Latest / Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel / Breaking Barriers: LACHI on Music, Advocacy, and Redefining Disability Narratives

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Breaking Barriers: LACHI on Music, Advocacy, and Redefining Disability Narratives · Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Misunderstood. I'm your host, Rachel Yucatel. So
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: my guest today is named Lachi. She is a multifaceted
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  Speaker 1: artist celebrated for her prowess as a singer, songwriter, and producer,
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  Speaker 1: as well as for her advocacy in disability visibility and rights.
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  Speaker 1: Born with a visual impairment, Lachi has used her platform
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  Speaker 1: to challenge and redefine the narrative surrounding disability in the
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  Speaker 1: music industry. Her unique blend of electronic pop, soul, and
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  Speaker 1: dance music has earned her critical acclaim and a dedicated
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  Speaker 1: fan base worldwide. Beyond her musical achievements, Lachi is a
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  Speaker 1: prominent speaker and activist working tirelessly to promote inclusivity and
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  Speaker 1: accessibility in all aspects of life. Particularly fitting in July,
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  Speaker 1: which is Disability Pride Month, her inspiring journey and unwavering
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  Speaker 1: commitment to her craft and community make her a powerful
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  Speaker 1: and influential figure in both the arts and social advocacy realms,
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  Speaker 1: which is why I wanted her on my show.
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  Speaker 2: Please enjoy my conversation with Lachi. Hi, everyone.
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  Speaker 1: It's Rachel Yucatel from the Misunderstood Podcast. And I wanted
• 2:00
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  Speaker 1: Understood go to www.holisticgoddess.com and again use code understood for
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  Speaker 1: 15% off Lachi, thank you so much for joining me today.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: It's such an honor to have you here. I'm so
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  Speaker 1: thrilled to see.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: You jamming out to my intro music.
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  Speaker 3: I was like, oh, she got it going on up
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: in here. I know.
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  Speaker 1: I love that music. It makes me happy every time
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  Speaker 1: I hear it. So again, thank you for joining me
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  Speaker 1: and giving me some of your time. You made USA
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  Speaker 1: Today's 2024.
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  Speaker 2: Women of the Year list.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: These are leaders, entrepreneurs, activists, trailblazers, women who have made
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  Speaker 1: a difference every day.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: How does that feel to you?
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  Speaker 3: I got to say, you know, I spent so much
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  Speaker 3: time in the trenches, just working, community building, creating, and
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  Speaker 3: it does feel good to be recognized for my work.
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  Speaker 3: I'm not going to lie. I know you got to
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  Speaker 3: be humble. Sometimes you got to sit down, but sometimes
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  Speaker 3: you got to really take it in and live in
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  Speaker 3: the joy and live in the moment. And I am
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  Speaker 3: soaking it in girl.
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  Speaker 1: So is, I saw that you were at the white
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  Speaker 1: house with Biden. Is that part of that?
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  Speaker 3: Well, so what my whole thing is, is to really
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  Speaker 3: amplify disability culture and inclusion through music, through fashion, through storytelling.
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  Speaker 3: And because of that, I find myself in really cool,
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  Speaker 3: fun rooms, everything from the UN to the BBC to
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  Speaker 3: the White House. In fact, the first time I had
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  Speaker 3: interacted with the White House was in 2021 when they
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  Speaker 3: were asking about this new initiative they were having called
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: like Blindness. I think it was Blindness Equality Day. And
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  Speaker 3: I was telling them it needs to be blindness equity day.
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  Speaker 3: Like I walked in with an argument, but it has
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  Speaker 3: been quite a thrill to be able to like speak
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  Speaker 3: to and show off, you know, the goods of disability
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  Speaker 3: to world leaders.
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  Speaker 4: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: So people that don't know you, can we go back
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  Speaker 1: a little? Can we start from the beginning? Let's talk
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: about where you were born. Where were you born?
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  Speaker 3: So I was born here. By here, I mean Maryland.
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  Speaker 3: My parents are West African, so they immigrated to America
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  Speaker 3: for a better education, had a ton of kids because
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  Speaker 3: they were Catholic. And then all of those kids moved
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  Speaker 3: around throughout the 50 states.
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  Speaker 2: So you're one of six or seven?
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  Speaker 3: I am the sixth of seven. So there was just
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  Speaker 3: a ton of us. And all of my sisters and
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  Speaker 3: my brothers, they're like doing medicine and nursing and health professionals.
