Today we’d like to introduce you to DeArtae Comanche.
Hi DeArtae, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started off as an entertainer rapper/singer & ultimately ended up on the other side of the camera filming & doing photography.
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?
By the age of 16 years old I got into a fight and ended up getting stabbed so I decided that I needed to change my life & that’s when I started to pursue a career in music, by the time I turned 18 I put out an album and had my first child so the responsibility of balancing a family and a career weighed heavy on me. I took on odd jobs as a dishwasher, construction worker, laborer, etc. whatever that I needed to do to take care of my child & myself. I failed in the relationship I was young, misguided, & not mentally or financially prepared for fatherhood but I stayed involved in the child’s life. Between the years of 2004-2010, I tried almost everything & failed so consistently that I deserve an award for it. My career as a musician went left because the name that I branded was stolen by a well-known entity, my daughter ended up moving back to Los Angeles so my contact with her was little to none, & I fell into what I see now as a deep depression. For years I was lost & didn’t have a clue on what it was that I needed to do until one day a friend of mine stopped by & he had a camera in his hand a Canon T2i he asked me to check it out for him & I couldn’t stop staring it, I got lost in the beauty of it. Come to find out, he ended up finding it somewhere, another story for another time on that lol but long story short I ended up keeping the camera forming a company called Yours Truly Productions which I later changed to Rice & Gravy Visualz, started to take on any photography or videography job that I could find whether it was free or paid & got to rebuilding my life & my brand. That’s how I got to where I am today, this is how I ended up in Dallas being that I’m from Louisiana I outgrew my environment I needed a change of scenery, & ultimately the move was the best move career-wise as a photographer & videographer that I could make. I’m single I have three children which two of them I have custody of & at this point in my story LIFE IS GREAT! Me failing molded me into being a very consistent & driven individual at anything that I set my mind to. All of my struggles made me a better human being at the end of the day & I’m grateful for each & every one of them & I’m nowhere near where I want or need to be but I’m far from where I was & just that is a miracle in itself & I’m living proof of that.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an artist my name is DeArtae which means (Of Art) I specialize in videography & photography. I take pride capturing stories because we all have one to share. I’m known for my passion for art, my aunt named me, I’m guessing at birth she saw me as that So I feel it’s my duty to give that gift back to anyone that I come across. What sets me apart from others? I’m D.O.P.E. (Distribution Of Positive Energy)
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Bad luck showed me what good luck is, I’ve been through everything from betrayal, almost losing my life on numerous occasions, to losing everything from my mother right in front of me to almost my sanity. But staying positive through all of that & failure showed me what good luck, blessings, and love looks like. I had to become love in order to see, give, & even feel it on a consistent basis.
Contact Info:
- Email: riceandgravytv@gmail.com
- Website: www.MakeSureUEat.com
- Instagram: @riceandgravytv
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deartae.rice
- Other: https://www.behance.net/gallery/114357535/DeArtae-Est1984
Image Credits
Rice & Gravy Visualz LLC
