Recording Artist, Author, Producer, and Keynote Speaker

New York, NY

Lachi is a recording artist, writer, award-winning cultural activist, Grammys board governor, and founder and president of the UN-recognized RAMPD.org. Born legally blind, Lachi dedicates her platform and craft to amplifying Disability Culture in the music industry. Through RAMPD, Lachi brought accessibility to the Grammy Awards telecast, meriting a mention in Teen Vogue for walking the red carpet with a glammed mobility cane. Named a “new champion in advocacy” by Billboard, she’s held talks on disability identity pride with the White House, the UN, and the Kennedy Center, and has been featured in Essence, Forbes and the New York Times for celebrating intersectionality through her art and upbeat, unapologetic brand of disability pride.

Lachi recognizes that often, people with disabilities are ushered into easier or more typical career paths, steered away from paths of authentic creativity. “People with disabilities are often encouraged to stymie creative dreams and focus on vocational paths, as I was: the argument being that a blind girl just won't be able to muster up the resources and network needed to pursue such whimsey.” 

Lachi knows better than anyone just how far passion, hard work, and drive can get you, but affirms the best way to get more people with disabilities involved in arts and entertainment is simple: fund their efforts and give artists with disabilities the visibility they deserve. “I believe a more dramatic solution for combatting the issues of stigma and networking comes with increased authentic representation of disabled folks in international and/or mainstream media. Partnerships with major art curators, radio, TV and film production houses, concert and tour agencies, and notable dance studios, to not only foster disabled artists' work but to also hire disabled persons on staff, would be a magnificent first step. As media is the driver of culture, it's all about bringing visibility to Disability Culture, celebrating untold disability narratives, in my opinion.” Lachi is bringing this visibility through her many music achievements and credits as a producer and vocalist. 

When asked what advice she would offer to young people with disabilities who are interested in a music career, Lachi stated “I believe the greatest hurdle for artists with disabilities is breaking free of the ableist stigmas, rooted in notions of shame that others surround you with, and that you in turn put on yourself and internalize. The truth is, those able to problem-solve in creative ways—to cross a street without walking, cook a meal without seeing, tell a joke without speaking, and graduate without reading—they are the ones who've developed that muscle of creative thinking far beyond that of the average human. Folks with disabilities should be proud of our disability identity. We are playing the game of life on a harder setting, and are thus problem-solving beefcakes!”