Conversations with the Inspiring Angelique

Thanks for sharing your story with us Angelique. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started singing in church as a little girl. I used to love watching my mom sing in the church choir. She was such a star in my eyes.A few months ago, a few friends and I took a little road trip to Yosemite Lakes, CA! It was pretty late at night when we arrivedand I was so taken back by how many stars were in the sky. There must have been a billion of em! I was so awestruck! We don’t see that here in LA because of all the pollution. Unfortunately, so many people are like the stars in the night sky here in LA, unable to be seen because of all the pollution of life. The crazy thing is, there are so many different types of pollution that we come into contact with in our day-to-day lives! However, we fight, and survive every single day! Like the stars a night sky, God has always been such a constant in my life. I recall contemplating suicide because there was so much physical, sexual, and verbal, abuse in my life.  I’m not sure where I would be if God hadn’t used music and art to trade my ashes for a crown of beauty. Because of the hope and strength that I have in Christ, I don’t have to allow the pollution of life to dull my shine like stars in the night sky on any given LA night. No one has to!

Great, 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?
The road definitely hasn’t been smooth. But I don’t think anyone has a smooth road. As far as my journey goes, my heart really goes out to women like me, women young or old who have been abused in any way. Women are so strong, beautiful, and powerful. The way I see it, women are like superheroes. Sometimes, a villain comes along and strips the superhero of her powers. She becomes vulnerable and fragile but only for a time and God makes everything beautiful in its time. As a young woman, you really have to know who you know you are. Your likes and dislikes, what you want and don’t want etc., never bending or compromising in love, in business, and in friendships the same. As a woman you just can’t let anyone tell you who you are, you gotta know it for yourself, you gotta know it from God, otherwise accepting the breadcrumbs people throw at you will become a way of life and that’s just not who anyone was created to be! The spirit of God is written on all our hearts giving us the confidence and the bravery that we need to take those breadcrumbs and throw em right back! That’s what life is all about for the woman, knowing your worth, asserting your worth, walking in your worth, and helping other women along the way!

What should we know about your work? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m a singer/songwriter! My debut ep. Entitled The Love Album #love will be dropping in February 2019, and I can’t wait for people to hear it! In 2017, I wrote a bunch of songs that expressed all the different types of love that I experienced in that year whether it was the love I experienced from God or the love I experienced that resulted in a broken heart. One day I was flipping through my songbook and decided to get in the studio! It’s about eight songs with a vintage vibe and I’m super excited about it! I have such a love and respect for RnB music. The 1st music I ever began recording was RnB music! There’s just so much heart and soul in it! I feel like RnB taught me how to have confidence and heart in my voice! Reflecting on where I am in my life right now, my biggest dream is to travel all over the world singing about Jesus! I’m a worship leader, combining God’s word and music and leading people to sing about God in a congregational setting! Even my name Angelique which was given to me by my nana is French and it means messenger of God. I’m kind of into things like that; I think our names say so much about us! I’m wrapping up my ep. right now! Next, I’m gonna start recording a worship ep. that’s my heart and I can’t wait for people to hear that as well!

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Oh yes! The experiences that we have in our childhood really mold and shape us! Like I mentioned before, if it wasn’t for God coming into my heart and using music and art to put me on a different track, I would be a completely different person, I’m sure I wouldn’t be alive. I used to be so angry with God. I was angry with a lot of people! But, our experiences make us who we are! Just like human bones, we can bend so much before we actually break! Did you know that there are some bones in the human body that are stronger than concrete? We were actually built to last! I’m learning to be grateful for every experience in my life that didn’t actually break me and I’m grateful for a heart that hopes to inspire other women in their journey too!