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  Speaker 3: And I was like, no, I'm going to just do
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  Speaker 3: music because it makes me smile and it makes me happy.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm the black sheep of the family.
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  Speaker 1: So now you were born legally blind. Am I correct
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  Speaker 1: in saying that?
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  Speaker 3: I was born legally blind. I had much better vision
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  Speaker 3: than I do now. And it wasn't till, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: I moved up and down the Eastern seaboard and, uh,
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: just a teeny bit of background about myself. I didn't
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  Speaker 3: have a lot of friends, you know, being legally blind.
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  Speaker 3: I wasn't blind enough to be like one of the
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  Speaker 3: blind kids, uh, but I didn't have enough vision to
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  Speaker 3: just be one of the typical kids. Right. And so
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  Speaker 3: I took to playing the mute, playing the piano, writing
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  Speaker 3: poetry and really getting super introspective. And that kind of
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  Speaker 3: led to me doing this now. Um, In 2016 or 2017,
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  Speaker 3: I got a diagnosis that was like, I know you
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  Speaker 3: only have a little bit of vision, but we're going
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  Speaker 3: to take the whole thing away. And I was thinking
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  Speaker 3: to myself, all right, I can either sit here, sorry,
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  Speaker 3: or I can just go do all of the things
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  Speaker 3: I ever wanted to do before I lose my sight. Right.
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  Speaker 3: So I went skydiving. I did all sorts of things.
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  Speaker 3: And then I was like, why stop? Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: No, I get it.
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  Speaker 1: Wait, go back for a second. So for people that
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  Speaker 1: really don't understand... blindness and this type of disability. Explain
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  Speaker 1: what legally blind is, because for someone like me, I
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  Speaker 1: would think that meant that you could not see anything
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  Speaker 1: when you were born.
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  Speaker 3: So legally blind is, it's like a legal construct. So
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: I don't love to use the term, but really technically
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: what it means is that I see 200. Itching, burning, soreness.
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: When you know it's thrush, you want it gone. Treat
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: the cause, not just the symptoms, with Caniston Combate. Or worse,
• 7:18
  Speaker 5: over 20, right?
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: So like what people want to see is.
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  Speaker 3: 20-20, right?
• 7:21
  Speaker 5: So what somebody can see from 20 feet away, so
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  Speaker 5: what someone can see from 200 feet away, I have
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  Speaker 5: to be 20 feet away.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I see.
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  Speaker 3: Does that make sense?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So as a child, were you so you were able
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  Speaker 1: to make out facial recognition, colors, everything that we all see.
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  Speaker 1: So you at least have it in your brain if
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  Speaker 1: when you do lose your full sight, were you diagnosed
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  Speaker 1: with something in particular or how did that come about?
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  Speaker 3: You know, I have I have several different diagnoses. Um,
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  Speaker 3: and as I got older, new ones came in and left.
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  Speaker 3: So I tend not to like focus on the diagnoses
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  Speaker 3: or else I must be here talking Latin for like
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  Speaker 3: 10 minutes. Okay.
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  Speaker 2: No problem.
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  Speaker 3: But what I will, but what I will say is
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  Speaker 3: that yes, when I was younger, I had much better vision.
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  Speaker 3: I could see faces. I could get around. I could
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  Speaker 3: like read signs. Um, a lot of things I can't
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  Speaker 3: necessarily do right now. Um, but because I have been
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  Speaker 3: so adaptable and so like used to situations and because
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  Speaker 3: my vision loss was gradual. I haven't even really noticed.
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  Speaker 3: One day I was walking around And I hugged an
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  Speaker 3: old friend and I found that it was a tree.
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  Speaker 3: I was like, bitch girl, you need to go get
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  Speaker 3: that figured out. Sorry. Can we not cuss? Sorry.
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  Speaker 2: No, it's fine. Cuss all you want. So, all right.
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  Speaker 1: So now explain what it's like if you're explaining to
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  Speaker 1: someone who has vision, what is it that you see today?
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  Speaker 1: And has your diagnosis been that one day you will
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  Speaker 1: be completely blind?
