Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
ABLE Voices Ep 76: Akes
16 Plays8 months ago
We are inviting disabled artists and arts educators to be guests and guest hosts on ABLE Voices. Today's guest host is Briana Raucci.
Briana is a Connecticut-based artist, writer, and photographer with multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy. endometriosis, ADHD, and more. Over the years, Briana has self-described as a photographer, photojournalist, writer, graphic designer, UX & product designer, social media manager, artist, etc., but feels none of those titles alone fully embody the creativity she is constantly trying to express in new ways. After in-depth creative exploration, doing both full-time and freelance work for over 13 years, Briana is now freelancing full-time, utilizing all her creative abilities. Being a multi-passionate individual, this has allowed her to balance all of her creative endeavors and add a few more! Since this interview, she has begun fundraising to support her disability advocacy work. Today Briana will be speaking with Akes.
Akes is UK based rapper, vocalist, businessman, online content creator, social media personality, and entrepreneur, also known as MrSickWidit. Deriving his stage name from the aches caused by his lifelong cerebral palsy condition, the young wordsmith has always hoped to show others in a similar position that they can chase their dreams in music, even when the odds seem stacked against them and has been an outspoken advocate for individuals with cerebral palsy, and the wider disability community. Particularly renowned for his grime output, Akes has worked with some of the rap genre’s biggest names including BPI Gold-certified producer Preditah, N.A.S.T.Y Crew legend Nasty Jack and the inimitable Flirta D, and has released two grime EPs to date – 2014’s War and 2018’s Sickwidit. "Been through the aches and pains,” West Midlands penman Akes asserts on the autobiographical title track from his latest EP. It’s a direct nod to the inspiration behind his stage name—growing up with cerebral palsy, he’s all too acquainted with its physically taxing nature; plus the alias speaks to the ‘pains’ of testing times, too.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Able Voices Podcast
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Able Voices podcast.
00:00:17
Speaker
I'm Dr. Rhoda Bernard, founding managing director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education and the assistant chair of the music education department at Berklee College of Music.
00:00:27
Speaker
and I am proud to present this podcast featuring disabled artists and arts educators.
00:00:33
Speaker
We are inviting artists with disabilities to be guest hosts for the Able Voices podcast.
00:00:38
Speaker
Today's guest host is Brianna Rauchy.
00:00:42
Speaker
Brianna is a Connecticut based artist specializing in film and digital photography, writing and design.
Meet Brianna Rauchy and Guest Aix
00:00:49
Speaker
Brianna also happens to have multiple disabilities.
00:00:53
Speaker
Over the years, Brianna has self-described as a photographer,
00:00:56
Speaker
photojournalist, writer, graphic designer, UX and product designer, social media manager, artist, et cetera, but feels none of these titles fully embodies the creativity she is constantly trying to express in new ways.
00:01:15
Speaker
After in-depth creative exploration, doing both full-time and freelance work for over 13 years, Brianna is now freelancing full-time, utilizing all of her creative abilities.
00:01:27
Speaker
Being a multi-passionate individual, this has allowed her to balance all of her creative endeavors and to add a few more.
00:01:38
Speaker
Hello everyone, welcome to the Able Voices Podcast.
00:01:41
Speaker
I'm your guest host, Brianna Ratchi.
00:01:43
Speaker
I'm a disabled artist, writer, and designer with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, endometriosis, ADHD, and a lot of other exciting medical conditions.
00:01:51
Speaker
I use my art to communicate what it's like to live with disabilities on my Disability in Art blog.
00:01:55
Speaker
Today I'm here with UK rapper, entrepreneur, and disability advocate, Aix.
Aix's Musical Journey and Influences
00:02:00
Speaker
Aix uses his platform to touch on everything from disabilities to fatherhood, relationships, institutional racism, and personal struggles he's faced living with cerebral palsy.
00:02:09
Speaker
His lyrics are expansive...
00:02:11
Speaker
across a range of genres, and he is constantly finding new ways to express himself.
00:02:15
Speaker
In his most recent single, My Disability Can't Stop This Ability, he walks us through his story addressing his blessings, how he didn't choose music, but music chose him, and how he refuses to give up despite life's challenges.
00:02:27
Speaker
Through lyrics like, With tremendous burdens often come enormous gifts, Aches inspired over 100,000 people on Instagram.
00:02:34
Speaker
Aix, it's an enormous gift to have you on with us today.
00:02:37
Speaker
I'd like to start by asking you to share your story as an artist.
00:02:40
Speaker
How did you get to where you are today?
00:02:43
Speaker
What's going on Brianna?
00:02:44
Speaker
You're right.
00:02:44
Speaker
So how I got to where I am today from a very young age, just using music just to express my thoughts and express myself, I
00:02:57
Speaker
And yeah, it just over the course of my life, I just got better with it and built myself as an artist and developed my artistry to be able to convey my thoughts into music that can touch other people, you know what I mean?
