# Lachi (artist)

Melissa Ulachi Ulanma Offoha, professionally known as Lachi is an American singer-songwriter, touring performer, producer, actress, author, and disability culture advocate based in New York City. Lachi's music is often described as Pop or Dance music. Lachi is also the founder and CEO of RAMPD.

## Early life

Lachi was born in Maryland to Nigerian immigrant parents. Her mother is Dr. Marcellina Offoha, an author and academic. She grew up in many places, including, upstate New York, West Philadelphia and North Carolina. She is legally blind, due to Coloboma.
Lachi attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she created the all female a cappella group The UNC Cadence. She then moved to New York City to embark upon her music and writing careers while studying music at New York University. Apart from obtaining side music gigs, she worked at the New York District's United States Army Corps of Engineers.

## Career
### Music career

Lachi was spotted performing at an unofficial South by Southwest showcase by Fanatic Records/EMI, who signed her for one album. On July 27, 2010, her self-titled album Lachi was released, which included the single "We Can Fly". During this time, Lachi was featured on Oprah Radio, CW and NPR, and performed at PrideFest (Milwaukee), where she opened for Patti LaBelle.
Lachi later collaborated with Israeli World Music producer Zafrir Ifrach to create the Mediterranean-infused Dance track Dalale which garnered over a million views on YouTube in August of 2016. She then teamed up with Trend Def studios to co-write and co-produce the song "Rude" which features pop artist Kendra Black and rapper Snoop Dogg. In 2017 after releasing the Dance / Hip Hop crossover track "Living A Lie" featuring Styles P, she collaborated with Markus Schulz on a song titled "Far" which Schulz placed on his 2018 Trance music album, We Are The Light. The song was also chosen by DJ Armin van Buuren for his mix album A State of Trance Year Mix 2019. In 2019, she wrote and performed Go with Drum and Bass producer Maduk which found placement on several gaming platforms.
In March 2020, Lachi received her second Independent Music Awards nomination for her a cappella arrangement of the song Money by Cardi B. Throughout 2021, Lachi's music career and advocacy work began to overlap, starting with her appointment to Co-chair The Recording Academy New York Chapter Advocacy Committee.
In February 2022, Lachi released the track Say The Words, attributing the title to a need for society to simply say the word "Disability," a social campaign popularized by civil rights historian Lawrence Carter. The following month, Lachi received a grant, from the prestigious Pop Culture Collaborative, to begin work blending disability concepts with popular music. This resulted in the creation and release of Dance-pop single "Black Girl Cornrows" a song about Self-expression and Visual description written, performed and produced by Lachi, co-produced by Black Caviar (duo) and featuring Yvie Oddly and QuestionATL.
In June 2022, Lachi was elected to Board Governor by the Recording Academy New York Chapter voting membership and appointed the chapter's DEI Ambassador.
Lachi released the anthemic alternative pop song "Lift Me Up" in July 2023 in memorial of mentor and friend, disability rights activist Judy Heumann, July being Disability Pride Month. The song, in collaboration with James Ian and featuring Gaelynn Lea, debuted on MTV.com, peaking at number 29 on the Adult Contemporary Mediabase charts; and the music video, a high-production performance piece spotlighting American Sign Language, Audio description and other forms of Disability culture, Disability art and featuring Amber Galloway, Ali Stroker and other notable talent and saw sponsor support from Google. The song received a Shorty Award, a Diversity in Cannes Award, and was an International Songwriting Competition winner.
In 2024, Lachi released the "Mad Different" project, an acoustic concert video series featuring collaborations with notable artists from varying counter-culture communities. Supported by the Pop Culture Collaborative, New Music USA and Wave Financial, the four-part series was shot in New York's Amazon Music studios, featuring songs like "Out of the Dark" and "A Girl" with ASL performance and audio-description by special guests such as Spencer West and Molly Burke.

### Disability advocacy

Lachi began speaking and performing regularly at Disability Pride events and festivals in 2017. promoting disability representation and inclusion in media, By 2020, the New York Times listed Lachi as one of the "28 Ways to Learn About Disability Culture."
In March 2021, Lachi launched "The Off Beat," a YouTube series chronicling her journey from low vision to no vision. In August 2021, Lachi was dubbed "a foot-soldier for disability pride" by Forbes Magazine. Later that year, she established the global consultancy and member network RAMPD or Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities which works with notable music entities, firms and organizations like Netflix and Live Nation to amplify Disability culture, inclusion and accessibility within the music industry. Starting in 2022, RAMPD began partnering with the Recording Academy to help make the Grammy Awards more accessible: working to add a visibly ramped dais, Sign language interpreters, live captioning, and Audio description, American Sign Language and ramps on the red carpet.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Lachi established herself as a go-to voice on disability advocacy in music, speaking with and performing at places like the White House, the United Nations, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the BBC, among other notable appearances. By 2023, Lachi gained recognition for her work bridging disability and pop culture, making numerous appearances as an artist, expert and personality, including on Good Morning America, The Breakfast Club and in two Google accessibility commercials. In November of that year, Lachi presented at TEDx Cherry Creek, speaking and performing original songs discussing disability identity and pride.
In February 2024, Lachi was named a 2024 Woman of the Year by USA Today.
In October 2024, Lachi appeared as the host for the PBS American Masters series Renegades (a digital series showcasing the contributions to American culture of unsung heroes with disabilities). In November 2024, Lachi was named an ADCOLOR Innovator of the Year for her advocacy and work with RAMPD.