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  Speaker 3: So, yes, right now I am on the road to
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  Speaker 3: completely losing vision. I've got to get super duper close
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  Speaker 3: to see things like words. But generally, I now have
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  Speaker 3: to use tools, different tools, everything from screen readers to
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  Speaker 3: Zoom magnifiers. I listen to audio books now because I'm
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  Speaker 3: an average reader. I also a lot of TV shows
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  Speaker 3: now have a thing called audio description tools. You know,
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  Speaker 3: so it's kind of like there's captioning, but there's also
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  Speaker 3: audio description, which is a voice that kind of explains
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  Speaker 3: what's happening visually on the screen. So that has been
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: super duper helpful. When I travel, when I tour for
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  Speaker 3: all of my performances and my keynote speeches, I travel
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  Speaker 3: with a sighted companion. We have our writers, so we
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: make sure folks do certain things to make sure that
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  Speaker 3: I am accommodated. But again, I'm a small shopper.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: It's just me and then like a couple of folks
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  Speaker 3: from my team. So there's not much folks have to
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: do to be able to accommodate me, but still we
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  Speaker 3: make sure and we ensure that there's bright lighting, that
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  Speaker 3: there is someone on hand to like let us know
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  Speaker 3: what to do and greet us and that my sighted
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  Speaker 3: companion is seen as part of my accessibility.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: So what would you describe are your like tools or
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: techniques in terms of finding the most helpful way and
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: maintaining your independence so that you're not depending on someone else?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, one of the big things as a recording artist,
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  Speaker 3: I mean, you know, I have done work with Apple,
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: the app of the Black Eyed Peas. I've done work
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: with Alicia Keys through She Is The Music. I mean,
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: these are folks you can't like not do good work with, right?
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: So I had to make sure that I had a
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: studio that was super duper accessible to me. So I
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: created my own home studio that is super duper accessible. Obviously,
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: I know where my own bathroom is and my own
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: door and stuff like that. But also I... set it
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: up with a ton of keyboard shortcuts. So I can
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: run through an entire session, a very highly technical session
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: without ever having to use the mouse. Right. Wow. So
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: I have to navigate, not to navigate the screen, et cetera.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: And it's in conjunction with different screen readers, et cetera,
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: et cetera. That's been super useful. But then when I
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: have to, cause I can't just do everything from home.
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  Speaker 3: So when I go out, I use my cane.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Your very fancy cane.
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  Speaker 3: My glam canes, my fly ass canes. They're very dope
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  Speaker 3: conversation starters. Sometimes I'll go out with my sighted companion,
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: who's also my manager and Um, so he's able to
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: negotiate things on my behalf where something is getting weird
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: and sticky. He's able to stand up for me and we, we,
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: we bounce out. Right.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Have you ever used a seeing eye dog?
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: I have not because I don't like animals and I'm
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: just going to say that I'm going to own that.
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: And I think that that's okay.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Why did something happen when you were younger with an animal?
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: Um, I got chased by a dog when I was
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: really young. I don't, I don't dislike animals. I just
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: don't really like dogs. How about that? I was chased
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: by a dog when I was really young and it
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: was not a good experience. And I was like six. So,
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: but whatever. Ever since then, I was like, dogs are
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: very slobbery and I am already a child. I don't
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: want to have to take care of another one. Everyone's
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: giving me shit for it. And I have decided that
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: I am going to own that. I'm just not a
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: dog lover.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Well, no, I mean, I get that.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: Usually people who are not dog lovers are people that
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: have had some sort of trauma in their past.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Related to that. An animal. So, I mean, I get,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I get that. Not everybody. It's not that
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: you're being mean. It's that you had something that happened.
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: Right. I mean, and look, dogs are adorable and dogs
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: are cute. And there are some guys that are adorable
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: and are cute. And then they're also germs, right?
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: That is very true. I can second that.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Okay, so we've talked a little bit about your music already,
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: but let me back it up for a second. How
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: did you, I know you said in childhood, you started
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: to get involved in it because you were kind of
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: going within. Talk about what you love most about music,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: how you got into it, like all that kind of stuff.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: You know, it's interesting. When I was in high school,
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: because again, I was super quiet, super shy. And somebody
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: said there was some sort of talent show. And I
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: signed up for the talent show. And then I crossed
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: my name out because I was scared. And then I, somebody,
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: apparently someone else signed me back up. And so I
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: did the talent show and it was the best feeling
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: I ever had. I was singing my heart out with
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: a really personal song I wrote to like, you know,
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: hundreds of people or thousands or however many people were
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: in my high school. And that was the first time
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: I was like, you know what? This is it. This
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: is me.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Itching.
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: Burning.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: Soreness.
