories” when my dealings with a guy I thought I really liked at the time were undeniably coming to an end. I found it hard to accept that it was over, but I also appreciated the experiences that I had with him because they contributed to who I am today. Aside from it being fun while it lasted, that experience forced me to advocate for myself, to address my issues with naivety and attachment, and to guard my heart. After months of disconnect, I found myself re-reading old conversations and romanticizing good times we had in the past and the lyrics came from there. Missing a person doesn't grant them access back into your life, but when it’s all said and done you don't have anything left but lessons and memories, which you hold onto absence of the person, and those can never be taken from you. So that's how the song came about.   

Of course “MEMORIES” comes courtesy of your debut studio collection, ISSUES & TISSUES — Conceptually, what does this title represent both to and for you? 

Issues and Tissues details the ups and downs of relationships. Aside from being catchy, I think it encapsulates how detrimental staying in relationships that aren't for you can be. Of course relationships will naturally come with adversities, but once it crosses the line of blatant disrespect and disregard for one another that’s when tough decisions need to be made. A lot of people tend to waste years of their lives in relationships that aren’t good for them and complain instead of making a change, contributing to their own issues and tissues. For me, it represents being strong enough to walk away, having a willingness to create a new story, and choosing yourself when others cant see your value.   

ISSUES & TISSUES is a XTRA’D OUT ENTERTAINMENT  project — What particular string of events actually led to this signing?  

Technically, I am my dad’s first child but realistically it’s XTRA’D OUT ENT. He’s had this label since I was a baby. I believe that God orchestrates things intentionally. With my dad being a producer and rapper, and me singing and writing, it was destined to be. Plus, the music industry can be extremely cutthroat and devastating, so who better to put my efforts and trust into than my own dad? He is the most creative, talented, and hardworking person I know and he’s poured a lot into me, as well as everyone else on our team. It’s beyond time for him to see the fruits of his labor, and for the world to see the arsenal of talent over at X’TRAD OUT ENT.   

Tell me your whole inception into music — When did you first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for Trenyce Monee?    

I grew up in an old school traditional Baptist church, where me and all the other kids were forced to participate in everything from Easter and Christmas plays, to the children’s choir. It wasn’t until I started singing at church that I saw that I was above average at holding a tune than most kids. Then when they started asking me to do solos and sing with the adults, I knew it was one of those gifts that I had, just like the other kids also had things they were better at as well. I also loved writing and reading; English was always my favorite subject. So when I listened to songs, I was more captivated by the lyrics than anything. Put both of those together, and that's what helped me get into music.  

Now where exactly do you hail from? And growing up there, who all did / do you consider to be your strongest musical influences?  

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I love the style of a lot of L.A. artists like Kalan.FrFr and Blxst. I really love that West Coast feel in their music. I like Kalan because of his wordplay; his lyrics are full of personality…and I like Blxst because he has that old school, classic feel to his music that's just timeless. But as far as R&B goes, which is my genre, I can't say that L.A. has a lot of that for me to draw influence from, which is good for me in a way because that's a gap that I can fill.   

That said, how do you describe and / or define the style of music that you create and / or perform? 

I mainly listen to Gospel and R&B, so my style draws strictly from those two genres. A lot of people have told me that my music gives them that 2000’s crush music feel. I like for my music to tell a story, and have meaning in a world full of meaningless but fun and catchy music. I like to create relatable music.   

As a songwriter when you sit down to pen your lyrics, where do you draw inspiration from?  

As a songwriter, I draw inspiration from a lot. I have drawn from my own relationships, and things that my friends have gone through in relationships. I have drawn from other song topics. If I hear a relatable song, I think of how I would say that differently in my own words, from my perspective and experience. There have been times when I’ve read books and thought the story would make a good song, or something the character said in it could use elaboration for a song. Also when I’m finding beats, I’ll ask myself how the beat makes me feel and what type of topic would go well with the song. For example, my song “Love Of Mine” was written because I thought the beat was so beautiful and pretty, it couldn’t be about violence or breaking up, it had to be a love song. Sometimes, whatever the producer names the beat will help me write the song as well, for example, with my song “Anytime.”

Trenyce Monee

Switching gears here, what exactly do you want people to get from your music?   

I want people to feel like they can play my music in front of all generations, kids, and grandparents. A lot of the music we listen to is good but it can also be very vulgar, which is why I try to keep my music on the cleaner side. I also want people to feel like they have something relatable to listen to when they’re going through things, so they don’t feel so alone. I want people to be able to heal and grow from those experiences and listen back to the songs and say, “I’ve felt like that” or “I’ve been there before.” I want it to help people find their voice and, most of all, to help them feel good, even if it’s just a vibe.   

If you could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?         

This is such a hard question, but I would have to say PJ Morton because his style is so much like what I want to embody. He’s a church kid, just like me, who makes R&B music that feels like Gospel with heavy harmonies and full sounds; it makes you feel it. He has a song called “Say So” with JoJo that I absolutely love because just like what I want my music to do, it tells a story. It’s also relatable, and it makes my heart swell just thinking about times when I’ve felt that way. PJ also has a Stevie Wonder type of feel to both his singing and writing; his lyrics are so simple yet eloquent. I would love to write with him because his writing is a perfect parallel to how I want my music to feel. I also feel like he would push me to try different things vocally and musically because of how many talented singers he’s worked with. He gets amazing singers like The Walls Group, Zacardi Cortez, Alex Isley, Samoht, Sheléa, Yebba, etcetera, all in one room and just makes magic that I would love to be a part of one day.   

If you could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?  

