Today we’d like to introduce you to April Tate.
Hi April, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, ever since I was younger, I always wanted to entertain. When I was three, my mom enrolled me in dance classes and I was soon training in various styles from Hip Hop to Tap, and Jazz to Ballet. In addition, my dad was a singer, so he always encouraged me to embrace music. Soon after at the age of seven, I took acting classes and began shooting some small movie & tv show roles and various commercials. As I began acting more and having more dance performances, I soon realized that I loved being on a stage entertaining people. I always loved making people smile on and off the stage. When I was 10, I graduated from elementary school and soon prepared to attend an all girls private middle and high school in Brentwood, CA. The transition was a very difficult one because I had lost all of my closest friends. I was also a very shy kid growing up so it was hard to make new friends for me sometimes. Throughout middle school, I began joining a few clubs to continue my passion for the arts. I joined Choir and Dance Troupe and soon found my home in music as well. I got to learn a lot of the technical parts to music and what the structure of a song looks like. I met a lot of friends throughout my middle school years. I was also fortunate to be heavily involved in my Black Student Union (BSU) so I got to stay connected to my cultural community as well in a new space. Like many other teenagers, school was very difficult for me and as the subjects got more complicated I soon found myself dealing with various mental health issues while still managing life in a new, challenging school environment.
In high school, I got to also serve on my Student Council’s Executive Board as well as the board in Dance Troupe and BSU. I gained so much experience within the arts due to my wide range of classes that I took as electives. During my high school career, I took Ceramics, Theatre, Acting, and Songwriting. I would say the one art class that contributed to my life today would be Songwriting. I got to actually turn my thoughts into the form of lyrics and learn how to produce my own songs. I also got to learn how to use different music equipment and also got to learn about music history, learn about different genres and artists, and I got to perform and collaborate with my classmates. Among graduating from my high school, I began my freshman year at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). I soon joined a cultural orientation group named The Learning Community (TLC), designed to aid the college transition primarily for African-American/Black students at LMU. My freshman year was very difficult because unfortunately I had to leave LMU my second semester due to financial reasons. Soon after, I found myself at a community college and working a minimum wage job to save up for college. As I began taking classes, I was also trying out new hobbies on the side to figure out what career I wanted to have in the near future. I dabbled in acting school, I tried art school for a bit, and I even tried Psychology courses in hopes of becoming a therapist. Nothing really seemed to stick with me until I randomly decided to buy my first Midi keyboard and learn how to make beats. At this point, I had thought about learning to make music solely for the purpose of creating it to express my creativity and learn a new craft.
As I realized I was spending more and more time focusing on music willingly, I started condsidering pursuing rapping as a career. I bought the midi keyboard in the middle of 2020. I kind of thought “Well, if we’re going into quarantine, I might as well learn to make a few beats while I wait for it to be over” In December, I wrote my first song, recorded it, and played it for my boyfriend at the time. Besides my energy level and conviction, he thought that it was very well-written. And from then on, it just clicked that my gift of words could be used to connect with people through music. Since that day, I went on to collab with more and more people and began brainstorming my first ideas for my first album. For nine months straight, I was working in and out of the studio managing obstacles that came my way, going to work, taking classes, and all while still writing songs, producing tracks, and managing my own market campaign. I will say it has not been the easiest of journeys getting to the rapper people will come to know as MediTate, but as cliche as it is: I wouldn’t change it for anything. Every experience, good or bad, has contributed to the person I am today and has helped evolved me into the confident, talented, and beautiful young woman known as April.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Simple answer: no. The more detailed answer is I’ve had struggles with my sexuality, family problems, and mental health issues. As always with time, everything gets easier to deal with. I have just learned to have patience and it will take you halfway there and faith takes you the other half.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I mainly rap and produce tracks from time to time. In my free time, I write poetry, paint, dance, draw, and act. I would say I’m known mostly for my poetry and dancing because I performed a few poems here and there and always participated in my school’s dance performances. Currently. I’m most proud of my album, April All Year Round (AAYR), really. I’m most proud of that because it is the first project that I was able to execute with my own creativity and resources successfully and independently. AAYR was the first experience I had being able to work and solely on something I was passionate about depend on my own talent, ideas, and finding others to help along the way. It gave me a chance to work on my networking skills, expand my creative abilities, and gave me a chance to produce and share a complete body of work with the world. I was able to introduce myself as MediTate to the world in my own way, on my own terms. And the album has already brought in new fans, relationships, and new experiences. And most importantly, the journey to recording and finally sharing April All Year Round with everyone allowed me to gain confidence as a rapper and a person, and it allowed me to find my own voice. People have really been appreciating the project and seem to really identify and relate to the main themes throughout the album: self-love, gratitude, faith/spirtuality, and etc.
What sets me apart from everyone else is my authenticity, being able to share difficult truths in a relatable level. It’s my adversity and my contagious energy. I’m always able to turn my bad experiences and weaknesses into strengths. You can’t help but smile and have a good time when I’m in the room and even if you hear any one of my songs. And with being able to learn how to make beats, I can now utilize music to execute my vibe and energy over a track so people can experience it even by just hearing my songs.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am an avid Disney fan so I am down to have a Disney movie marathon or go to Disneyland. I also love anime so if you have any show/movie recommendations, please let me know.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.sleepmeditaterepeat.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meditatetherapper/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meditatetherapper
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/meditatedapoet
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLjYc65EjrHiPbjX3Fh4WIw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tatertothere09