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: When you know it's thrush, you want it gone. Treat
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• 14:00
  Speaker 3: This is what I, this was my purpose. You ever have,
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: I don't, I don't know what you believe or not,
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: but it's like sometimes you just kind of feel like
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: God going like, you know what, this. So, so I
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: ended up, um, getting a day job because my parents were,
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: you know, they have a Black disabled girl, right? They
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: want to be like, hey.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Get a job.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Let's get you sorted. You know what I mean? But
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: I got a decent job working at the U.S. Army
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: Corps of Engineers, but I didn't love it. Like, it
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: wasn't me. I was sitting at a desk.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: Doing what? What were you doing there?
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: So I was actually processing permits for the waterways of
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: New York city. So if somebody wanted to, I know
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: it's just like, it was actually pretty interesting. If people
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: wanted to build a bulkhead or if they wanted to
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: build a dock, I would help process or, you know,
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: write up their permits, go out and do some compliance checks.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: I am seasick. So I would have to go on
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: the boat sometimes and I would just be barfing throughout
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: the day. So I just wasn't loving that job, but,
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: What ended up happening, you know, one day I was
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: just like, I'm done. I need to go and live
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: my life. I ended up getting signed to EMI, like
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: an imprint under EMI, which was a label back then,
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: back in like the early 2010s, teens. Yeah. Um, and
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: they found me at like a South by Southwest showcase
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: that I kind of just made up myself. I was
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: just like, I'm going to play a guitar at a
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: bar and hopefully a label sees me. Yeah. Um, and
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: a label guy did, uh, they signed me to a
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: one-year deal. I didn't love the way they were marketing me.
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: They were marketing me as like blind artist. And I
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: know I say that today. Um, but I didn't like that.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: They were claiming it for me. If that makes sense. Yeah. Um,
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean? So I jumped out and
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: I was like, I'm never going to talk about my disability, blindness.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: I want it to be all about the music. I
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: got signed to.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: You mean because you feel like it was like they
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: were giving you a shot because you were blind as
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: opposed to you were being compared to all the other
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: artists just because of how good or not good you were.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, in a sense. I believe they did see the talent,
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: but they were just trying to figure out a way
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: to market. And they went the, a bit- Dipped a
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: little into the exploitation route. So I ended up getting
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: signed to another agency and I become a songwriter. So
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: more in the background. I end up writing a ton
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: of songs. We get some songs charted in the dance
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: music space. I end up working with some bigger names.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: And then all of a sudden I have this confidence,
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: like I'm being sought after. I have money. You know
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: what I mean? And that ends up giving me the
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: boost to say, you know what? I don't want any
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: part of myself that I'm ashamed of. Like I'm proud
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: to be a woman. I'm proud to be a New Yorker.
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: I'm proud of my heritage and I'm proud of my
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: different disabilities, which includes being blind. And I'm also ADD.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: I also have OCD and I don't see any of
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: those as setbacks. In fact, my ADD brings me all
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: of the random ass ideas I have. And then my
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: OCD makes me carry them out.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: So I was like, let me stand in front of these.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: And that was the beginning of sort of this disability
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: culture advocacy that has since really blown up my career
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: and eventually got me that title.
• 17:27
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: So wait a minute, let's back up for one second.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Cause you kind of go through this music thing of, Oh,
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: I'm working with all these big, um, artists very flippantly
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: because that seems very hard. I just want to talk
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: for one second about, first of all, did you teach
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: yourself to play guitar and what other instruments do you play?
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: So I play the piano. My, my little keyboard should
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: be behind me right now. Um, I play the guitar
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: when my nails aren't done. Um, And I also, I sing,
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: I song write, and I record. So I also produce
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: as well. Wow. Okay.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: So you do all these things, but how did you
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: get yourself in front of the right people to get signed,
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: to get to play with Alicia Keys or whoever, because,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: you know, or write songs?
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Because that is extremely hard for anyone. Yeah.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: You know, I think it's a combination of a few things.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: I think number one, it is being 100% prepared, right?
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: So I was... if anything were to happen, I want
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: to like know how to sing really good, know how
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: to play really good and just be ready. Right. So
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: that's number one. I think number two is to show up.
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: So I would like, I went to South by, um,
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: so I always show up. I'm just there. I'm where
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: everybody is all the time, as much as I can be. Um,
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: it's a little more difficult as a blind person, but
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: I still show up and showing up with the cane.
