We recently connected with Lana Medicine and have shared our conversation below.

Lana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

As I began to age, I gradually fell into who I always meant to be. Throughout my life, I have always been extremely expressive and animated. Believe it or not, I did not start writing music until the summer of 2020 after the passing of my father. My dad has always pushed me to become the best version of myself creatively. Growing up, my dad was a DJ and I traveled all throughout various cities in Michigan watching him express himself creatively on the turn-tables. As a little girl, he inspired me and fostered my love for music. For 3 years, I secretly wrote music and perfected my craft in silence. In November of 2023, I released my first EP “Don’t Forget to Take your Medicine!” after consistent hard work and dedication. I received an overwhelming amount of love and support which inspired me to pursue my artistic path professionally and to believe in myself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Lana Medicine also known as, “Big Medi” is an alternative rapper based in Detroit, Michigan. Lana Medicine pulls influences from nu-metal, pop punk and Detroit’s hip hop culture to cultivate a very unique sound. Big Medi’s purpose is to heal others that have experienced similar injustices in throughout their life. The impact of my work is my biggest accomplishment, focusing on touching other humans soul to soul to heal past traumatic events.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

One crucial way that I believe society can best support creatives is by supporting their local creatives. This may look like but is not limited to: going to local shows, searching for new artists and events around the city and supporting uprising artists. I also believe that a good way to support creatives in society is to take us serious. Often times, being an artist is not viewed as a real career and something sustainable. For most of us creatives, this is the only option because we can not live without creating. I believe society should keep this in mind when supporting artists and creative individuals.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In the beginning of my creative journey, I was scared shy and nervous. It took me a very long time to be even comfortable expressing myself creatively. Especially as a girl who defied the stereotype of what a black girl should be and look like. In my community, being into rock music, alternative clothing and metal culture is frowned upon. With that being said, I had to really learn how to be unapologetic about who I am and who I always have been. When I first started rapping, I was afraid to be authentic in the way I wanted to sound so I would try to fit a mold of what I thought a black female rapper should be. Within due time, I learned that I would never be satisfied with my art and fully heal and transmute traumatic events. As soon as I accepted this, the lyrics began to pour out of me like water.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lana.medicine
• Facebook: Lana Medicine
• Twitter: lanamedicine10010
• Youtube: Lana medicine
• Soundcloud: Lana Medicine

Image Credits

@ry.ph0t0graphy