Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kim Belew. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kim, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Human trafficking awareness and advocacy

I was trafficked as a child but didn’t even know that until about 7 years ago. Since then I’ve been educating myself and speaking my story as part of my own healing and releasing the fear and shame carried by victims of severe abuse.

I also want to break myths about human trafficking while also sharing my story of incredible healing that I’ve experienced.

I use music and speaking as my tools to help get this message heard which also creates deeper healing and empowerment.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

There are many things that set me apart from others. I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and my stepfather was an elder with the church and also my abuser who trafficked me for 6 years between the ages of 11-17.
I was trafficked to hundreds of men during that time and made to have 2 abortions after getting pregnant at 13 and 16.
I spent years battling the behaviors associated with the extreme trauma from my childhood ie. Addiction, toxic relationships, mental hospitals, shock treatments and suicide attempts.

In 2001 I stepped into a spiritual community and for the first time was told I have a purpose.
That’s when I discovered the power of songwriting and using singing and rapping as forms of expressing my healing journey. It’s also where I found my voice to begin speaking about my childhood.
In the last 20 years I have written award winning music, given a tedx talk about my childhood, spoken at medical conferences and traveled the country speaking and singing at spiritual communities.
I also lead healing workshops and retreats to help others find their voice and authentic self expression and purpose.
My goal is to create a musical/stage production of my story to reach a broader audience and raise more awareness.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There are many stories of resilience in my journey but I’ll share this story that I like to share when I do keynote concerts:

Due to my life growing up and living my life as a response to trauma, I never felt I had a purpose. I showed up at a spiritual community in 2001 as a last resort before planning to commit suicide that day.
The minister of the church caught me as I was about to leave and told me I have a purpose and the power of influence over people. Without knowing it, he saved my life while also helping me believe I had a purpose for the first time.
From there, immense self discovery and healing has happened and I’ve gone on to release 2 (working on third) albums with award winning songs, become a National speaker, facilitate workshops, book studies and retreats and give a tedx talk in 2021.
That’s quite a turn around from being ready to end my life to really finding a purpose.
Part of my mission is to make sure everyone feels their own sense of purpose and belonging.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that my voice isn’t as impactful because I had no formal training.

I started songwriting without any training and many in the industry wouldn’t even listen to what I was creating. I almost quit because it was so hard not to compare myself to others.
Then I discovered how profoundly unique my story, my style, my voice and my experience is and that no one else can bring what I bring in the way that I do.
This shifted everything for me.
It created a space for me to really feel confident in who I am as a creative because there’s no way to compare creative expression.

Contact Info:

• Website: kimbelew.com
• Instagram: consciousrapchic
• Facebook: Kim Belew
• Youtube: Kim Belew

Image Credits
Jim Gormley Joyce Sanders Kim Belew