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: Everyone sees me there. Um, I think thirdly fortune favors
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: the bold and authentic, you know, um, I am ready
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: to take that leap and that jump when it's there
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: and shows itself. So let's say, for instance, you walk
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: up to somebody with some big cojones and go like, hey, yo, buddy,
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: it's me. You ready? And they go, you know what? Sure.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: Show me what you got. Then you've got to be
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: ready to literally show them what you've got. And I
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: think that has consistently been what I have done. Like, okay,
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: perfect example. A friend of mine that worked at BMI said,
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: who was always really like just a proponent of mine.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: Her name is Katie Kilgallen. She was like, I would
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: love to introduce you to a woman named Michelle, at
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: the time, Artutsky. Now she's married.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: She has a different last name.
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: And I was like, okay, well, who's that? And she
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: was like, oh, well, she runs Alicia Keys's, one of
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: her nonprofits called She Is The Music. And I was like, okay,
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: I am in love with Alicia Keys, obviously my hair.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: And so I end up meeting with Michelle. Michelle falls
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: in love. She says, let's do it. I would love
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: to have you at an Alicia Keys writing camp with
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: Alicia Keys. I was like, what? And I think our
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: conversation was great that I had with Michelle. I had
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: my shit together. I had my music out. My music
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: was good. And it was a good enough look. that
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: I could just walk into a meeting with her and
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: she goes, all right, are you ready? Let's go. And
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: then I get into the writing room with a bunch
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: of other like ridiculous writers and Alicia Keys. Right. And,
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: you know, of course, you're going to go through that
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: moment of imposter syndrome.
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: Right. Right.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: Where you're like, OK, who did I con to get here?
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: But I think the truth of the matter is I
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: think the cure to imposter syndrome is responsibility. Like I
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: was like, you know what? I am here. I'm going
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: to take responsibility for the fact that I am here.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: I'm going to be present and I'm going to do
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: my best because that's why I'm here. I'm here for
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: a reason. And that is like, it's just, it's just
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: constantly that, that boldness, that readiness and that yes.
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: I think all this advice is so powerful for people.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: I mean, you come across as someone where your disability
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: has never gotten in the way of you being able
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: to succeed. has there been a time that you felt
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: kind of down about it or that it was hindering you?
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: You know, I would say not my actual disability. So
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: not my actual blindness, not my actual OCDs or neurodivergencies.
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: I would say it was society, like the way people
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: treated me because of it, not actually it itself. I
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: tend to say it's, it's, it wasn't the condition, but
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: people's conditioning that has been like the issue. You know
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: what I mean? So, You know, I like to use
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: a good example. Like one of my friends in a wheelchair,
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: he had told me and he's the one that opened
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: my eyes on this. He was like, I'm not upset
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: that my legs are broken. I'm upset at the way
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: society treats me and talks down to me or infantilizes
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: me because of it. But it itself is not actually me.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: the real issue here. If everyone treated me like an
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: adult or like a dignified human being and offered me
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: my autonomy, then there wouldn't really be a problem here.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: And so I think it's why I do have such
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: confidence as well as having a disability, because I do
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: have autonomy. I do have dignity and I am sort
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: of really able to get around and work. And I'm
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: proud of all of the things that I've achieved.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Well, I love that you brought that up before.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: What do you think are the common misconceptions or stereotypes about,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, blindness in particular, that you would like to
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: dispel for people listening to this?
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, on LinkedIn, I did some AMA. I
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: was like, I'm blind, AMA, and that blew up. But
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: I think there are several things that people think about blindness.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: Number one, first and foremost, 85% of blind people have
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: some vision. So everyone, when they think blindness, they think
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: everyone sees totally black, but only 15% of blind people
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: are actually totally black. So most blind people can see.
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: And I get a lot of flack for it because
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: part of my whole sort of TikTok game is just
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: kind of walking around with my canes. And then I'll
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: get a lot of flack of people going like, well,
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: you can see a little bit, can't you? And I'm like, yes, actually.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: Almost like you're faking being blind or something.
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they're like, how dare you? People will do anything
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: for likes. And so I'm like, well, this is this
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: is the true, true. This is my real, real. And
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to hide behind it. Not every blind
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: person is able to do music. A lot of folks
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: think that because you're blind, maybe your ears work better.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: That's not necessarily true. What is true is that when
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: you're blind, the information you receive is received in different ways.