00:03:14
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:03:16
Speaker
Is there a specific moment that you can remember when you started music or a specific influence that kind of set you on this path?
00:03:24
Speaker
Yeah, like, when I was a teenager, in my early teens, obviously in the UK we have a genre called grime, which is basically the UK's core genre of music, which represents, like, British street culture and life in the UK.
00:03:42
Speaker
And that was the big thing, so it was kind of like...
00:03:45
Speaker
In my early teens, when I started out writing music and stuff, that was the moment when I was like, yeah, I'm going to give this a shot.
00:03:53
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:03:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:55
Speaker
So you started with your interest in grime.
00:03:58
Speaker
Did you have any influential artists or genres besides that that significantly influenced your style or your lyrical approach?
00:04:05
Speaker
Not at the time, no, because... All right, let me take you way back to the beginning.
00:04:09
Speaker
At the time...
00:04:12
Speaker
No, because obviously, like I said, that was my main influence, Grime.
00:04:14
Speaker
But obviously, as I started to get older and have children and...
00:04:19
Speaker
You know, I knew I had to develop myself as an artist and look into... I appreciate all different types of music and genres of music anyway.
00:04:27
Speaker
So, you know, there's a lot of rappers in the US that, you know, I listen to and stuff like that, which obviously help you grow as an artist rather than just an MC, as what we call MCs in the UK.
00:04:40
Speaker
To develop myself into an artist...
00:04:43
Speaker
that can write songs, can convey messages in songs and stuff like that and connect with the audience, that's a whole different ballgame.
00:04:50
Speaker
So yeah, there's been a few influences along the way that have helped shape my career and my artistry to today, yeah.
00:04:57
Speaker
Living with CP, how has your disability shaped your creative process and your performance style?
00:05:02
Speaker
Are there any adaptations you've made in your journey?
00:05:06
Speaker
You know what?
00:05:07
Speaker
Living with CP, especially when you're performing on stage and there's like 30 artists on stage, you get a sense of anxiety because obviously you know that, whoa, if something was to go wrong or something, you're at a disadvantage.
Embracing Disability in Music
00:05:20
Speaker
But I've always had to keep a brave face and always just try to keep my composure.
00:05:29
Speaker
And obviously it's only in the recent years...
00:05:33
Speaker
I've started to embrace my disability in music because obviously I used to... Me living with CP, it used to kind of play with me like I did.
00:05:44
Speaker
I used to feel inadequate, not good enough.
00:05:46
Speaker
Why am I born like this?
00:05:47
Speaker
Why am I not normal?
00:05:49
Speaker
Or, well, I am normal.
00:05:51
Speaker
I just consider myself at the time not normal.
00:05:54
Speaker
So that was the main driving factor.
00:06:01
Speaker
behind it, but again, I had to be confident.
00:06:06
Speaker
I had to be, first of all, I had to accept it for what it is.
00:06:10
Speaker
I had to accept it for me to be able to embrace it and obviously
00:06:14
Speaker
Now I can embrace it and I've turned my pain into power.
00:06:17
Speaker
I can influence and motivate and inspire other people and meet other people like yourself.
00:06:22
Speaker
Like, you know, I've got left hemiplegia, you've got right hemiplegia.
00:06:26
Speaker
And since we connected online, it's been nothing but good vibes.
00:06:32
Speaker
from the jump, you know what I mean?
00:06:33
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:06:35
Speaker
Representation matters in music.
00:06:37
Speaker
So how do you perceive the current landscape of disability representation in the music industry?
00:06:42
Speaker
And what would you like to see change?
00:06:44
Speaker
You're obviously trying to inspire change as it is, but how do you feel about the current landscape?
00:06:49
Speaker
So the current landscape of disability, I wouldn't say just in the music industry, but in the entertainment industry, there's not really...
00:06:58
Speaker
From my experience and what I've seen to date, there's not really much representation.
00:07:05
Speaker
I know there's, you know, things like mental health and men's health, men's mental health.
00:07:10
Speaker
You know, there's a few artists in the UK and in the US that they, certain times throughout the year, they have these artists that, you know, when they're running campaigns and stuff.
00:07:21
Speaker
But I feel like there's not a lot of representation, hence why,
00:07:26
Speaker
I am using my platform to be one of the first to kind of shape the narrative and rewrite the narrative of how disability is seen in society and within the industry, you know what I'm trying to
Aches and Pains Brand Origin
00:07:37
Speaker
say?
00:07:37
Speaker
Because there's...
00:07:39
Speaker
people, there's a whole load of disabled creatives who have no representation, there's no role models, there's no one to look up to to be like, oh, wow, so-and-so's done this.
00:07:52
Speaker
So, you know, because even for me, growing up, there wasn't any of that.
00:07:56
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:07:57
Speaker
So it's like, it definitely does need to change because there's no representation and any representation
00:08:06
Speaker
of it is very severe.
