For Kelly Moonstone, an exceptionally talented rapper/neo-soul singer from New York City’s thriving underground scene, the women in her life set the foundation for who she is today. As she gears up for a yet-to-be-titled follow-up to her 2023 album, I Digress, she reflects on the women in her life and music who shaped everything she is in honor of Women’s History Month.

Among the many powerful women who inspired and influenced her from legends like Erykah Badu, Beyonce, and Jill Scott to contemporaries like Baby Tate, her mother was the first powerful woman she ever knew. She influenced Kelly’s work ethic as she grew up, she watched her work lots of overtime at the local hospitals as a patient care associate. It was common amongst her whole family to pursue stable careers and continue their education through college and graduate school. Kelly says that taught her the importance of being vigilant, keeping money in her purse, and being responsible for herself, no matter the circumstances. 

“My mom is probably the hardest working person that I know, and she's always been like that since [my sister and I] were kids. She is that reason that I always had a job. Still to this day, I always put my business first, no matter what I'm going through,” said Moonstone.

For her, being a powerful woman means being completely autonomous, not dependent on anyone, being self-aware, and being decisive about what she works towards.

“So like just knowing what you want, what you have to do to get what you want, and the steps you have to take to get to anything you desire and like, the willpower to see it through, commit to it, Be devoted to it, and just not letting things take you off course,” said Kelly.

Knowing the uphill battles they face as Black women in music, it was easy for her to find inspiration in the Hip-Hop and R&B icons who paved the way for her.

“All of my general influences have had an uphill battle to get to where they are, because that is just the plight of the black woman. And anybody that has reached [an] unimaginable height, anybody that is the pioneer of something, they inspire me because I know the work that they had to put in. I empathize deeply with the amount of work that went in to get them where they are because that's just the reality of the black woman. You have to work twice as hard for half as much recognition,” said Moonstone.

For her, nurturing her vibrant creativity through the poetry she wrote uncovered her power as an artist. Even before she became a recording artist and pursued music seriously, sometimes she would turn her poems into music after they were “little songs in my head” and make that into an outlet where she could express herself. Embracing that often underappreciated freedom to create art from the way she sees the world, that’s where she becomes the freest version of herself. 

That joyful, free-spirited creativity manifests itself in her music and easy-going visuals, especially on her latest songs, including one that epitomizes her hustling spirit, “Brand New,” where she sweetly sings, “Money makes me feel brand new/see what it can do for you.” 

To her, that freedom of expression is critical and integral to her everyday life and mental health, otherwise those bottled emotions will release in the worst possible way. Especially for women who battle with depression and anxiety, which Kelly herself deals with.

“Embracing my free will to create and make what I want to see in the world is powerful to me. I use poetry as an outlet a lot and as I got older, that obviously developed into making music. But I feel my most powerful and my freest self when I am creating, contributing something to society, and leaving my mark on the world,” she said.

“You need to be able to express yourself or else, those emotions, those feelings, things that you have to get out, regardless of the medium they stay bottled in. And when you don't have the right to expression, it comes out eventually. Just not in the format you would hope for,” she added.

While some artists have always used music to pour all those emotions out, Kelly has made it a point not to abuse that to the point of burnout. Music is her job, after all, and she often seeks out other channels to ease her. One of the best pieces of advice she’s ever received from one of her best friends was prioritizing herself and what’s important to her, including her self-care.

“The best advice I've ever gotten was probably my one of my best friends, just reinforcing that I always need to choose myself. No matter what choose you, treat yourself the way that you want to be treated. Prioritize the things that are important to you, the people that are important to you, your self-care. Because if you don't take care of you, nobody else is going to take care of you,” said Kelly.

“Sometimes I need to say, ‘You know what, no, I don't want to feel like this. I'm going to go work out, or I'm going to take a hot shower, I'm going to do something that makes me feel good about myself, and then I'm going to reassess my issue, and I'm going to try to come up with solutions, or just something I can do to stabilize my environment. I can't tell you the amount of times I've been very sad and eating something healthy, or going to the gym or just stretching or taking a hot shower just it causes a reset, you know that's you taking care of you no matter how small it might seem. Just prioritize you at every level,” she added.

As she continues to make her mark on the world, Kelly stresses to the youth who want to do the same that perseverance, not being afraid to do something different, and keeping pushing are key to making the impact they hope to make. 

“As cliche and as simple as that may sound, you have to just get up and keep pushing. It's the only way you're going to move forward. And also, feel free to reinvent yourself. Don't ever put yourself in a box, limit yourself, [or] say that you can't do something, because if I did that, I wouldn't be where I am right now so just don't be afraid,” she said. 

“I'm the queen of procrastination. But I realize that if I want something done most of the time, I'm gonna have to get up off my ass and just do it,” she added.