New York City-based Lachi is an award-winning recording artist, prolific EDM vocalist, and producer. Being legally blind, Lachi advocates for Disability Culture, inclusion, and accessibility in the music and entertainment industries. A leader in disability inclusion, she is the Founder and President of RAMPD, a coalition of established Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities who serve to advocate in the music industry. Her winning smile and effervescent personality will undoubtedly give you the confidence you might be missing. Continue reading to learn more about Lachi’s career, advocacy, and new song “Black Girl Cornrows.”

Where are you based?
New York City.

You are an award-winning artist and prolific EDM vocalist. What inspired you to get into this industry and music?
When I was young, I didn’t have a ton of friends, being a bit of an outcast, so I took to writing songs, poetry and drawing. Music surfaced to the top of interests as a great way to express and articulate my experience as a young black girl struggling with identity.

You are legally blind; how do you feel this influences your art?
My disability allows me to infiltrate pop culture with a unique untold narrative of rich experiences. At a recent talk, someone asked me why I chose to come out about my blindness, since I could pass for non-blind. Keeping it hidden was counterproductive. I was tripping on wires in the studio, missing deal-making waves and handshakes at dance halls, and most importantly missing out on accommodations I actually needed. Now I’m out and proud about it because, honey where we’re going, I don’t have the time or headspace to deal with society’s ableism.

After listening to your music, I noticed you record a wide variety of music, where do you draw your inspiration from?
Because there really were no artists who looked like me and also had my situation, it was difficult to find role-models to stick at the top of my vision board. When writing and performing, I do pull from the black queens unafraid to celebrate quirkiness, realness, or differentness: i.e.Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Sade, Jasmine Sullivan, and Alicia Keys.

We love your new song ‘Black Girl Cornrows’. Can you tell us a bit about this song and what inspired it?
The modern Dance Pop song celebrates the intersection of Disability Culture, black culture and queer culture. The lyrics discuss the power of self-description (describing one's appearance so blind people have more equitable access) which can include pronouns, hometown and other elements of self-expression. As my low key goal is to infiltrate pop culture with disability narratives, we do this through Black Girl Cornrows. Collab’ing with Black Caviar (a charting production duo whose G House songs were among some of my favorites), Yvie Oddly, a RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, and QuestionATL, a fellow blind rapper, and with mastering by Emily Lazar and the Lodge, and artwork by Iranian artist Mafreshou, the track was supported in part by the Pop Culture Collaborative via their Becoming America grant.

You split your time serving on the GRAMMY Board as New York Chapter Governor and advising on the National Independent Venue Association and Songwriters of North America DEI Committees. Can you tell us why these are so dear to you?
Music is the birthplace of pop culture. Hip hop elevated black culture en masse, country music elevated rural culture en masse. And I feel there are few disability narratives elevated in pop culture, because the music industry is behind Hollywood and even corporate America when it comes to Disability Culture. But music is a mood, and all about telling someone something through vibe. And if the automatic mood some one feels regarding disability is fear and discomfort, my goal is to get on up in that boardroom and be everybody’s best friend, make folks comfortable enough to ask the questions, challenge their comfort, and begin dismantling society’s shame-mongering status quo.

You are also the Founder and President of RAMPD, a global network of Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities. Can you tell us more about what inspired RAMPD?
Yes, it started with the awesome acronym! In April of 2021, I put together a panel between the Recording Academy and a few music artists with disabilities, discussing the state of accessibility in the music industry. At the end Valeisha Butterfield Jones, then Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the Grammys, said the Recording Academy had taken note and wanted to begin a dialogue with our organization. But we didn’t have one…yet. The panel blew up and all of a sudden I began receiving DMs of folks around the work asking me if I was going to lead the charge and bring music creators and professionals with disabilities together, and I decided to go for it. Now just under a year-old as an official entity, RAMPD is an award-winning international network of experienced music professionals with credits, who’ve toured, released award-winning music, and have worked with some of the biggest artists, labels and brands. RAMPD has worked with the GRAMMYs to bring accessibility to the telecast, worked with Netflix to help develop disabled composers, and was just recognized by the UN-supported Zero Project.

