Lachi (artist)

Lachi began her music career as an unsigned artist, independently releasing the album And This Is My Life… in 2006 and the album Ugly Beautiful in 2008.[10] She was spotted at a South by Southwest showcase by Fanatic Records/EMI, who then signed her for one album.[11] On July 27, 2010, her self-titled album Lachi was released.[12] Songs from the album included the single "We Can Fly" and "Emo Children".[13] During this time, Lachi was featured on Oprah Radio, CW and NPR,[14][15][16] and performed at PrideFest (Milwaukee), where she opened for Patti LaBelle.[17]

Lachi then teamed up with Gary Pine to release "It's Our Time".[18] She later flew to L.A. to record tracks with Trend Def Studios and in June 2015 released The Boss EP through Trend Def's Sony imprint.[19]

In August 2016, Lachi collaborated with Israeli World Music producer Zafrir Ifrach and Moroccan vocalist Maxime Karouchi to create the Mediterranean-infused EDM track Dalale.[20] She again collaborated with Trend Def studios to co-write and co-produce[21] the song "Rude" which features pop artist Kendra Black and rapper Snoop Dogg.[22]

In 2017, Lachi teamed up with artist management firm Big Management[23] and released the EDM Hip Hop crossover track "Living A Lie" featuring Styles P.[24][25] She then collaborated with Markus Schulz on a song titled "Far" which Schulz placed on his 2018 Trance music album, We Are The Light.[26] The song was also chosen by DJ Armin van Buuren for his mix album A State of Trance Year Mix 2019.[27] In 2019, she wrote and performed Go with Drum and Bass producer Maduk.[28] In 2019, she also released the single “What I Want,” which was produced by Julian Javan.[29]

In March 2020, Lachi received her second Independent Music Awards nomination for her a cappella arrangement of the song Money by Cardi B.[30] And by October 2020, she had joined the Recording Academy New York Chapter Advocacy Committee.[31] In September 2020, she was featured as a panelist on ADAM Audio's Women in Music 2020 panel.[32]

In 2020, Lachi released the singles “Messages” with Treasure Gnomes under Be Yourself Music, a cover of “Genius (Remix)” by LSD with a cappella group Mezzo, and “Bigger Plans” under Swutch Records.[4][33][34] She also released the single “Dragon” alongside fellow EDM artists Yonetro and Jaurren in August 2020.[35]

Lachi began speaking and performing regularly at Disability Pride events and festivals in 2017,[36] promoting disability representation and inclusion in media,[37] After receiving a DEI certificate from RespectAbility, she began advocating for disability visibility on national diversity and inclusion panels. She has also been working closely with the organization Divas with Disabilities.[38]

In 2020, the New York Times listed Lachi as one of the "28 Ways to Learn About Disability Culture."[39]

In March 2021, she launched "The Off Beast," a YouTube series chronicling her journey from low vision to no vision.[40] The Foundation Fighting Blindness partnered on the first several episodes which included interviews with YouTuber Molly Burke and gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama.[41]

In 2021, Lachi also hosted the pilot episode of the PBS series Renegades, which showcases the cultural contributions of people with disabilities.[42] In the same year, she established the nonprofit organization RAMPD or Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities.[43][44]

• M. Lachi, The Ivory Staff, A Dark Fairy Tale of Kings and War, Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2019 ISBN 1544276605