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: So perhaps you utilize your ears more, but that doesn't
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: make you like better at hearing. It just makes you
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: better at using your ears to pick things out. It
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: doesn't make you good at music.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, wow. Yeah. Interesting.
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: Interesting.
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: Well, it also doesn't make it so like not all
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: blind people are like little like Ray Charles's in the making.
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean? So I think another big
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: one is that most blind people do not use a
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: cane or a dog. So I think I think two
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: percent use a dog and like eight percent use a cane.
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: And so according to that logic, that means that most
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: people who are blind or, you know, legally blind or
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: whatever are just fucking, you know, try to figure it out.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean? And I think that's due
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: to stigma.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: And I think, God, I have like so many. Blind
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: people have jobs. Blind people have sex. Blind people enjoy
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: movies and films. Actually, blind people have a higher rate
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: of marriage without divorce, so non-divorce marriage, than the average person.
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: I think they're at 65%. Well, you know what?
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: That's interesting because it doesn't surprise me when you say
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: that because so much of how people are attracted to
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: one another now is based on physical. So if you
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: kind of remove that, based on how someone makes you feel,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: how you like their personality, what you're attracted to in
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: the chemistry, I can see how that can last longer.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: Honestly, I mean, that makes a lot of sense.
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it takes out an entire layer of,
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: you know, sophistication that just kind of mucks everything up.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: What are the most pressing issues do you think are
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: facing the blind and visually impaired community today or the
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: disabled community today?
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, listen, for the disability community, there is so much.
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: I personally am super duper proud in celebrating my disability,
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: but not everyone is because of the social stigma. I
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: wanna say that like to the rooftops. And a lot
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: of it is because of the way we're represented in media.
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: Most folks that have a disability or neurodivergence, right, or
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: like chronic conditions or mental health conditions, all that stuff,
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: are portrayed by people who don't have a disability, right?
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: And so the writers and the directors, no one with
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: actual authentic disabilities. Itching, burning, soreness.
• 26:44
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• 26:47
  Speaker 5: the cause, not just the symptoms, with Caniston Combi, Ireland's
• 26:51
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• 26:54
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• 26:56
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• 26:58
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• 27:01
  Speaker 3: Are in the room. And so they get the portrayals
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: wrong in Hollywood, in Broadway, everywhere, right? And so this
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: is a problem. There's a lot of Hollywood movies end
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: with the person with the disability preferring to die. then
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: to continue like to give up their life so that
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: their caretaker can move on or, you know, we're wanting
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: a cure really quick. And like, all they care about
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: is a cure instead of living their life. For me,
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: it's like, sure, if a cure comes, all right, but like,
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to sit there and wait for it.
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean? And it's okay to want
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: a cure, but also want to live your life. So,
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: you know, there's so much lack in representation. That's number one,
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: but it's not just in Hollywood. It's also in the boardroom.
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: It's also in the mailroom. There's underemployment. There's undereducation. And
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: then there's a lot of health situations. And you would
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: think for people who have disabilities and neurodivergences, that health
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: would be like the easiest thing for them to figure out.
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: But it's actually the most difficult. A lot of times,
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: there was a New York Times article that just recently
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: came out that, not recently, but a few months ago,
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: that was like, Clinics and doctors, when they find out
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: someone has a disability, will figure out how to get
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: it so they don't come in or will hang up
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: or will do whatever. There's a whole big expose on it.
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: And so there is a lot of toughness. Again, it's
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: not because of the disability, but it's because of social stigma.
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: It's because of inaccessibility. And, you know, it's just it's
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: because we're so spread out as a diversity. Right. At
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: the end of the day, every everybody has some intersection
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: with disability in the whole world. Right. You either have
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: one yourself, whether it's disability and all the things I mentioned,
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: it can even be like frickin anxiety or chronic arthritis
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: or dyslexia or whatever. you know, a really, really mild
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: case of diabetes or something, all of that falls under disability.
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: So people don't even know they have a disability or
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: they don't want to disclose. But maybe their mother has
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: one or their child or a friend or a close
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: colleague or coworker. Everyone interfaces with disability.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: I think that's important that you said that, actually, because
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: a lot of people just assume It's physical. um and
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: they forget there is a lot of disability it goes
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: with anxiety depression you know all those things that you
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: can write down on a list um i'm curious you
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: talked about this a little bit what changes would you
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: like to see in terms of accessibility policy public awareness
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: for disability so.