Do you have any advice for young disabled artists wanting to break into this industry?
It starts with finding ways to drop the shame society tells us we should be feeling. Ways to do this is by finding community; spaces where you can celebrate or commemorate your narrative. Secondly, get good. Music more often than not requires real talent. Sometimes cultivating talent requires expensive lessons or technologies. So a great place that promotes equitable inclusions, visibility and development opportunities, and community is RAMPD.org. Join our community and follow our journey.

You recently attended the White House for an event in honor of Disability Pride Month and the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Can you tell us more about this experience and what it meant to you?
It was certainly an honor being invited to the White House among the Whos Who of Disability, and to meet and speak with the President live and in person. Fashion and style is part of my activism, so I showed up dressed in a blue Twin.ThatsWhatINeed blazer, white skort, red, white and blue nails and makeup and of course, holding a red white and blue bedazzled glam cane. Needless to say I got compliments from everyone in the white house including the President. My advocacy of leaning all the way in and celebrating disability, that’s ultimately what got me the invite, and I could not be more honored.

Representation has been improving over the years, but it still feels like there is progress to be had. What are your hopes for the future?
I would like to see more role-models with disabilities, especially of color, infiltrating pop culture. Non disabled people are still at the stage where they’re unsure if they’re allowed to say ‘Disability’, meanwhile activists are way past that, trying to get equitable pay, inclusive cultures, and non-punitive belonging. By the way, it’s perfectly fine to say the word Disability or Disabled. Differently-Abled, handy-capable, those are euphemisms to avoid us just having grown adult conversations about disability.

In addition to everything else, we see you have been working on a sci-fi book called Death Tango. Can you tell us a bit about this? When is it coming out?
In my spare time–between running RAMPD, serving on several Grammy committees, recording and touring.. I write novels! Death Tengo is an ode to my love for horror and Black Mirror-style sci-fi mixed with my need for intersectional multidimensional lead characters. It will be coming out under Rize Press (Running Wild Press imprint) in October 2023. The Ivory Staff is my first novel.

You are super fashionable! Can you walk us through how you put together your looks?
Fashion is a big part of my activism infiltrating pop culture with disability narratives. Pearing a deep blue Naeem Khan sequin dress with a blue rhinestone mobility cane, complete with makeup, jewelry and heels says we’ve arrived, and we’re here to get you feeling something about that glam cane. My manager Arthur is also my in-house stylist. He makes the glam canes, helps put together some of my outfits, works with our designer and stylist partners, and has been making quite a name for himself posting my makeup looks on Reddit. A couple of times a month, I get an email or DM of someone telling me they saw my face on the Reddit homepage!

In all cases we incorporate alt tags, image descriptions and captioning where possible, so whenever any looks go viral, folks are being low-key hit with accessibility tips.

Secondly, we do it for the young BIPOC girls (especially those with disabilities) who don’t often see themselves portrayed as sexy, stylish, playful, glamorous, snobby, cheeky and fun.

Do you have any other exciting projects that are coming up that you can tell us about?
Apart from hitting the road again, spreading the message and celebrating the culture, I’ll be working on my album “Mad Different” this year. The album will lean into the pop/house vibe a la Black Girl Cornrows, and celebrate the different, the counterculture, the margins, and the wins, struggles and beauty that comes with that. We’ve got some big collaborations in the works, and discussions on music videos and possible full tour, spreading the culture, spreading expression, and spreading love.

What is your motto in life?
Celebrate your uniqueness. No one got successful, rich or famous by blending in.

To learn more about Lachi, please follow via the platforms below:
www.lachimusic.com
Instagram: lachimusic
TikTok: @lachimusic
YouTube: lachimusic
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/07D2qGlJUOVf83OM5ujJZD

Lachi - Bringing Music to Life