Today we’d like to introduce you to Dixon Munro.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Art, music and dance has always had a profound presence in my life. I grew up in a Caribbean church environment in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I performed every Sunday for service after spending the week practicing my lines for the seasonal cantata, children’s choir, and praise and worship team. But what I remember vividly was watching Michael Jackson’s ‘Dangerous’ tour DVDs on repeat, wishing I could feel alive the way he would come alive on stage. After seeing him perform and watching his documentary “Living With Michael Jackson,” I made a conscious decision to pursue a life of art.
I was introduced to dance in my late teens after accompanying my friend to her sister’s dance concert. I smothered myself in dance and acrobatics afterward, practicing for hours on end, trying to emulate the Russian and Malaysian contortionists I watched on repeat in the early years of Youtube. I later enrolled in a local dance school where I trained with dancers half my age because I started so late. In my senior year, I would be granted a college scholarship to pursue dance at the university level.
I had an amazing music teacher in high school. Mr. Llew-Williams always believed in investing in the art department and had a whole music lab equipped with music software where students could learn music production and earn credits for themselves in school. This is where I learned to produce. I honed my craft after being gifted an iMac where Logic Pro 9 had been pre-installed. I spend most of my early 20s in front of that iMac, recording songs and releasing them on Youtube and Soundcloud. I made the decision to go to college, where I majored in Independent Music Production at Seneca College in Toronto. It helped shape my identity as an artist and gave me the education to pursue music as an artist independently.
After moving to Florida from Toronto, I had difficulty getting my music off the ground. In the early 2010s, independent music production was just taking flight with the likes of Soulja Boy, Russ, and Nipsey Hussle. However, I never felt I fit in any genre and being from Canada. I had a hard time connecting with people in Orlando. Drake was just taking off, so it did me no good.
So I did what any artist would do. I created and showcased them on any platform I could. Instagram was just taking off and my followers gained interest and inspired me to create more and expand my platforms. It was through Instagram where local producers, artists, magazines and other publications reached out to me to learn more about me and my music.
Through music networking, I was introduced to prolific photographers that I was blessed to have an opportunity to shoot with. And with each photoshoot, I learned quickly that modeling was a hidden gift I never explored. I’ve been able to travel the nation shooting with an amazing roster of photographers while creating with industry-name producers.
My path hasn’t been a consistent one. I’ve had major setbacks that kept me dormant for some time. I’ve had to get a full-time job to help me balance my life and priorities as a human being. I spent over a year getting my shit together just to be at a place of peace. Now, I’m at a point in my life where I am able to create whenever I want, with whomever I want as long as it is on budget. I love being independent and calling my own shots. It allows me to enjoy every step as a Creator in this digital age.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My road as an Independent Artist definitely hasn’t been a smooth one. Factors like money, resources, lack of belief, a bad crowd, and plain old ignorance led me on a path of dormancy for a while. I believe that anyone can be successful at anything. The key is consistency. If one can master one’s reaction to life and all misfortunes without it influencing one’s discipline and dedication, one can reach whatever goal they desire.
It took me making multiple mistakes to learn to accept this fact. Making mistakes has been the only thing I’ve truly been consistent in. Consistency is easier said than done but living and choosing my goal every day is the only thing that matters. It’s the sole reason why I keep going.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a child of the 90s, so quality and ethics are important to me. I am a Recording Artist, Model and Digital Creator. I enjoy creating moods with my music, music videos and photography.
I believe that life is an art and choosing to live it on your own terms already makes you an artist. I am most proud of myself for not giving up on myself completely. There were moments that I didn’t choose myself and my priorities, but losing everything, I gained myself. I am most known for being the hardest working woman people know. Whether I gain fame, fortune, or applause, I wake up every day with my purpose in mind. I live on whether anyone else believes in me.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey is the gravity of self-love. This world is about exchanging energy and not everyone that has energy will know how to use it. Sometimes people will come to you with the greatest intentions in the world, but because they are insecure, they will fill you with their insecurities too. What I’m trying to say is, no matter what goes on or no matter what anyone has to say or how they feel, my love for myself will go unchanged.
I remember being at my lowest and looking around to see not one social media follower or personal friend in my corner to help me at the time. I was completely alone. I only had me. That’s when I realized the importance of loving myself and giving myself all the things I hoped everyone else would do for me. I had a choice to keep living to die by other people’s thoughts and judgments or take responsibility for my life and show up for myself. Now I give myself credit, check myself when I am wrong, have honest and real conversations about my feelings, have a better understanding of myself, show myself patience, take myself out on dates etc. that even if I choose not to be by myself, I can handle it because in the end, that’s the only person I can rely on.
Pricing:
- Model Booking $200 per hour
- $50 per additional hour
- $100 add-on for full makeup upon arrival
Contact Info:
- Email: dixon.munro.music@gmail.com
- Website: www.dixonmunro.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/dixonmunro
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dixon.munro.music
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/dixonmunro
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/dixonmunro
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6nknZfsQGxqm8QsHkxP1zW
Image Credits
1. Photography – Chelsea Reynolds (Cover) 2 & 3. Photography – The Nvked Eye 3. Photography – Native Xean 4 & 5 Photography – Lindsay Poy 6. Photography – Avalon Fotography