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: I think for me, it's public awareness. There are some
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: amazing advocates out there that advocate for policy. There are
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: some really amazing people that advocate for accessibility. I want
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: all of those things. But I believe that policy is
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: the bed. I believe that accessibility, these are the bed.
• 30:09
  Speaker 3: These are just human rights and stuff that we deserve.
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: We shouldn't be erased. We shouldn't be marginalized and oppressed.
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: I think it's public awareness. That's where I want to start.
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: And I do that through my organization, Ramped, through the
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: fact that I'm a part of one million different boards
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: in the music industry, from the Grammys to the Audio
• 30:32
  Speaker 3: Engineering Society to the Songwriters of North America, and the
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: list goes on, in order to advocate for music within cultural,
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry, disability within music and cultural spaces so that
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: we can start getting authentically told stories out there. I
• 30:49
  Speaker 3: always encourage people to diversify their feed with actual creators
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: with actual disabilities. There are a ton of amazing ones
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: out there, myself included, but also amazing folks like Imani
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: Barbarin or like Amali Burke or so many others. I
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: can't even list them right now. Tiffany Yu is another
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: really great one. So there's so many creators, but there
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: are also so many artists, DJs, and producers, which we
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: uplift through Ramped as well. So for me, It's about
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: awareness within music, but also I want to see better
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: representation in Hollywood because I don't know if you remember
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: the show, what was it called? Was it Modern Family?
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: And it was like about these two guys, like a
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: gay couple that was raising a family.
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, of course I know.
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: And it caused like a little bit of ruffles, but
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: like at the end of the day, everyone was just like, oh,
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: it's just two guys with two shitty daughters like I have, right?
• 31:44
  Speaker 3: And so it made people start to like, normalize a
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: gay-led family. And so I want to start seeing sort
• 31:52
  Speaker 3: of a normalization of folks with disabilities living their lives,
• 31:56
  Speaker 3: going out, you know, having romances, working and going through
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: their everyday life, maybe doing amazing things, but also doing
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: mundane things.
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: It's interesting you bring up modern family because I was
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: trying to think of somebody with a disability that you
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: see in, you know, everyday life that is portrayed. Like,
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: you know, the actress, now I'm going to forget her name,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Marlee Matley.
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: Okay. And Marlee Matley is deaf?
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. There you go.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: She's hearing impaired, but she's done a whole gamut of movies, right?
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: And you see her in the position of falling in
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: love or you see her as a parent, whatever it is.
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: So that's, I think, how we came to understand more
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: of hearing impaired that they could talk, they could live
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: real life.
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: But you're right. You don't see it in the whole gamut, everyone,
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: and normalize it.
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: Go back for one second and just describe a little
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: bit more about RAMPT is for people that kind of
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: missed it on what it means, what the acronym means
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: and what it actually does.
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: So the acronym, which I'm super duper proud of, stands
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: for Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities. And what
• 33:01
  Speaker 3: we are is a platform that equips the music and
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: live entertainment industry with disability inclusive tools, programming, and we
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: connect them to a directory of recording artists and music
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: professionals with disabilities, neurodivergence, chronic conditions, mental health conditions, and
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: the like, who operate and work within the music industry.
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: We've done everything from partnering with the Recording Academy to
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: make the Grammys more accessible and disability inclusive, to working
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: with Netflix to put on different programming for composers and songwriters,
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: to we have a few really cool programs events coming up.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: One is a party with Live Nation on July 26th,
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: which is ADA Day. So it's the day we celebrate
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: the Americans with Disabilities Act out in LA. And so
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: we're really excited to announce and hand in hand that
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: partnership when that comes, or well, at least that event
• 33:56
  Speaker 3: when that comes. And we're also going to be doing
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: an event with the Recording Academy at the end of
• 34:02
  Speaker 3: the month as well to celebrate our arm in arm
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: with their new disability and accessibility arm.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: Amazing.
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: But then we also, but then we, one last thing.
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: We also have this really robust and continuously growing roster
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: or membership of folks with disabilities and neurodivergence within the
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: music industry who've done amazing things. I mean, everyone's peer vetted, right?
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: So everyone is a professional. Everyone has done work with
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: top tier folks or as a top tier person themselves.