## Fashion

Lachi popularized her glam canes concept in 2021, when she began bejeweling her mobility white cane with rhinestones matching designer outfits in celebration of accessibility. Since 2023, Lachi has walked the GRAMMY Awards red carpet wearing elegant dresses and matching bedazzled glam canes, and has appeared at numerous galas and red carpets sporting her canes, including the Barbie (film) pink carpet premiere with a pink bejeweled glam cane.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Award | Result |
| 2020 | Money (A cappella) | Independent Music Award Best A Cappella Song | Independent Music Awards | Nominated |
| 2021 | The Bigger Plans Project | Award of Recognition, best Short Film on Disability Issues | IndieFest Film Awards | Won |
| 2021 | The Off Beat: Going Blind and Staying Fabulous | Best A Web Series | Top Short Film Festival | Won |
| 2022 | RAMPD | Social Justice | Nightlife Culture Awards | Won |
| 2022 | RAMPD | Libera Awards Humanitarian Award | American Association of Independent Music | Nominated |
| 2022 | Community leadership | Honoree | Diversability D30 Disability Impact List | Won |
| 2023 | RAMPD | Zero Project Award | United Nations Zero Project | Won |
| 2023 | Media and Entertainment | Leading Women Honoree | Ad Age | Won |
| 2023 | Community Leadership | Lead On Award | Access Living | Won |
| 2023 | Outstanding Contributions to the Art | Habey Awards for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts | New York Carolina Club | Won |
| 2023 | Entrepreneurship | Judith Heumann Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award | 2gether International | Won |
| 2024 | Lift Me Up | Song for Social Causes Award | International Songwriting Competition | Won |
| 2024 | Lift Me Up | Bronze Award, Audience Honoree | SHORTY Awards | Won |
| 2024 | Disability Advocacy | Edith Prentiss Award | Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) | Won |
| 2024 | Achievements | 2024 Woman of the Year | USA Today | Won |
| 2024 | Achievements | 2024 Innovator of the Year | ADCOLOR | Won |

## Discography
### Singles and Collaborations

| Title | Artists | Date | Comments |
| Far | Markus Schulz and Lachi | October 2018 (U.S.) | We Are the Light Album |
| Go | Maduk (musician) and Lachi | February 2019 (Global) | Released by Liquicity |
| What I Want | Julian Javan and Lachi | February 2019 (U.S.) | Featured in feature film Married Young |
| Bigger Plans | INVIDA and Lachi | October 2020 (Global) |
| Duality | Psyrus and Lachi | September 2021 (Global) |
| Selfish | Lachi | October 2021 (U.S.) | Featured in Spotify's Created by Women |
| Say The Words | Alexander Turok, Bulin and Lachi | October 2020 (Global) | Released by Blanco Y Negro |
| Bad Choices | Lachi featuring Guy Faux | June 2022 (U.S.) |
| Black Girl Cornrows | Lachi and Black Caviar featuring Yvie Oddly and QuestionATL | December 2022 (U.S.) | Celebrates Visual description |
| Lift Me Up | Lachi and James Ian ft Gaelynn Lea | July 2023 (Global) | In memorial of disability rights activist Judy Heumann |
| Out of the Dark | Lachi ft Medusa | Oct 2024 (Global) | Mad Different Series |

### Albums and EPs

| Title | Date | Comments |
| Such A Fool | December 2011 (U.S.) | |
| It's Our Time | October 2014 (U.S.) | |
| The Boss EP | June 2015 (U.S.) | Singles: "Boss" |

## Filmography

| Year | Film/Show | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy | Audio description narrator | A Netflix Documentary on Kanye West |
| 2022 | Keys to Success | Self | A short-doc featuring Alicia Keys |
| 2023 | Unlucky In Love | Wendy Lindell (lead), Casting Dir. | Award winning short film |
| 2023 | Lift Me Up | Music Performer (lead), Producer | Music Video |
| 2023 | Guided Frame with Lachi | Self | Google Commercial |
| 2024 | Renegades American Masters | Host | A PBS digital series. |

## Publications
### Novels

* M. Lachi, The Ivory Staff, A Dark Fairy Tale of Kings and War, Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2019 ISBN 1544276605
* M. Lachi, Death Tengo, Publisher: Running Wild Press, 2023 ISBN 0692425640