#MyDarlings I am so very excited. In 4 days, my baby, my brand new album #ALLOFME will be available in stores and online. You can preorder yours now clicking here. To celebrate this album that is so very important to me, for the next few days, I will share personal stories with you. After all, the album is called #ALLOFME, it wouldn't be right if I didn't really give that to you #mydarlings.
My full name is Estelle Fanta Swaray. I like to think that you are born into your destiny and the name you are given or the name you choose helps you on the path to your destiny. My first name, Estelle is derivative of the word star. So some might say I was born to do this performer thing I do for y'all. My middle name, Fanta, is a family name. It was my maternal grandfather's sister, my great aunt. My mother's side of the family is African, from Senegal. This tradition of sharing family names across the generations is how we remember our ancestors. My last name, Swaray, is a phonetic spelling of the French word for party soiree. Directly broken down, my name is The Star Party. Fitting, i'n'it?
I was born in West London to a HUGE family with 8 siblings and loads of extended relatives. I'm the oldest girl of 6 which often made me the vice-mum. Growing up with that many siblings helped me to learn how to make my voice heard in a crowd without being overbearing. Being vice-mum also gave me a chance to fully develop my mothering energy with the little ones.
We were broke a lot of the time while we were growing up, but I never knew it. My mum made sure that we knew that our priorities were love, food and shelter. While we may not've been the flashiest dressers growing up, we were always rich in family and love. Before the fame, before the albums, before I had you #mydarlings, I had my family and that has always made me feel blessed and wealthy beyond measure.
xoxo #mydarlings