• 34:36
  Speaker 3: And we've built this beautiful community of folks collaborating, folks
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: giving each other gigs, us getting folks development resources, all
• 34:45
  Speaker 3: types of resources, paid opportunities, and visibility in front of
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: some of the top most agents and managers in the
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: business here in America and throughout the globe.
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: I know you have some things coming up. Talk to
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: me about the music you have for us to expect.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: So I have a bunch of stuff coming up. Yeah.
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: So number one, I'm back in the studio working on
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: an album called Mad Different. It's a celebration of all
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: of the deepest parts of ourself that we're afraid to celebrate,
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: or at least that society wants us to hide. And
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: it's an unapologetic celebration of that. It is a collaboration
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: between a bunch of really amazing artists, which I cannot
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: reveal just yet because we're waiting for inks to dry.
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: But we're really excited about the collaborations on that project.
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: I am also working on a book called I Identify
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: as Blind through Penguin Random House. And it really discusses
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: this idea that disability can be part of our identity.
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: And that there are notions of disability and neurodivergent identity
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: all around and throughout American history that are under celebrated.
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: And so that's what that book celebrates.
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: I love that. When is that going to be out?
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: That book? Oh God. So I want it to be
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: out fall of 2025. Okay. Assuming we get all of
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: our ducks together, it should be out October, 2025. And
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: I'm just, I know it's, I know that feels like
• 36:15
  Speaker 3: a million light years away, but I mean, just yesterday
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: it was 2020, so. Yeah, exactly.
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: One last thing I wanted to share is in October,
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: we are going to be releasing a PBS docu-series called Renegades.
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: It is a digital docu-series celebrating the renegades, revolutionaries, and
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: rebels with disabilities who have helped shape America. And the
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: beauty about this series entire project is it's a six
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: episode project where each episode was put together by a
• 36:51
  Speaker 3: different team of people with disabilities behind the camera, whether
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: it was the director, whether it was the producer. And
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: so that puts me as the host of the show
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: in front of the camera, folks with disabilities behind the camera,
• 37:07
  Speaker 3: And then the subject matter is uplifting disability culture. So
• 37:11
  Speaker 3: it's such a beautiful celebration of disability front, back, and center.
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: And so we're really excited that we were able to
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: partner with PBS and really the good folks behind the
• 37:20
  Speaker 3: scenes there to make it happen.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: You are such a powerful woman and I'm really impressed
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: by you. There are so many people that, I don't
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: want to call it a disability, but are stuck in
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: their own heads really, in their own lives. And it
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: could be a disability. It could be a thing that happened.
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: And you're an example of just show up. Don't let
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: things get you down. Every day is a new day.
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: Figure out how to maneuver around it and keep going
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: and find your purpose.
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: And I love that because it speaks to anyone.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: And quite frankly, you don't have to have a disability
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: to find that to be a universal lesson.
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: So I love you for that. I think it's terrific.
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: Where could people find you if they want to look
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: up more about you?
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: You can definitely find me at Lachi Music, L-A-C-H-I-M-U-S-I-C, whether
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: that's dot com, whether that's on Instagram, whether that's YouTube, TikTok,
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: all of the places. However, if you are a recording
• 38:21
  Speaker 3: artist or a music professional with a disability or a
• 38:24
  Speaker 3: neurodivergence where you want to get more involved in the
• 38:26
  Speaker 3: music space as it pertains to disability, find us over
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: at RAMPED, that is RAMPED.org, R-A-M-P-D.org. We are here with
• 38:36
  Speaker 3: open arms and we want to speak with you.
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: I can't wait to watch the docuseries and to read
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: the book. Thank you. Thank you.
• 38:44
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Misunderstood. I'm your host,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: Rachel Yucatel. Please be sure to subscribe to the show
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: and give us a five-star rating and review. You can
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: support the show by joining our Patreon at patreon.com slash
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: misunderstood with Rachel Yucatel. Do you have ideas for the
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: show or want to reach out? Email us at infomisunderstoodpodcast
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: at gmail.com. That's spelled M-I-S-S understood. Thank you so much,
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: and I'll see you next time.
• 39:25
  Speaker 4: They think you're done for the day, but they don't
• 39:27
  Speaker 4: know about the drawer. the drawer just the one square
• 39:33
  Speaker 4: before bed or two you know nobody's watching you deserve
• 39:40
  Speaker 4: a treat with eight flavors to choose from you can
• 39:46
  Speaker 4: choose the flavor you favor with cabri dairy milk and