I haven’t really thought about performing at specific venues, but I do like the new theaters they have built in Inglewood; like the SoFi and the YouTube Theater, so maybe there.  

On a more serious note, are you happy with the current state of R&B?

There is amazing R&B music being made I think we just need to be intentional about discovering and amplifying it. brayla, Perri Jones, and Ashya Clark are a few artists I’ve come across who I really admire, but don't get nearly as much shine as they deserve on larger R&B scales. I also like to see artists coming up and getting their recognition, like Leon Thomas and Tone Stith. As far as mainstream music is concerned, a lot of it sounds the same and there’s not a lot of depth to it in terms of lyrics or sound. It seems like back in the ‘90’s, music was more vulnerable and encouraged love which I really liked. I definitely see lots of room for improvement for the current state of R&B.

What do you feel has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?  

I think the key to my longevity is to keep writing. I don’t ever want to water down my music to make it digestible for this age of 2-minute songs for streaming or a viral TikTok sound that doesn’t translate well off of the app. I think longevity will come with just writing more songs for myself, and hopefully even other artists, that people can relate to for years and years to come. Even if I don’t become or remain the biggest artist, when I think of songs like “When I See You” or “Free Yourself” by Fantasia it takes me back to a time, place and feeling, and that’s how I want my music to have longevity. Everyone has those songs that are older that they still revisit and feel the same way about every time; if I can just get a few of those under my belt, I will be satisfied.        

Do you have any other outside / additional (future) aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?

I went to Tuskegee University and USC for school, and got degrees in Communications and Public Relations. Both of those degrees help me to market my music and connect with community. I would love to continue using those degrees as creatively as I can. I’ve found that I’m really good at capturing moments and creating community based on content. I would love to keep doing that as well. I would love to have speaking engagements, where I can talk to young women about things that they may not have the best guidance on and share my experiences to hopefully help them; such as relationships, education, self-worth, beauty, femininity, faith, creativity, ambition, etcetera.

To date, what has been your biggest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?         

My biggest career moment with music would definitely be the release of this album. Having the mini movie to give a visual to the story of the album was a game changer, and showing it at my watch and listen party was amazing. Everyone loved the storyline, they were super engaged, and it was so much fun to execute. I’ve gotten some great responses and feedback from it.   

What’s an average day like for you? 

An average day for me is pretty mundane; I get my work out of the way first, so that I can do the things I really enjoy. Then I try to stay consistent with posting and creating content, which can range from mini vlogs of my day, food reviews, cooking videos, or conversational topic videos. That helps to build my following, help people get to know me, showcase my content in case people want to book me to capture events for them, and also promote the music. After that, I try to do something music related; whether it’s fishing for beats or writing. Then I’ll take care of myself by cooking, doing my laundry, cleaning up my space, etcetera.   

Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans...  

I am always extremely grateful whenever someone supports me. I appreciate someone taking time out of their day to listen to my music, to post and share my music on their page, or even sending me a DM just to tell me they like what I put out. If you go on my Instagram or TikTok you will see me in the comments responding to every single comment, simply thanking people for their feedback and compliments. I pray one day I’ll get to the point where I wont be able to respond to all the comments, but nonetheless it still means a lot whenever people support me.   

Trenyce Monee

What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why? 

My favorite part about making music is writing and promoting. I’ve always loved writing, its a great form of expression and I often end up shocked at myself with the final outcome just to see how these words I’ve strung together come to life to tell a story to a melody. I like promoting because it allows me to be creative with coming up with unique and engaging ways to inform people about my work. It also helps me use my degrees, and keeps my mind fresh and relevant with certain trends, or unorthodox ways to give people that “wow” factor and drive their curiosity to check me out. My least favorite part can sometimes be recording, depending on the song because it may not always come out how I envisioned it sounding when I wrote it. I also can be really hard on myself, and do things over and over until it’s right and still end up not liking it. I felt that way about a couple of songs on the album; I was trying to be such a perfectionist that I had one particular song mixed and re-recorded too many times to count.   

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps? 

I would advise anyone that wants to put music out to just do it. Don’t be afraid of the opinions of others, be comfortable with the fact that not everyone will like your work and that’s okay because there’s an audience and a lane somewhere for your music; you just have to rock with people who rock with you.   

Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you see yourself?      

I hope that I’m married with kids, writing nothing but love songs! I hope that I’ll be able to write for bigger artists and get those writing credits under my name. I hope that I’ll have some people calling me their role model and looking up to me because of what I stand for and talk publicly about.  

As for the immediate, what's next for you, Trenyce?  

I am going to keep writing, recording, filming music videos, promoting, and creating in the immediate future. I’m already working on a follow-up to the album, and I have two more ideas for two separate projects and bodies of work that I would like to gear up for soon.  

Is there anything I left out or just plain forgot to mention?   

I think we have everything covered, but I would love to thank you so much for reaching out to me and considering me for this interview! I had a lot of fun answering these questions, they really made me think and dig into my bag! 

Lastly, any “parting” words for our readers? 

Please, please check out my album Issues and Tissues on all streaming platforms; if you like R&B or if you’ve ever been in a relationship that went from sweet to sour, I think it’ll really resonate with you. You can also watch the mini movie on YouTube, so you can watch and listen to the story behind the album. It’s hilarious, and it has an ending that will leave you desiring more from XTRA’D OUT ENT. Also check out my favorite singles, “Like Me,” “Anytime” and “Intimacy” on all streaming platforms as well. Lastly, follow me on Instagram: @trenycemonee where you can find the links to all of my stuff and on TikTok: @trenycexomonee!

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