MY MUSIC STORY
The humble beginnings. Closet turned booth, iPad propped on a hanger for lyrics and light. You make it work with what you have.
Where it all started.
Music runs through my veins. Always has.
I started as 151 Bacardi in the mid-90s, the first female rapper to drop a tape on the blocks of Portland, Oregon. Back then I was telling raw stories about street life and what was really happening in my community. My sound has changed through every chapter of my life, wearing several names along the way, each one fitting a different season of growth. Whether I was writing edgy flows or making spiritual music, being real was the only way I knew how to do it.
I haven't stopped creating since. The Creator put a drive in me that won't allow me to quit, even when I've wanted to several times.
I love it all: Funk vibes. 90s Hip Hop and R&B. Jazz ballads. Big Band swing. 80s pop/rock. Country. Classical. Soul. Guitar is my favorite instrument, and about ten months ago I picked it up and started learning to play it myself. What happened next surprised even me. Songs started coming naturally, melodies started forming, and now an acoustic project is on the way. There is still a lot to learn, but the music didn't wait for me to be ready, and I love that about it.
Over 20 albums in, and I am still here. Still creating. Still finding new things to say and new ways to say them. Every project has been a piece of my real life, the faith, the hard seasons, the breakthroughs, the gratitude, the celebration. I call it life music because that is exactly what it is. Personal stories, social awareness, and spiritual praise woven together through songwriting, melodies, guitar, and production. Music that meets people where they are and walks with them through it.
If you've ever listened to a full week of 89.9 KMHD, Portland's jazz station without boundaries, you've already heard a glimpse of my music world. Come explore the rest.
WHAT DRIVES ME
Loving. Creative. Confident.
Boomi and LCC
Boomi is a character I created, a lion who is Loving, Creative, and Confident in his gifts and abilities. He lives in LCC gear and is the kind of character that people of any age can see themselves in. Boomi works through the real ups and downs of being a creative who is trying to figure out his dreams, use his gifts, serve others, and still make an income and a difference in the world. He never quits even when quitting feels tempting. Sound familiar?
There is a little Boomi in all of us. The first book in his story, Boomi Says Never Give Up, is coming soon, because that is exactly what he does and exactly what we do.
Head Up, Shoulders Back (HUSB)
This is how I move through the world. When life gets heavy I choose to keep my posture. I've been saying this for over 20 years because it's kept my faith strong during some of the hardest seasons of life. HUSB is my reminder to stay confident no matter what gets thrown at you, and my mom always used to remind me of the same thing: "Honey, put your shoulders back."
HOPE IS MY SOUND
Head Up! Shoulders Back!
Life has tested me in ways I never saw coming. Multiple injuries, including two ACL surgeries and a current meniscus tear. The devastating loss of my brother to suicide. Complex childhood trauma that took years to work through. I lost my stepfather during COVID, and my father passed early at 62. That loss came with its own kind of pain that went beyond the moment.
I've walked through all of it. Some days I wanted to quit. My faith kept me breathing.
That's where my music comes from. The raw places. The healing places. The places where hope had to fight to stay alive. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, I took myself on a forgiveness tour. Forgiving others. Forgiving myself. Going back to ask others to forgive me too. That is where the real weight lifted. I got quiet enough to hear clearly again, and what came out was a song.
NOTABLES
- Over 20 albums across multiple genres. Music in a box was never an option for me. My sound has always been versatile, and it’s been natural for me to experiment with different styles. That variety is why people connect to it. It brings an uplifting energy and light you can feel.
- I figured out how to do this music thing on my own. Recording, mixing, design, content, all of it. It was not easy, but it gave me something no budget or big team could have. True independence.
- I stepped in at Z100's Last Chance Summer Dance in Portland, filling in for Queen Latifah on Meredith Brooks’ “Lay Down” and performing for a crowd of 10,000 people.
- My vocal sound packs featured on the Native Instruments sound library platform reached over 100,000 downloads from producers worldwide. Yeah, that really happened.
- I co-founded Open Writers with my sister, a female singing-rap duo built on soul, hip hop, and spiritual themes.
- I was flown out to record in a studio mansion in Monterey, Mexico. Being in that environment, working on that level of equipment, and being taken care of as an artist was an experience I will never forget.
- Less than a year into learning guitar, I am already working on an acoustic project.