It's Alright To Love Yourself
by Lenell King
With over two decades of blessing us with her angelic voice, Grammy Award winning R&B Diva, songwriter Chante Moore is back with new music from her latest album "Moore Is More" along with a new book, entitled, "Will I Marry Me". I have been a big fan since her hit single, "It’s Alright" back in 1992. She recorded several hit records back in the day including, "Love's Taken Over", my favorite, "It's Alright", "Free" and "Old School Lovin'", just to name a few. Chante was also featured on the soundtracks of, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and "Waiting To Exhale". In 2002 she won a Soul Train music award for best R&B single. She looks like she hasn't aged one bit and is just happy to still be doing what she loves and that's creating good music for her fans. For those new fans who have been introduced to her on R&B Divas L.A., Chante reveals a little bit of her backstory on how her career started.
Chante: It was a lot of hard work when I first started. I’m from San Francisco and then moved to San Diego where I lived for ten years in my teens. I was working in the city writing music and songs at the time. I didn’t really know that I would be doing it for a living. I met El Debarge along with his manager and eventually, El’s manager became mine. His name was Fred Moultrie. A little after we met I got signed to MCA Records. I was under Louil Silas, who passed away, but that was where it all began at Silas/MCA Records.
Lenell: One thing that has always stood out about you is your vocal range. How do you maintain your voice after all this time?
Chante: I stay away from the air conditioner because the Freon can take your voice. It isn’t really something that I work hard at preserving. I know when it’s cold I always keep a scarf around my neck. I try to make sure that I don’t hurt my voice when I’m not singing. You can hurt your voice more while talking. It’s actually worse for your voice than singing. I try to shut up. (Laughing)
Lenell: From the time you‘ve come on the scene we’ve seen singers come and go. You have maintained your relevance. Would you say that being on R&B Divas L.A. reality TV show has helped that process?
Lenell: We see on the show that you had to speak up for yourself on several occasions. Was it a challenge being around so many strong women?
Chante: I’ve always been very outspoken, very straight forward. I’m pretty clear about my feelings before I open my mouth. My mother always taught me to think then speak. I think I‘ve grown up being true to myself. I come from a family where my father was a preacher. He’s still a preacher and he is 80 years old now. My mother was also a singer and is a missionary in the church. I was taught to speak the truth in love. That’s what I try to do, but I don’t always do it right. What I say is sometimes misunderstood however, what I say is true from my heart.
Lenell: I remember the song, “Chante's Got A Man”. Is that a factual statement now?
Chante: Yeah! I’m actually dating. I’m really happy to have found a guy who is really understanding, kind and very strong. He knows who he is and he has his own life. He’s completely out of the music industry, which is really great.
I’m not looking to get married at the moment, which makes me more at peace with myself because I’m not waiting for him to pop the question. I’m not even waiting to see if he is “the one”. We are mutually respecting one another and having a really good time.
Chante: I just start writing. I always write from where I am because I can only speak from my own heart and my own circumstances. If I don’t feel it or get connected to a song, then I can’t sing what I don’t believe in. So it’s a moment to moment thing to see where I am as a person and just trying to be true to that moment. I don’t sing songs about bashing men because every man is not the same; which is where “Chante’s Got A Man" came from.
The song is really about having mutual respect and knowing that if there is one good guy out there, then there must be ten good guys out there. That’s what that song was about. Some people misinterpreted it like I’m bragging about having a good man. If I have a good man, then you can have a good man too. One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch.
Lenell: Where can fans go to hear your new music and what should they expect from this album?
Chante: It’s out on ITunes and Amazon.com. What I love about this album is that it talks about where I’ve been for the past five years. It talks about my heart being broken and where I’ve had triumphs. There was also sadness so, there is a song called, “Alone”. This is a song about being alone, but not lonely. There is another song called, “Don’t Make Me Laugh” which is about the pain I felt that made me feel invisible in a relationship. These things are really, really personal. This is about being misunderstood as a woman, but I finally stand up and realize who I am. It’s a journey; life is a journey. Learning every day from each experience allows you to see that you are always learning. I learn from my friends, my experiences and my failures.
Lenell: What made you decide to write a type of self help book for women.
Chante I’ve been keeping a journal since I was 12 years old. I’ve got about 20 books of my whole life. From that I’ve learned to look at myself first. That's what inspired me to write my book entitled, “Will I Marry Me”? I’ve been married a few times and it really is wonderful to take my failures, my pain, my successes and my triumphs from the lonely girl to the vixen, to the girl next door and then to the invisible woman inside of me and write this book.
There are parts of my personality that have been in full effect at different times. This book has been birthed from my life and I share some personal stories in the book. It is also a workbook. There are pages with lines where you can write your thoughts about yourself while joining me in my journey as you read the book. I have done some forums already where I interact with people, ask questions and let them ask questions as well. The beautiful thing about being at the forums is that people inspire me and in turn my failures and successes inspire them. It is really about taking control and taking the power back.
We typically wait on the guy to ask us to marry them or we wonder when it will be our turn to be the princess. Well, you are a princess; so, go ahead and figure out who you are. Write your vows to yourself, have your wedding day, get a dress, get your friends, get them all together and have that wedding day. It will take out some of the mystery of the day because marriage is not just one day; it is a lifetime commitment. You really have to be a whole person in order to draw the person that is meant to be with you into your life. Nobody is going to complete your life for you. Sometimes you need to just worry about you because the person entering your life will have a list of things that he wants from you. Therefore, are you willing to put that true list on paper? Would you marry yourself?
Chante: It will be in stores in October, but you can order your copy now at http://www.therealchantemoore.com or at http://www.WilImarryme.org It really is a wonderful thing just to be able to have this out and be able to start this train rolling. I want this to be a one woman show where I talk about what's going on in my life and the audience is talking back to me. It will be a live interaction with everyone along with music.
Lenell: How do you balance it all with your music, the book and motherhood?
Chante: It's one moment one day at a time. When I’m with my children, they come first. When I’m working, I put my whole heart in it. I just try to be the best that I can. When I know I’m tired, I take a rest. I’ve got to have a good nights rest.
Chante has manage to have a wonderful music career. She is now signed with Shanachie Entertainment and has a lipstick line coming out called, "The SWL Lipstick Collection with Superwoman Vicki Irvin. Check out her website, http://www.Therealchantemoore.com for tour dates, ordering her book, listening to her new music plus you can also join her fan club and chat with her on social media outlets, Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Iamchantemoore
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