00:08:08
Speaker
It's like people like myself and you who are disabled, who have bad days, who have dark days, but on the brighter days, we get up and we try our best and we're creative and we think outside the box and we do all these amazing things.
00:08:23
Speaker
I feel like sometimes it gets unseen or unheard.
00:08:27
Speaker
But obviously we are, you know, we're battling with everyday life separately to our conditions and we're dealing with that.
00:08:34
Speaker
So as I said to you, we're real life superheroes and there's many, many other real life superheroes out there who are doing amazing work.
00:08:40
Speaker
You
Entrepreneurship and Supporting Disabled Creatives
00:08:41
Speaker
know what I mean?
00:08:41
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:08:42
Speaker
And speaking of amazing work, you have your, obviously your rapper name is Aches, but you have your brand Aches and Pains.
00:08:49
Speaker
So I think you said you just made something happen with that.
00:08:53
Speaker
Can you talk more about that?
00:08:55
Speaker
So basically, yeah, my rapper name is Aches, which is
00:08:59
Speaker
It stems from my condition.
00:09:01
Speaker
You know, as you know yourself, with cerebral palsy, you have a lot of your experience, a lot of aches and pains now.
00:09:06
Speaker
Obviously, throughout my whole life, obviously I've had interventions throughout high school, kindergarten school, for like physiotherapy and stuff like that.
00:09:16
Speaker
And obviously as you get older, you know our conditions deteriorate.
00:09:20
Speaker
So it's important to regulate exercise and stuff like that.
00:09:23
Speaker
So, you know, for the past few years I've been doing that.
00:09:27
Speaker
And obviously I fell in love with it and obviously the reason behind it was to kind of battle and deter my condition from deteriorating as quick as it, as slow as it needs to be rather than as quick as it needs to be.
00:09:40
Speaker
And obviously that was like the birth of
00:09:45
Speaker
Aches and Pains, and obviously Aches and Pains, I've actually got a project out on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, all of that, called Aches and Pains.
00:09:54
Speaker
And that was like the birth of Aches and Pains.
00:09:56
Speaker
And what Aches and Pains is, is just like a collective of all the struggles of life.
00:10:04
Speaker
that I've had to face and overcome and I wear all the adversity as a badge of honour because it's made me who I am today, you know what I mean?
00:10:15
Speaker
And obviously, separate to being disabled, disabled or not, everybody in life
00:10:23
Speaker
experiences at some time in their life aches and pains whether it's just everyday life the loss of a loved one family friend so I feel like with the brand it's a universal brand that you know everyone can get something rewarding from it you know what I mean
00:10:39
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:10:40
Speaker
Yeah, that speaks to everyone.
00:10:42
Speaker
But especially when I saw your name, like in aches and pains and everything, when we first connected, I was like, oh yeah, we have to talk because it's very relatable.
00:10:51
Speaker
And I love the positivity you spread through your art too.
00:10:55
Speaker
Thank you.
00:10:56
Speaker
As an entrepreneur, what obstacles have you faced, if any, with your disability and how have you navigated?
00:11:03
Speaker
So I've, as an entrepreneur, I've,
00:11:06
Speaker
I've faced sometimes opportunities are not easily accessible.
00:11:15
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:11:15
Speaker
But I think that because I've been conditioned from very early to just like, you can't give up, don't take no for an answer.
00:11:23
Speaker
I've always had to figure out how to find a way.
00:11:26
Speaker
So, for example, before I was an entrepreneur, I've had various jobs in certain areas.
00:11:36
Speaker
But I quickly realised that's not for me.
00:11:38
Speaker
I've always been an entrepreneur.
00:11:40
Speaker
I've always tried to, you know, create something and make something out of nothing.
00:11:46
Speaker
the story of my life, I've always done that.
00:11:48
Speaker
So one of my most recent ventures is obviously, as I spoke to you about, setting up a community interest company, which is now set up, is Disability CIC, where, you know, we're going to be empowering and supporting disabled creatives and stuff.
00:12:04
Speaker
So I'm embarking on that journey now, trying to bring everything together and trying to basically just push everything in a way where
00:12:14
Speaker
I can basically empower and motivate people.
Creating Opportunities and Self-Reliance
00:12:19
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:12:19
Speaker
I try to offer something to support people because, you know, I know what it's like to go through life feeling like you've got no support.
00:12:26
Speaker
So if I can use my life story and what I'm doing in music, in business, just in life, and even my aim is to change one person's life, you know what I mean?
00:12:36
Speaker
Or impact one person's life for the better.
00:12:38
Speaker
And once I do that, then I'll be happy, you know what I mean?
00:12:43
Speaker
Yeah, I relate to that a lot.
00:12:45
Speaker
And I'm wondering, you said there's like, obviously not a ton of opportunities sometimes.
00:12:50
Speaker
And you've always had an entrepreneurial kind of energy and wanting to work for yourself.
