We recently connected with Mari Redd and have shared our conversation below.

Mari, 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?

I was introduced to the arts and entertainment industry young. My mother was an experienced fashion model, dancer, singer, and video producer while my father was a well-known music producer, DJ, and engineer who worked with legends such as Twista, Crucial Conflict, Kanye West, Sinbad, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre just to name a few. At two years old, dance became my first language before I knew how to talk in full sentences. I recall watching my mother dance to Chicago House music on the weekends and trying to mimic her every move. Once she saw that I had a natural ability and interest to learn dance, she enrolled me into Lorraine Gray Dance Studio to learn ballet, jazz, and tap. Shortly after my enrollment, my competence began exceeding my peers and was soon placed in classes with the older and advanced students.

Dance school on the weekends was the one thing that I looked forward to closing my week on a positive note. All the frustrations and pent-up energy built up throughout the week were released on the dance floor in class. The annual End of the Year school talent shows inspired the same anticipation. R&B singer, Aaliyah, was my role model and I often would turn on VH1 or BET to watch her latest music videos and learn the dance moves. I was in the first grade when she passed away in 2001, I was devasted and wanted to pay tribute to her by dancing to “Are You that Somebody” at the talent show. Not only was I the youngest performer of the school, but I was also the only dancer. After that, my reputation has been the “School Dancer” ever since.

In the third grade, I developed a fond interest in poetry. I was always writing poems and songs in my diaries as a child. One day, I took out my journal and just kept writing until I couldn’t anymore and showed my father. The smile on his face is still a fingerprint stamped in my memory as I have never seen him so happy! Proud to the point where he took my notebook and started showing his friends and other artists in the studio saying, “Y’all see what my daughter just wrote? She did all of this by herself!” That same night, he created a beat in his studio and told me “Go for it!” and I did. To this day, I can still remember his voice on the adlibs of the song. His introduction was, “Introducing the world’s greatest entertainer, get ya money baby!” and proceeded to give the track the sound effects and adlibs it needed. At the end of my verse, he closed the track by saying “That’s my daughter, my oldest, getting her money. This is T-O-P C-A-T also known as ‘Daddy’ to my babies.” He downloaded and printed out the CD (yes, we were still in that era of CDs) and kept expressing how proud he was that day. That was an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

My life changed forever on June 14th, 2005. My father came up from his studio in the basement and said “Marielle, tell your mama I said I’m gone.” Had I known that those were going to be the last words he would ever say to me, I would have done everything in my power to stop him from leaving. That same night, he was shot to death after trying to mediate a heated and intense dispute between a couple of men and his nephew. Before the resolution could be made, out of fear his nephew ran off and my father was murdered. This happened the day before the last day of school.

So, imagine the kind of emotional roller coaster I was on. At nine years old, I wake up in the morning excited for the last day of school to find my mother on the couch weeping. I didn’t see my father next to her comforting her as he usually did so I was next in command.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Your dad is dead. He was killed.”

In denial, I brushed it off and said, “We have to go to school” and looked at the front door expecting my dad to walk in at any moment to help us get ready. He was the one that usually dropped us off and picked us up from school.

“I don’t have a way to take y’all to school. He is dead” she said in between sobs. The last time I seen her cry that hard was at my maternal grandmother’s funeral a few years prior. At that moment I knew that that it was real. At that moment, I knew things would never be the same.

I fell into a deep depressive state and became suicidal shortly afterwards. I lost my best friend and a key element of the development of my confidence. I withdrew from friend groups and quickly became disengaged from social activities. At that time, murder was not common and SEL resources were not a component of the school curriculum or considered as a service that could be offered to families. Seeing other classmates spending time with their fathers triggered resentment and internal turmoil. Until that summer, my mother registered me to participate in the North Lawndale Talent Competition. I was, yet again, the youngest to compete but that did not intimidate me. Before stepping on the stage, I said to my mother, “I am doing this for Dad”. I felt his presence on the stage with me cheering me on as I danced like my life depended on it. I walked away from the competition with both the 1st place trophy and confirmation that arts and entertainment was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

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

I am a choreographer, music artist, and creative director. What drives me is to leave my community in a better space than when I found it. Mari Redd Entertainment was created the summer after my father was murdered when I began choreographing for the Chicago Sky dancers the same year my father was murdered in 2005. I did not want his death to be in vain or for me to become a statistic of what the product of gun violence and single parent households would look like. I used the arts as my outlet to channel the pain of losing my father and make something positive out of it and wanted to teach others how to do the same. I got tired of being excluded because of poor judgement or being misunderstood so I began taking the initiative to be proactive with being involved.

