Montina Cooper in her own words is an ‘artist and a creator’, she makes up one third of the renowned backup group, The Mamas, and has performed with Beyoncé for almost ten years. She was the person who arranged Destiny’s Child’s last collective performance where they sung “The National Anthem” at the 2006 All Star Game and her vocal production has also featured on Kelly Rowland’s Ms. Kelly album and in the soundtrack for Hitch. Montina talks to us about her new solo single ‘Saved Me’, the highlights of her career and her battle with mental illness.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
The biggest thing for me was when I vocal produced and arranged the national anthem for Destiny’s Child. I saw them singing it on national television, knowing that I had arranged it was wow, it was amazing. You know I have so many things to be grateful for, there are so many wow moments but that is the one that sticks out to me.
What is it like being on tour with Beyoncé?
Girl, it’s fast and it’s fun, it’s quick you are constantly moving but it’s amazing, it’s historical and I am learning.
What attracted you to singing above others?
I have been surrounded by music on both sides of my family, all we do is sing when we are together, it’s just a part of my DNA it really is, it is second nature to me. I couldn’t imagine not singing, it is like breathing.
I love your single ‘Saved Me’, we need a bit more of R&B in the UK and I believe it will resonate with people. What was the inspiration behind the track?
‘Saved Me’ is literally a love letter to God, thanking him for saving me. I actually attempted suicide when I was eighteen. But I was brought back to life and I feel like he has purpose for me so when he brought me back and saved me I just had to tell him thank you, I just had to say thank you, thank you, thank you because if I wasn’t to have made it through that, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you.
Dream Nation had a seven-day mental health campaign titled the ‘Be Well’ campaign where we raised the awareness of mental health issues for Practical Dreamers. It is inspiring to hear that you have overcome depression, what were your strategies to overcome it?
My strategy was a lot of prayers, talking to loved ones and I had this thing that I would do and I still do and I will take a dry erase marker and write positive affirmations on my mirror, so when I would wake up in the morning I would see them and speak them back to myself. Before I knew it I would start to feel what those things were, I actually spoke that over myself. So that’s how I got over that, really reaching out, “hey I don’t feel well, can I talk to you,” that kind of thing also praying, “okay God I need to help me I am not feeling good today” and then writing ‘you are beautiful’, ‘you are important’, ‘you have a voice’ on my bathroom mirror and it made a difference.
Positive affirmations are really important, you put the positive thoughts out there and once you start speaking it, it will start to become your own reality. What advice would you give to Practical Dreamers and people that are in a similar situation that you were in, to help them get through it?
Let me say that the only way you have a dream if it is spiritually instilled in you, so that means if it is placed there it is there for a reason and it can definitely come to fruition if you work hard and you continue to tell yourself you will make it, you can do it. It is all about the can attitude and anyone that is around you that says you can’t, just get rid of the nay sayers and really focus on what you are trying to do. When I grew up we weren’t the richest, we weren’t rich at all. I grew up in what they called the hood and so what I would do is I would focus on my music and my mom bought me a globe one Christmas. Girl, I hated it! But I actually started looking at that globe like I am going to go there, so that became my focus. Find something that you can focus on and just beam in on that and it can happen.
That’s really inspiring advice. How do you try and eliminate your negative thoughts, aside from doing the positive affirmations?
I really feel as though if there is someone negative around you, get away from those people. A lot of times people see where you are going and they don’t want you to get there, so they do everything they can to bring you down. Find people that lift you up and get around those people or around people that are doing what you want to do, so you can actually have a vision to be able to see that, oh this is how you do it. Find yourself a mentor that kind of thing but I am really big about not being around negative people because it just drains you.
Yeah exactly, you become person that you surround yourself with. How do you ensure that your are around the right people?
God just sort of puts those people in my life, I am really good at not being around the negative but really the people that come into my life tend to be extremely positive people. I spend a lot of time with my family, I spend a lot of time with my tour family. My tour family is amazing, we all love one and another and we all support one and another. So it all feeds the positive side of things.
I read that you had a battle with food addiction, being in the media industry combined with the rise of social media where it is saturated with images of the idealistic body type it must have been hard working in the industry. What was the cause of your food addiction?
My food addiction came from the incident with my father abandoning the family, for the longest time I had the lowest self esteem because you go from being a normal sized kid to an overweight kid so now kids are attacking you. But thank God social media wasn’t big then, now in the time of social media I am secure with who I am, I am not secure in who I am when it comes to what I see in the mirror but more secure with who I am when I see behind my eyes into my soul and into my heart. I know that I am very secure in that part of myself, I think we all have thing that we wish we could change with our bodies, but you can’t change that in 24 hours, so you have to learn to love yourself in the skin that you are in and that’s what I have done.
That’s really important advice, in learning that you should love yourself despite what you see as your imperfections and flaws. What advice would you give to women to help women reclaim their bodies with healthy patterns?
With each woman it is a choice that you make, I say that if you want to be healthy and be a better you just make it a daily thing or small change. Not something huge and take on something that you can’t do, but say you want to get fit say everyday that you are going to do thirty minutes of something and then you do that. Then as you get stronger you move onto the next thing. Same with your diet (“okay I am going to take sweets out of this part of the day”), you make the small changes and before you know it you have chopped down a large amount.
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt about yourself and others in the relentless pursuit of your dream?
How to appreciate myself because in the music industry everyone may not appreciate you but you have to appreciate you and that’s what I have learned. I wouldn’t have this gift if I weren’t meant to use it for something great.
When it felt/feels like your dream won’t materialise, what has kept/keeps you going?
This is going to really shock you but I always knew that I would do this, I just didn’t know when and that’s what kept me going. I am telling you it’s something about saying ‘yes you can’ and ‘yes you will’ that changes your whole aspect on your journey towards that goal.
What fear(s) do you have/have you had in your journey to see your dreams materialise?
They won’t like my music, that’s the only fear that I have ever had, I am really a fearless kind of person. Because I kind of exist in a faith based life, just say “okay I put it in your hands God” it’s all about you, you take me where you want me to go, you put this person who you want to be in my life in front of me and I will do what you tell me. But the only fear I have ever had is “oh will they like it because I love it”, I think it is the best album of 2016 but it’s up the listener.
What practical advice would you give to aspiring singer?
Don’t give up, work hard, pray and have faith, work hard pray and have faith! But don’t give up, no matter how rough the road may be, no matter what people may say don’t give up.
What are some of your favourite parts of your career?
The travelling, I can’t believe that I get to see so many parts of the world and I get to do it for free, while I am doing what I love and I am getting paid for it, it’s amazing. I’m in London, in my fancy house in London town haha, I love it!
What is the least favourite aspect of your work?
Being judged, to me that is the worst part because you go in and you are creative and you give your all and people are judging, but it is expected, but I think that it’s the worst part. Even down to your image you are constantly being judged and I think it shouldn’t be about that.
If you ruled/had the power to change the world, what, if anything, would you change first?
I would erase racism and hatred, that would be what I would like to do is for that to not exist and for people to be able to coexist and love in harmony.
Final question, if you had to describe yourself as an animal, what animal would you be and why?
A Lioness because I go out and get it girl, I protect my cubs, I bring home the bacon and I fry it up in the pan. A Lioness is very strong, the Lion actually does nothing and the women, the female Lions, they go out and they get it, so yes I would be a Lioness.
