Conscious Choice Seattle: Lesson from the Goddess

February 2006 | Conscious Culture

Lesson from the Goddess

A hip hop artist brings ‘light supreme’ to music, poetry and social activism

By Heather Nordell

Rha Goddess has stage presence and compelling stories to match. At the recent Bioneers Conference outside San Francisco, she spoke about the importance of being quiet enough to really hear oneself.

Of course, we can all be too busy to hear those words and the open space and time attached to them. So, stop and hear them again.

It is important to be quiet enough to hear oneself.

Not exactly what you expect from a hip hop artist. Rha Goddess is an entrepreneur and social activist dedicated to sparking inner power in young women. Hearing her talk at Bioneers moved me to track her down and take a further lesson from the Goddess.

Her name Rha means “light supreme. She is a pioneering performance artist and activist known for her soulful melody, spoken word consciousness, hip hop energy and strong activist voice.

She grabbed the attention of the music world with her first hit, “My Pen” in 1997. In 2000, she released her debut CD on her own record label Divine Dime Entertainment. The CD titled “Soulah Vibe” received rave reviews.

Time Magazine said “Rha Goddess is a major talent and has produced one of this year’s coolest records.” Ms. Magazine wrote “this indie-label goddess with major-label talent is blessed with a gift.”

Rha is the first women in hip hop to co-write, co-arrange, co-produce and independently distribute and market her own music worldwide. She has spoken and performed for “Vagina Monologues” and numerous other national and international shows, festivals and conferences. She has performed and collaborated with such notable artists as Erykah Badu, Angelique Kidjo, Mos Def and Public Enemy.

Reaching out

In addition to her music, she is an influential social agent. When Rha sees other young women struggling with confidence and personal expression, she reflects on her own needs growing up of wanting to be heard, seen and respected.

After launching her music career, Rha poured energy into creating a non-profit organization. 1+1=One is an umbrella organization for branches of the reach-out tree, including “We Got Issues!” and its program Next Wave of Women & Power.

That particular program holistically engages young women in a rigorous experiential curriculum that enhances wisdom, creativity and intuition, challenges their existing notions about power and encourages the building of a global community of empowered young women. It is based on a curriculum of art, nature, community, service and integration.

“I get to see women waking up to who they are every day,” says Rha. “This is a great privilege. Each person is called to bring something. If someone does not feel empowered to bring it, humanity loses.”

The lesson continues

“When women are centered,” she says, “we have the unique ability to dramatically impact the state of unification, peace, tranquility, and harmony in the world.”

Rha laughs when mentioning that she was an unlikely candidate to become an artist and activist leader. She graduated from Vassar with a degree in chemistry and computer science and worked in corporate America for six years until tragedy hit her life.

Two of her friends were murdered, and she lost several other people close to her in a short period of time. She turned to her art as a means of healing.

One rainy night, a friend urged her to read one of her poems at a local New York café. The reactions were affirming.

“I felt heard,” she recalls. “I began to understand the power that art has to communicate and touch souls. In spite of myself, this is where I landed.”

Thirty to watch

In May 2000, Essence Magazine recognized Rha as one of thirty women to watch in the new millennium. In May 2002, Rha was a featured keynote in the Women & Power Summit at Omega Institute along with Iyanla Vanzant, Eve Ensler, Anita Hill and Eileen Fisher. Then again in 2003 she joined Omega leaders such as Jane Fonda, Alice Walker, Marion Woodman and Ensler. In 2004, Rha was a national semi-finalist in the Leadership For a Changing World Fellowship.

Rha’s parents remember the Jim Crow era and always stressed the importance and power of education and community. Today, Rha deeply believes in the strength of community, particularly for women.

“Women fortify each other,” she says. “Community is inherent to how we move in the world. If women create a healthy tribe, we increase our own health.”

I asked Rha about what she believes are the greatest tools for personal empowerment for women. She stressed the profound need for women to create quiet space for themselves.

“There is so much distraction. We are pulled all over the place.”

Rha jests, “Sometimes even opportunity is just distraction in a really fly dress.”

She believes many women put themselves last with the pressure and chaos of our busy lives. She stresses the importance of serving others, but not at the expense of sacrificing self.

“We need to become quiet in order to hear and know ourselves,” she says. “From that, vision emerges, and we strengthen our spirit. After all, the state of our spirit is the state of our world.”

Heather Nordell covered the 2005 Bioneers Conference for Conscious Choice.

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