00:12:56
Speaker
Do you ever feel like, because this is something I experienced, but do you ever feel like people with disabilities are often kind of forced to be their own boss because of the lack of opportunities?
00:13:06
Speaker
And do you think you...
00:13:07
Speaker
kind of came into it out of obligation rather than wanting to, or do you think?
00:13:11
Speaker
Definitely a hundred percent, you know, I've, I've, I've been to university twice.
00:13:15
Speaker
I got two degrees, you know, I'm a qualified graphic designer.
00:13:18
Speaker
I'm a qualified teacher and obviously coming out of university and, um,
00:13:22
Speaker
You know, applying for jobs and, you know, they have a thing over here in the UK, I'm not sure if it's like that in the US, where they say if you're considered disabled, then when you're applying for jobs or you're sending out your CV or whatever, if you inform the employer that you're disabled, it's meant to...
00:13:41
Speaker
automatically guarantee you for an interview but I've never really had any success in that so I just like you know obviously going to university they sell you the dream you go to school you go to college you go to university when you finish uni you get a job most of that's true but it's not true because I've been through that and it's like sometimes when you get to the end of it you can get a bit disheartened and then obviously you get into that
00:14:05
Speaker
frame of mind, like, so what's next?
00:14:07
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:14:08
Speaker
So for me, it's like, all right, cool, if you're not going to give me an opportunity, I'll create my own opportunity and I feel like I'm glad that my life journey has happened the way it's happened because now...
Songwriting and Audience Connection
00:14:24
Speaker
when I am trying to do what I'm trying to do and motivate and inspire other people, I've got a lot of life experiences in many different areas, as you said, from business to creativity, to relationships, to fatherhood, loads of things where I am now knowledgeable of my own personal experience.
00:14:43
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:14:43
Speaker
Because I also believe that in life, not that you can't give advice on something if you haven't been through it,
00:14:52
Speaker
But you can give better advice if you've been through the situation yourself.
00:14:55
Speaker
Because then you can know what you've done wrong or what you could have done better and what, you know what I mean?
00:15:01
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:15:02
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:15:03
Speaker
I see it as, like, sometimes I hope that, you know, our struggles, our disabilities and stuff, like, if we can channel them for good, we can prevent other people.
00:15:14
Speaker
Like, our struggles will have purpose through helping other people.
00:15:17
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:15:17
Speaker
Like, it'll be worth it. 100%.
00:15:20
Speaker
In terms of songwriting and collaboration, can you walk us through a typical songwriting process for you and how you translate personal experience into your lyrics?
00:15:30
Speaker
Okay, so... Okay, then, so... When it comes to songwriting...
00:15:37
Speaker
Songwriting is different.
00:15:37
Speaker
First of all, songwriting is different to rapping.
00:15:40
Speaker
Rapping is different to songwriting.
00:15:42
Speaker
So what I've come to realize is with songwriting, especially, for example, like my disability can't stop disability.
00:15:51
Speaker
And another record that's unreleased, Afflicted.
00:15:54
Speaker
I think you've heard that.
00:15:55
Speaker
I think you like that record.
00:15:57
Speaker
Like when I was writing Afflicted, mentally, I had to take myself back to those times that I was talking about mentally to get the emotion out.
00:16:06
Speaker
So with... And this is something that I've learned to do over the course of the past few years.
00:16:13
Speaker
It wasn't always... No, I wasn't always able to...
00:16:18
Speaker
evoke the emotion out of my lyrics.
00:16:21
Speaker
And a part of that is because during that process, I wasn't being vulnerable.
00:16:27
Speaker
So, and not that I didn't want to be, I just didn't have the confidence to be vulnerable in my music.
00:16:34
Speaker
So now I try to be as vulnerable as I can.
00:16:39
Speaker
And I try to evoke and connect the empathy with the
00:16:44
Speaker
my lyrics so by doing that i try to you know attach my lyrics to real life situations so someone can listen to it be like oh maybe if they haven't been through that exact same thing they can be like oh i went through something similar and that will take them back to a time where they in a similar time of similar experience in their life basically
00:17:06
Speaker
We're gonna listen to a snippet of a song, My Disability Can't Stop Disability.
00:17:11
Speaker
Can you explain a little bit about the song and what they're about to hear?
00:17:16
Speaker
So, My Disability Can't Stop Disability is a piece of art that basically empowers, motivates and inspires disabled creatives in not making their disability stop the ability of oneself, you know what I mean?
00:17:34
Speaker
Because we're all real-life superheroes and we all have something rare and special to offer our society.
Community Reception and Identity as a Rapper
00:17:47
Speaker
real pain true stories my disability can't stop this ability ah this is my story my disability can't stop this ability say it louder if you're feeling me my disability can't stop this ability ah
00:18:16
Speaker
I knew in my heart I kept it real I kept it so chilly had to work
00:18:41
Speaker
This is my race.
00:18:42
Speaker
It's only right that I run it.
