Arts & EntertainmentThe Music Issue

Out Houston R&B Artist MoeCarro Sings Her Truth

Shunned by her church as a teen, she took herself 'out of the equation.'

Expect the unexpected, says indie artist MoeCarro, when she takes the stage in Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, or points beyond.

“Most people think I rap,” she explains. “I wear tennis shoes, blue-jean shorts, a T-shirt, and a hat—I won’t go anywhere without my hat—so I don’t look like my musical inspirations Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, and India.Arie.”

However, when the beat drops, MoeCarro croons a smooth, sultry sound that fans describe as Neo-Soul/R&B.

“It’s going to take you by surprise,” she says. “I want people to wake up—and don’t judge a book by its cover.”

MoeCarro grew up Missouri City, graduating from Willowridge High School in 2004, where she advanced to percussion section leader in the marching band, playing bass drum.

“I took to drums very, very early,” she says. “I pulled out my mama’s pots and pans, and that’s kind of how that went. I grew up in the church, and throughout my teen years, I sang with several gospel groups, including James Fortune and Fiya.”

However, when MoeCarro came out as gay at 18, “People at my church had the most to say. I got the looks—people talking under their breath, like I was not wanted. So I took myself out of the equation.”

“Stepping out on faith,” and armed with the “pride, discipline, honor, and respect” that she learned from her high school band director, MoeCarro self-funded a coast-to-coast tour “to perform anywhere and everywhere.”

“I write my own music,” she says. “I write about life. Seriously, it’s all truthful. It’s all things I’ve been through. If you really listen, you will see that it’s about love and relationships, which should be meaningful, not superficial, and not selfish. It’s a nice genre. You can bob your head, tap your feet. I take you to a different mindset.”

MoeCarro has worked full-time as a musician for three years, performing locally at Guava Lamp, The Studio at Warehouse Live, House of Blues, and Mercy Night Club, among other venues.

The “yin to my yang,” she says, is her wife of three years, Christine Pipkin, an educational consultant. The couple recently purchased a house in Hockley.

“Christine is your conservative old schoolteacher,” says MoeCarro. “She taught second and third grades for seven years. She is quiet and keeps to herself—you wouldn’t think she would be with a musician.”

For more about MoeCarro, and to see her music videos, visit moecarro.com, where you also can hear “Don’t Remix (G Remix),” “All Night,” “Lay Up,” and “Take Me There” (featuring Spider).

This article appears in the August 2018 edition of OutSmart magazine.

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Don Maines

Donalevan Maines is a regular contributor to OutSmart Magazine.
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