Story & Lesson Highlights with DeLanté McLean-Sanchez

DeLanté McLean-Sanchez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

DeLanté, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What battle are you avoiding?
A constant conversation that comes up for me, is that I don’t know how to relax and it’s not because I feel guilty about rest or because I’m caught in the conditioning of capitalism. It’s deeper than that. There’s so much happening in my life and so much happening politically on a global scale, that my body doesn’t feel safe enough to relax.

I’m always aware, always tracking, always protecting something; my work, my community, myself. And it’s not paranoia, it’s experience. Currently, stillness doesn’t feel neutral or natural. It feels like letting your guard down in a world where you can’t afford to miss anything and quite frankly, anything can happen.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is DeLanté aka The DonDiva and I am an artist shaped by survival, vision, community, and contradiction- a Black, fem, queer creator who learned early on that the world won’t hand you space, so you carve it yourself.

My work sits where art, theory, lived experience, and social critique meet. I create from the places people try to silence: the tension between power and vulnerability, the pressure of identity under surveillance, the reality of being hyper-visible and unseen at the same time. My artistry is personal, political, and intimate. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t ask permission to exist; it documents, exposes, remembers, and reimagines.

In 2026, I’m expanding that vision into a series of projects that reflect not only my voice, but the voices of the community that raised me, held me, and helped shape the worlds I’m building.

At the center is my upcoming 24-track mixtape, Tales of a Fem Queen: a sonic archive of my journey, my identity, and the collective experiences of the Black, fem, and queer people who poured into me. It’s gritty, intimate, sharp, and deeply reflective of our realities.

Surrounding the mixtape is a magazine: a publication committed to critiquing societal standards, dissecting the collapse of America’s institutions, and confronting capitalism and white supremacy head-on. It features poetry from my community, visual storytelling through photography, and in-depth analysis of the creative process behind the mixtape.

Alongside this is my first artist residency, Back to the Basics: a return to the roots of artistry. It’s a reconstruction of what it means to create in a world that has commodified our expression and extracted our genius. This residency focuses on the history of sound, the impact of white supremacy on art, and the development of an authentic artist identity rooted in purpose rather than performance.

And completing this ecosystem is a new company built to support BIPOC artists, offering them opportunities to build, collaborate, and thrive, while also providing cultural education to nonprofits, grassroots movements, and organizations that need to do better by our communities.

These aren’t just project, they’re a cultural intervention.
A blueprint for liberation through art.
A platform for the people who built me.

2026 marks the beginning of a creative era where I’m not just telling my story, I’m creating spaces for my community to tell theirs, build their foundations, and thrive beyond the limits the world tried to place on us.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
My parents taught me the most about work. I come from a family of high achievers, so I grew up watching my mom and dad accomplish so much both individually and together. My dad spent two decades in the military, and my mom built her career in the medical field, and seeing their dedication firsthand shaped my understanding of what work really is.

It wasn’t just about discipline or long hours. They taught me about trust, partnership, and what it looks like to work toward something bigger than yourself. Watching them navigate their careers while still supporting each other showed me that real work isn’t only about output- it’s about collaboration, integrity, and believing in the people beside you.

When did you last change your mind about something important?
The last time I changed my mind about something important was early 2025, when I decided to fully commit to this mixtape and project. I had scrapped it under different titles in previous years because I wasn’t ready- not artistically, not emotionally, and not spiritually; however, something shifted for me.

I had lived more, experienced more, and my understanding of my role in this lifetime evolved. I realized that the project wasn’t just music; it was testimony, community, lineage, and responsibility. I changed my mind because I finally understood the weight and purpose behind what I was creating.

Coming back to the mixtape with that clarity made it mean so much more. It became a project I wasn’t just making, it was a project I was called to finish.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
For me, the difference between a fad and a foundational shift is longevity of impact and who it’s serving. Fads move fast, burn bright, and disappear the moment the algorithm feels tired. Foundational shifts change behavior, change language, and change the way people see themselves and each other, even after the moment passes.

I look at who’s driving it. If it’s being pushed by corporations, marketed for profit, or designed to be consumed quickly, that’s a fad. But if it’s coming from the people, especially Black, queer, grassroots communities; and it’s addressing a real need, a real wound, or a real possibility, that’s a shift.

Foundational shifts don’t just trend; they transform. They create new standards, new conversations, new futures. Fads decorate and destroy culture. Shifts redefine and create it.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What I understand deeply, in a way I don’t think most people do, is how much clinging to materials and titles holds us back, especially in this political climate. We’re living in a time where we’re being forced to confront the limits of what we can own, the instability of institutions, and the fragility of the identities we’ve been taught to perform. And yet people still anchor themselves to phones, job titles, social labels, and identities that were given to them with rules and expectations attached.

That attachment keeps people from building real community, from living authentically, from experiencing what life actually has to offer. I see how the obsession with having the newest thing, the most prestigious title, or even the “right” label becomes a cage. It narrows people’s imagination. It makes them believe they have to fit into something to be someone.

But in reality, those materials and titles won’t protect us. They won’t save us. They won’t make us free. What will is our ability to adapt, to connect, to self-define, and to create new structures outside the ones we were handed. I understand how dangerous it is to let capitalism convince you that identity and worth are products, because once you let that go, you can finally step into who you truly are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/delante.m
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/delante.m

Image Credits
Elijah Benfante
Aj
Heaven