00:19:13
Speaker
That was awesome.
00:19:14
Speaker
Thank you so much for sharing that.
00:19:16
Speaker
Love the song and can't wait to hear the rest of the album.
00:19:20
Speaker
How has your community responded to your music?
00:19:22
Speaker
Because I don't think disabilities are like a huge subject that are spoken about through rap.
00:19:27
Speaker
Like how has the response been?
00:19:29
Speaker
Well, the response is, well, people in the UK, many of my peers have said to me, yo, Aix, you're like the flyest disabled rapper that we know, man.
00:19:39
Speaker
The disabled person that we know, man.
00:19:40
Speaker
Like the way you wear it is,
00:19:43
Speaker
You know, it's dope.
00:19:44
Speaker
And I'm like, I'll take that as a compliment.
00:19:46
Speaker
And obviously it's like...
00:19:49
Speaker
Yeah, it's like, again, I don't want to be... For me, the whole thing is, I'm not a disabled rapper.
00:19:57
Speaker
I'm a rapper with a disability.
00:19:58
Speaker
Like, my disability doesn't define me.
00:20:01
Speaker
It defines me, but it doesn't prevent me from reaching my dreams and achieving my dreams.
00:20:05
Speaker
So it's like, it's kind of like... People embrace it because they have no choice but to embrace it because outside of music, in everyday life...
00:20:16
Speaker
normal people who are able-bodied, that haven't got a disability, a lot of them don't work as hard as me.
00:20:21
Speaker
A lot of them haven't achieved as much as me.
00:20:23
Speaker
And you've got no excuse.
00:20:26
Speaker
I've got an excuse that I could have let slow my roll and let life get on top of me like a ton of bricks.
00:20:34
Speaker
I haven't chose to do that.
00:20:35
Speaker
So I feel like the community respects what I'm doing and they embrace it.
00:20:41
Speaker
It's just now...
00:20:44
Speaker
time for the masses to understand it.
00:20:47
Speaker
And obviously, look, we're doing a podcast from the UK to the USA, so baby steps,
Balancing Fatherhood and Career
00:20:54
Speaker
you know what I mean?
00:20:54
Speaker
And obviously, when the time's right and when it's meant to happen,
00:20:59
Speaker
everything's gonna fall into place how it needs to be, you know what I mean?
00:21:02
Speaker
But yeah, so far, everyone's embracing it, people love it, and it's something fresh, no one's doing it.
00:21:07
Speaker
So it's like, you know, I had to tap into my authentic self to be able to do what I'm doing today, because no one else can't speak about
00:21:16
Speaker
certain things because they haven't been through it and cerebral palsy is only one thing, as you know yourself.
00:21:22
Speaker
You can have one disability and other things like depression, anxiety, stress, this, all that come from that.
00:21:29
Speaker
So then it's like, how do you deal with that?
00:21:32
Speaker
without the support of, for example, family or this, then when you're dealing with that, you've got to deal with kids, you've still got to put a brave face on it.
00:21:40
Speaker
Same as normal people that are able-bodied, you know, when life gets on top of them, when work gets on top of them and they've got to have a brave face on for the kids and for the family at home.
00:21:50
Speaker
It's the same with us and me, but obviously you've got that extra thing that you have to acknowledge and, you know, yeah, that's it really.
00:22:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're a real life superhero.
00:22:02
Speaker
I can't imagine parenting and being an artist and entrepreneur and, you know, as a disabled person, like with kids, that's crazy.
00:22:10
Speaker
I don't know how you do it.
00:22:11
Speaker
Any disabled person that has kids like utterly amazes me because I, I'm my own child.
00:22:16
Speaker
I can barely manage myself.
00:22:18
Speaker
But as a father, how do you balance the demands of parenting with your music career and your advocacy work?
00:22:27
Speaker
Well, I was doing... Nah, you know what?
00:22:29
Speaker
I'll be honest.
00:22:30
Speaker
I just... You know what?
00:22:31
Speaker
If something he's doing... I'm a person, but if something he's doing... And he's doing... Obviously, I've got three kids.
00:22:36
Speaker
So, obviously, my oldest... My oldest is 10, coming 11.
00:22:39
Speaker
My daughter's... My middle one's, like, eight.
00:22:42
Speaker
And my youngest is two.
00:22:43
Speaker
But obviously...
00:22:45
Speaker
Yeah, it's like, it's interesting because I find myself doing a lot of things that, like, my mum would do when I was younger or you would see your friends' parents doing.
00:22:54
Speaker
It's like, being a parent is a full-time job.
00:22:57
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:22:59
Speaker
Because as a man, you know, obviously, as I said, I've got two sons and one daughter.
00:23:04
Speaker
So in my head, it's like...
00:23:07
Speaker
When I'm working on stuff, it's like, yeah, this has to work.
00:23:10
Speaker
I can't, this can't fail because obviously I've got people who are depending on me.
