Welcome to the third edition of Up & Coming Coastal Bend — a series dedicated to showcasing the creative talents of our younger generation. Take a look at this month’s featured young adult.
Growing up surrounded by musicians and creatives alike, it’s no wonder Moniq discovered her own passion for the craft at an early age. The Corpus Christi-based musical artist is a songwriter and performer, both of which have been on Moniq’s radar for as long as she can remember, with a musical family inspiring her since childhood. Moniq’s family owns the iconic Freddie Records, which has produced Grammy-winning hits right here in the Coastal Bend for over 45 years. “I admired their artistry and felt inspired by their passion for music,” she shared. “I remember watching my grandpa and dad perform on stage when I was little and thinking, ‘Wow! I want to do this one day!’”
With one of her earliest memories of performing being when she was only four years old, Moniq’s life has truly been shaped by music. Alongside sister Melody and her three cousins, Moniq and the group formed Las Mariposas, which would record and sing Christmas songs each holiday season. For Moniq, this was an experience that enabled her to step out of her comfort zone, opening up an entirely new world for a once shy child.
As an adult, this passion is more than just breaking out of her comfort zone – it’s also a powerful way of building connections. The actualization of her childhood dreams has given her the opportunity to create and connect, building relationships with friends, family and strangers alike. In fact, her dad even played guitar on a few songs from her Saturday EP.
This also gave her an opportunity to collaborate with artists in the community to make a remixed version of the EP. “I was able to collaborate with so many incredibly talented artists from Corpus Christi. It was such a blast to make and see how each person made my song their own,” the musician said.
Moniq describes how powerful it is to live in a community full of so many “artistic, creative and driven” people and how it fosters so much joy for her as a musician. Seeing other local artists share their creativity in their own respective ways is part of what makes these connections so unique to Moniq and inspires her to continue sharing her own work. “Music holds so much power in our lives. It has the ability to unite people, provoke emotion, create an experience and tell a story when words are not enough,” Moniq said.
The talented artist is eager to continue making and sharing music she hopes will make people feel “happy and empowered.” Currently working on writing and recording her next project, she shared, “It is a bit different from my first EP, but still stays true to my style! I’m super excited for people to listen and hear more material from me.”
Moniq’s work has already proven the power of her artistic expression. With new music on the horizon, there is no stopping this young and talented musician.
While anticipating Moniq’s new music, you can check out Saturday and its remixes.