Meet Rachid Ra Bell

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachid Ra Bell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rachid Ra , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I can only honestly say that it comes from being told that I wasn’t enough my entire life. I always seem to go harder after something when someone tell’s me I can’t succeed at something that is of interest to me. I always seem to have more to prove when I have told that I wasn’t enough of something. I’m already a naturally ambitious person.. and very competitive. However, there have been jobs- acting, singing, dancing- where I’ve experienced rejection for being not ethnic enough, too ethnic, too short, too passionate, too articulate, too complicated, too intelligent, too hard, not rough enough around the edges, too self aware, too serious… the list is, quite astonishingly and ironically , too long. When I was a lad, I would always try to make myself fit into a box enough to land a job, to make myself over somehow to meet the expectation said a job. Instead of temporarily remaking myself to land the gig, I would internalize what were perceived to be my shortcomings and somehow feel that I wasn’t enough and had to be more . I began to believe that I change a number of things about my personality and physical appearance in order to please the masses since, as a performer, I was a natural people pleaser. Somewhere along the way, I began to differentiate changing my presentations per job from my day to day existence as a person . I believe when I became a teenager, I began to understand myself and form a truthful relationship with myself. I didn’t fully begin accept myself-with all the flaws until I became a legal adult. When I became an adult, I was fully determined never to let anyone dim my light. I was fiercely protective of my individuality and guarded it like a warrior. One anecdote that comes to mind is when I took a meeting with a very successful songwriter/producer a couple of years after parting ways with Universal Records. We very briefly shared the same management. Our manager thought it would be a great idea for us to meet and collaborate. I flew all the way to LA from NYC for this one meeting that was delayed for 3 days and lasted all of 10 minutes. At the time, Nasri Atweh-who penned a few Chris Brown hits-was in the midst of negotiating a solo record deal with major companies. He spent an entire hour playing his entire album from start to finish. When it came time to discuss my work, I could tell he was already very intimidated by my look. He made several back handed compliments that evinced how he was painfully aware that he had no look whatsoever and was wholly unmemorable. He very impatiently rushed through my catalogue and was then intimidated by my voice. He told me that I was a huge voice like Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin and that those kinds of voices are on Broadway. I was tacitly aghast that he could discard these classic, timeless voices and holy patron saints of soul as passé especially from someone who was moonlighting as an R&B writer- an imposter and cultural appropriator at best! Yet, he tried to convince me that there was no room in popular music for voices like mine anymore. He also tried to dismiss my work by implying that only one of my songs had any merit. His tone was flat and dismissive and he treated me like I was his opponent. I didn’t match his energy and I was clear that he was beyond intimidated. For a very brief second, I actually felt sorry for him. Ultimately, he steered the conversation away from me again and back to his new album. The songs that he played for me would ultimately become absorbed into a band effort called ‘Magic!’ that he would hide behind to compensate for his massive insecurity that he tired to transfer and project onto me in that meeting. I’m certain that I wasn’t the only one he tried to eliminate that way, but I suppose he felt competitive with me for attention from our shared management. I would chuckle anytime I heard ‘Why you gotta be so rude’ on the radio and remember the unexpected and unlikely gift I received from this ill fated meeting: you ruffle feathers because you have formidable talent, you are memorable and you are on the right track. Keep moving forward and opening doors as you always have and continue to please yourself. Part of your gift is that you know who you are and you are fearless. People have always tried to dim your light, so I have learned to shine blindingly bright and brighter all the time. No words, no defense, just actions… just the work.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a singer/songwriter/performer. I have a cataloguing work since I started professionally recording at age 8. My first published lyrics was at the age of 10. Some of my work is on Spotify and YouTube. I was first signed as a teenager to universal records. I write anthemic pop songs with memorable melodies and I sing my ass off. I love the process of writing and recording. I especially love to collaborate and work with other artists. It’s much more fun to work with others as opposed to alone. Since I started very young, my father and uncle taught me how to sing in the studio- arrange and produce vocals and music, I’ve always done my own vocal production and arrangements and written and cowritten my own songs. Live performances is the best way to fully experience my gift. The visual art that you see in videos and photos has a complete expression at a live show. The live show is the most exciting because it’s the most dangerous- there is no illusion of control. There are no retakes and it is only the moment. Live performances are total freedom and vulnerability. No live performance is like the other. When I’m live, it’s an unrepeatable moment that only the people in that same space and time can share and chemically experience. It’s both scientific and ethereal at once. I am currently working on a new body of work-albums, EP’s, singles- to be released this year. Multiple releases. I am always actively looking for collaborators-songwriters, producers, musicians, engineers, photographers, videographers, filmmakers, designers. I work with a group of artists that functions like a Salon. I call them my team and I’ve dubbed them Maison Delusion which is homage to both art salons and fashion houses. I am always actively looking to recruit for my haus. I prefer direct inquiries with creatives : [email protected]

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The things I leaned from my two main coaches when I was a kid- my dad and my uncle. My uncle taught me how to sing I the studio and gave me my first paid background session gig and my first published song-this all by tbe age of 10. My uncle told me to always believe I myself because he had me in the studio with so many legendary singers observing then and singing with them. He would always tell me that I was just as great as any of them are and that one day I’d realize it. Songwriting came naturally and Easily on my own in my bedroom initially. I used to record melodies in dictophones. Once my uncle and dad caught wind of my talent, they were both always trying to encourage me to write on projects and songs that were being pitched to record companies on major and upcoming recording artists. The third skill that has been most impactful is learning how to be a live Performer. My mum was always booking me for local talent shows-big and small. Relatives always wanted me to perform at birthdays. I was in a few boy bands very briefly where I learned the art of performing as a troupe with choreography. I also used to take classes at ‘The Broadway Dance Center’ in NYC which trained me to pick up choreography and to realize I am a natural ‘mover’. I also firmly believe that doing some dance in college and mostly theater of all kinds in highschool and college alike, perfected my live performer, honed my skills and shaped my style. Having an education in theater and understanding the art form and the history really broadens your perspective and gives one a very broad palette. I was able to see the more theatrical rock and pop shows and experience them all in A way that most people don’t- from David Bowie onward. It has easily made me a better performer and more able to put on a better show. I connect with an audience more from my theater training. Probably, the most important skill I’ve learned is how to play my voice- the instrument in my throat. I was trained in bel-canto. It is an ancient Italian operatic technique passed down from generations that allows you to sing freely and fully. That has easily got to be the most valuable of all skills I’ve learned. I was very lucky to have met both my bel-canto teachers. It was fate. I did not go to school for this, I met them both quite serendipitously. There are no accidents .
I would encourage anyone who is embarking on their journies to never give up on themselves , stay relentlessly positive, and walk through the open doors. My dad-a songwriter hall of fame and rock and roll hall of fame inductee- gave me the best advice of all: do not procrastinate and always see every success and ‘setback’ as one in the same , it’s all a forward motion propelling you forward. He also advised me to visualize my ideal life and what I want I life everyday in meditation. More importantly, see it in my mind’s eye, then feel what it will feel like.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am looking for: *songwriters
*fashion designers
*music producers
*musicians
*photographers
*filmmakers
*documentarians
*engineers
*Dj/producers

You can direct email me or IG me:

[email protected]

@rachidprototype_ra on IG

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Maison Delusion

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