00:23:15
Speaker
I'm depending on me and I can't depend on the people.
00:23:18
Speaker
I've got no one to depend on and I can't let down the people down who are depending on me.
00:23:22
Speaker
So it's kind of, I don't know, it's a bittersweet situation, Bree, because it's my driving factor and it's what drives my force to be successful.
00:23:31
Speaker
And it gives me a sense of fulfilment.
00:23:35
Speaker
you know what I mean?
00:23:36
Speaker
And obviously, you know, before I had kids, I was very anxious of having kids because I just thought I don't want to have kids for them to grow up the same as me.
00:23:46
Speaker
But obviously, as you know, CP, CP is not hereditary.
00:23:50
Speaker
So I'm just grateful to see my kids, you know, be, grow and enjoy life and be able to
00:24:00
Speaker
play sports, do this, do that, do that.
00:24:02
Speaker
It's a blessing.
00:24:02
Speaker
And obviously, I've just got to be the best, try and be the best version of myself that I can be for them, more so than myself, because I've already done everything I wanted to do as a kid, so I'm grateful.
00:24:14
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:24:15
Speaker
Do they participate in creative activities with you or music?
00:24:20
Speaker
Do they like your music?
00:24:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:24:22
Speaker
My kids, you know what it is?
00:24:23
Speaker
You see my kids, especially my oldest and my daughter.
00:24:28
Speaker
They're my biggest fans, man, you know what I mean?
00:24:30
Speaker
Especially when it comes to music and they embrace everything and obviously, even as they're getting older now, obviously I speak to them about, you know, my condition and stuff and they are inspired because they're like, whoa, dad, you're always like, we never see you like, we never see you moan and complain.
00:24:47
Speaker
Sometimes we forget that you are
00:24:50
Speaker
Disabled.
00:24:50
Speaker
Sometimes I forget because I'm just conditioned into you got to keep going.
00:24:55
Speaker
You can't let this hold you back.
00:24:56
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:24:57
Speaker
But again, like my kids are my biggest fans, man.
00:25:00
Speaker
They're my biggest supporters.
00:25:01
Speaker
So at the end of the day, it's all for them.
00:25:03
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:25:04
Speaker
Like I obviously my dad died when I was 11 months old.
00:25:08
Speaker
So I grew up without having a dad.
00:25:10
Speaker
So I didn't I didn't know.
00:25:12
Speaker
I didn't know what it's like to grow up with a dad.
00:25:16
Speaker
But now I've got my kids.
00:25:18
Speaker
I know the importance.
00:25:20
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:25:21
Speaker
But it's weird though, because it's weird.
00:25:25
Speaker
It's a weird feeling, a weird understanding, but I know the importance of me being a dad to my children.
00:25:32
Speaker
You know what I'm saying?
00:25:34
Speaker
Even in the hard, worst of times, the hard times, but you know, the show must go on, man.
00:25:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:38
Speaker
Does it help you almost reparent yourself in a way, you know, dealing with your kids when you didn't have a,
00:25:43
Speaker
a father having to figure out how to navigate things you didn't have?
00:25:47
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, but sometimes I question... Sometimes I question... Not myself, but I question, like, there's no blueprint, there's no reference, so it's like I can't say, like, oh, like...
00:25:58
Speaker
okay, did I handle this situation right?
00:26:01
Speaker
Am I handling this situation right or not?
00:26:04
Speaker
So it's just like a lot of the time I wing it, but hope for the best, you know?
00:26:09
Speaker
But yeah, I feel like I'm doing a good job.
00:26:11
Speaker
You know, my kids love me.
00:26:12
Speaker
They respect me.
00:26:13
Speaker
They're good kids.
00:26:14
Speaker
So they're a blessing, man.
Collaborations and Creative Synergy
00:26:16
Speaker
And, you know, I try to do the best by my kids and my family.
00:26:19
Speaker
And, you know, and like I said, I just try to make the best out of a bad situation in any event, you know, life's...
00:26:27
Speaker
Life's not planned out.
00:26:28
Speaker
There's no manual to life.
00:26:29
Speaker
You just got to live the best you can and treat people how you want to be treated and be positive.
00:26:34
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:26:35
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:26:37
Speaker
Speaking of like creativity and stuff, back to that a little bit.
00:26:41
Speaker
You've collaborated with other artists.
00:26:43
Speaker
I've heard a few of your songs with other artists and producers.
00:26:47
Speaker
How do those collaborations impact your music and how do they come about?
00:26:52
Speaker
Like, is it an idea that you want to work with these other people so then you write stuff together or how does that go?
00:26:57
Speaker
So basically, say, for example, if I come across a producer and I like the sound of music,
00:27:04
Speaker
beats that they make, I'll reach out to them or they'll reach out to me.
00:27:08
Speaker
Same with an artist.
00:27:09
Speaker
If I'm in the studio and I'm working on a particular recording or something like that, or I have a particular sound in mind with someone in mind, then I'll create a template and then contact them, send it them.
00:27:23
Speaker
And hopefully if they're feeling it, we make greatness happen.
00:27:26
Speaker
And that's how it's always kind of, that's how it's always kind of been.
00:27:30
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:27:31
Speaker
And obviously the good thing with that is obviously they tap into your network, you tap into their network and just create greatness.
00:27:40
Speaker
You know what I mean?
Upcoming Project "This Ability"
00:27:41
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:27:42
Speaker
Two minds are always better than one and just collaborating with other artists is always so fun.
00:27:47
Speaker
Do you have any future projects or upcoming collaborations that you're particularly excited about?
00:27:53
Speaker
Yeah, so I'm working on... It's been in the works for a bit, but I'm working on a project, a body of work called This Ability, which is, again, a body of work which speaks about all the adversities in my life, my disability,
00:28:16
Speaker
all the things I've had to overcome and basically just my story from start to finish.
00:28:21
Speaker
That's in the works.
00:28:22
Speaker
Obviously, My Disability, Can't Stop Disability is one of the main singles off the project.
00:28:28
Speaker
So I'm excited for that because it will give people and my fans a deeper understanding of what I've actually had to go through because
00:28:39
Speaker
It's easy for me to sit here and say, or sit on any platform, like the podcast I've done a few weeks ago, and tell my story.
00:28:47
Speaker
But, you know, when you're listening to it through music, you can actually feel like you have a connection with it, and then you can actually...
00:28:56
Speaker
feel okay this is real this is not just a make-believe story this is actually what you went through that or you went through this and again like I've had friends that I've known for 10 plus years and they've said when I've listened to certain tracks off the project they're like I've known you for 10 years I didn't know that I didn't know this I didn't know that so there's certain intricate details that I've only been able to express through the music so I'm excited for that project to come out because it will give people
00:29:23
Speaker
It'll give another layer, a deeper layer of substance to me as an artist, to my music, to my life, to my story.
Advice for Young Disabled Musicians
00:29:30
Speaker
And hopefully someone in the world will be able to be inspired by it.
00:29:35
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:29:36
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:29:37
Speaker
Is your song going to be on there that you sent me but hasn't been released?
00:29:41
Speaker
I don't know what the name is.
00:29:41
Speaker
Afflicted.
00:29:43
Speaker
That is Afflicted.
00:29:43
Speaker
Okay.
00:29:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:44
Speaker
Is that going to be on there?
00:29:45
Speaker
Yeah, of course.
00:29:46
Speaker
Okay, good.
00:29:47
Speaker
See, basically, with Afflicted, yeah.
00:29:49
Speaker
So, Afflicted and My Disability, Can't Stop Disability, are basically the same type of song.
00:29:56
Speaker
The only difference is, is with My Disability...
00:30:00
Speaker
can't stop disability, that's more like an anthem.
00:30:02
Speaker
So you could, any disabled person or anyone going through any type of adversity could sing that and that's relatable to the masses.
00:30:10
Speaker
Whereas afflicted is my personal story.
00:30:14
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:30:15
Speaker
And what's so crazy about Afflicted is that when I read that record, I just came out of a label meeting and, you know, had a conversation, played some music, and one of the guys at the label was like, yeah, your story's dope, your music's dope as well, but...
00:30:33
Speaker
there's no, there's no song about your story, bro.
00:30:35
Speaker
Like, I get it aches and yeah, but there's no, so I just went straight, I just left the, I left the meeting and went straight to the studio and yeah, within like three, four hours, Afflicted was written and obviously with that, I had to, like I said, I had to go mentally, I had to go back
00:30:50
Speaker
From when I was in the womb, and the stories that have been told by my mum when I was growing up and stuff, I had to go back through when I was in the womb, from when I went to kindergarten school, as you lot would call it, but we call it junior school, high school, from when I graduated, my music journey, to when I had kids.
00:31:10
Speaker
I take you on an actual roller coaster from start to finish of my life.
00:31:14
Speaker
So that was a monumental moment and a good piece of work that's been created.
00:31:20
Speaker
Yeah, that song is brilliant and I can't wait to hear it on Spotify and all the platforms.
00:31:25
Speaker
You would have got it.
00:31:26
Speaker
I know, I know, but I can't wait for other people to listen to it too.
00:31:30
Speaker
Like I do listen to it and I actually showed my friend on a walk the other day.
00:31:33
Speaker
I was like, no, you have to listen to my friend.
00:31:35
Speaker
Like he's really good.
00:31:37
Speaker
And I just, I, when I listened to it, I was just, you know, like, obviously disability and like adversity brings people together, but I never would have expected that I would meet someone in the UK, you know, who raps that I would listen to your song and we would, I could see my story in your story.
00:31:53
Speaker
And just like being able to hear about disability through that medium was totally unique to me.
00:32:00
Speaker
And I just, you just did a great job and I can't wait till that's like out into the world for everyone to listen to.
00:32:05
Speaker
Thank you.
00:32:07
Speaker
But a few more questions.
00:32:10
Speaker
What advice would you offer a young disabled individual looking to get into the music industry or creative industry?
00:32:17
Speaker
The one piece of advice I would offer to anybody would be dream big.
00:32:25
Speaker
The bigger the dream, the scarier the journey, but just always dream big, you know what I mean?
00:32:30
Speaker
And even on the worst days, on the days when you feel like you can't be bothered, show up.
00:32:37
Speaker
Just show up, you know what I mean?
00:32:38
Speaker
And it doesn't matter what the world tells you, it doesn't matter what your mum, your friend, your brother, your cousin tells you, if you believe it and when you go to sleep at night and you close your eyes, you can see it.
00:32:49
Speaker
The universe is a great thing and a beautiful place and it will provide you with all the ingredients that you need to make your dreams and your reality come true, you know what I mean?
00:32:58
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:32:59
Speaker
That's beautiful.
00:33:00
Speaker
Is that part of your, I was going to ask what your like personal mantra is, but is that the like philosophy that kind of guides you?
00:33:06
Speaker
Just dream big, man.
00:33:07
Speaker
I just dream big.
00:33:07
Speaker
Like it's crazy.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:09
Speaker
Cause everything that I said when I was growing up as a kid that I wanted to achieve in life, I've been able to do.
Social Media and Future Plans
00:33:19
Speaker
So that's my mantra is to always dream big, man.
00:33:25
Speaker
Because you can turn your dreams into reality.
00:33:27
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:33:28
Speaker
As long as you believe in yourself and you work hard.
00:33:32
Speaker
It's not all about just having belief.
00:33:35
Speaker
You have to be able to back up the belief with the working hard and the hard work.
00:33:39
Speaker
And then once you do that, you'll just find the universe where things will happen.
00:33:45
Speaker
And you may not understand why things are happening at the time of them happening, but when you look back and you reflect, that's why reflection is key.
00:33:53
Speaker
You'll be able to piece together the puzzle and you're like, oh, that happened and that led me to here.
00:33:58
Speaker
So that's why, you know, yeah.
00:34:02
Speaker
Awesome.
00:34:02
Speaker
How can listeners support your music advocacy and broader mission of inclusivity in the arts?
00:34:08
Speaker
Okay, so how people can support...
00:34:11
Speaker
me as an artist and my inclusivity and advocacy is they can follow me on social media, you know.
00:34:18
Speaker
My social media is Akes, U-D-K, that's A-K-E-S-U-D-K.
00:34:23
Speaker
That's my personal social media.
00:34:25
Speaker
That's across all social medias.
00:34:27
Speaker
And obviously, as I said, I've set up a...
00:34:31
Speaker
community interest company, which supports and empowers disabled creatives and which also advocates for disabled creatives.
00:34:41
Speaker
And we're on Instagram.
00:34:44
Speaker
We just launched that Instagram handle is this ability CIC.
00:34:50
Speaker
So yeah, you can follow us on there and connect and we'll see what great stuff we can do.
00:34:55
Speaker
Perfect.
00:34:56
Speaker
And when could people, when do you think this ability, that project is going to come out?
00:35:01
Speaker
Hopefully end of the year.
00:35:05
Speaker
You know what it is, with that project, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
00:35:09
Speaker
So because that's my story, you only get one chance to tell your story.
00:35:16
Speaker
So I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
00:35:17
Speaker
So I'm trying to make sure all the trimmings and everything are in place before I action and press go on it because I don't want it to not do what it needs to do.
00:35:28
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:35:29
Speaker
So it's coming.
00:35:30
Speaker
It's coming.
00:35:30
Speaker
It's coming.
00:35:31
Speaker
It's coming very soon.
00:35:34
Speaker
Yeah, we're working.
00:35:36
Speaker
Awesome.
00:35:37
Speaker
Well, I had a great time hosting today.
00:35:39
Speaker
If you're looking to find our work, you know where to find Aches on Instagram and online.
00:35:44
Speaker
And you can follow me at BriannaRacci on Instagram or briannaracci.com.
00:35:50
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Able Voices podcast and I'll see you next week.
00:36:03
Speaker
Able Voices is a production of the Berkeley Institute for Accessible Arts Education, led by me, Dr. Rhoda Bernard, the founding managing director.
00:36:12
Speaker
It is produced by Daniel Martinez del Campo.
00:36:15
Speaker
The intro music is by Kai Levin, and our closing song is by Sebastian Batista.
00:36:21
Speaker
Kai and Sebastian are students in the arts education programs at the Berkeley Institute for Accessible Arts Education.
00:36:28
Speaker
If you would like to learn more about our work, find us online at berkeley.edu slash B-I-A-A-E or email us at B-I-A-A-E at berkeley, that's L-E-E dot E-D-U.