I teach dance and fitness classes in person and virtually for beginners to advanced learners. I choreograph for other artists and entertainers who wish to tell a story through their music and become more visually appealing. I am a poet, rapper, singer, and songwriter and love intertwining my gifts within my music.

I have been requested to perform poetry and music for state representatives, former Secretary of State, Jesse White, and other stakeholders for my community and have received standing ovations. I have been commissioned to be the creative director for multiple projects and businesses such as Dynamic Force Studios and Two Sisters Beauty due to my innovative ideas, organizational skills, and natural ability to bring productions to life. I have performed at the Chicago Music Awards, choreographed for Nike, and was featured in the BET film, North of the 10. I was requested to travel to Ghana, Africa and Montego Bay, Jamaica to teach and perform dance. I have opened for WuTang, This Is the Band, and was a featured artist at the Hip Hop: A Child of Blues concert in Millenium Park. In 2013, I won the National title of Best Poet within the NAACP and became the pioneer of their newest category, Spoken Word.

I am a natural storyteller in every art form, and I challenge the status quo. I am in tune with my roots and let my ancestors guide my body, my pen, and my mind when I am in the creative zone as art is a spiritual connection with the universe. I help others understand their pain and trauma and teach them how to use it for the better good of themselves and their community.

I am most proud of the fact that I am self-made artist and entrepreneur. I did not let myself become a product of my environment but instead made my environment a product of me.

A few things that my mother has taught me since I have been in this business is to:
• Never take an opportunity for granted because who knows when it may reappear again.
• It is always better to have and provide options.
• Stay versatile.
• Don’t take things personally.
• Always keep a paper trail and to get agreements in writing.

I want my followers, fans, and potential clients to know that I am a class act and take service seriously. When it comes to professionalism, that is my non-negotiable on both ends of the encounter, agreement, and transaction. I go above and beyond to provide the best service and overall experience to everyone whom I get the opportunity to work with. I am detail oriented and push my clients to be the best versions of themselves in every capacity. Doing business with Mari Redd and Mari Redd Entertainment is more than worth the investment and an experience that you will remember for a lifetime.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I believe non-creatives underestimate how time and energy consuming it is to be an artist. I was once asked to create a 30-minute dance session video that would be shared with a student population and was only offered $20! People often send me requests in my DM to dance or to make a dance challenge for their songs that they just released and have the nerve to be offended when I ask their budget or provide them with my prices. I had someone request that I choreograph and assist with directing a play and wanted to play victim when I told them that it would cost for me to provide that service. It takes time to learn, connect, and understand a song let alone create choreography or create a visual to it. This is how I put food on the table, so why should I cut myself the short end of the stick because someone else wants to cut corners and get a service for free? Do you go to a nail salon and tell them you can only pay $25 for a full manicure and pedicure? Do you go to a shoe store and tell them that you can only afford $50 for a $120 pair of shoes? No! So why should my prices always have to be negotiated or be given for free? It is one thing to provide an accommodation, but it’s completely different when someone is blatantly trying to take advantage of you. Being an artist is like being an athlete because it is a necessity to always exercise your mind and body. Being a dancer and music artist requires that I am in the gym 3-4 times out of the week, take special attention to what I consume, doing research so that I am always up to date on trends and genre evolvement, and making sure I spend time to rest and recover to be in the best shape. Being a creative director and choreographer follows those same guidelines on top of being responsible for other people and how they perform. Although I may make it look easy, does not mean it is.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that I am always evolving and that I can just be. There is a certain freedom that I get into my world that no one can take from me. I’m able to share my voice, thoughts, opinions, and perspectives on issues that affect me and my community in my own way and am not confined to a cookie cutter template to respond. With this power comes great responsibility that I do not take lightly as I understand how my platform can shed light on things that others may not be comfortable with or too scared to address. There is also a beauty within the art making process that I enjoy as it is like a flower coming to bloom or a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. Each stage of the development process is invaluable towards the creation of the final product. Music and dance are natural healing elements within the arts and entertainment industry that allows one to fully express who they are while being a gateway for others to do the same. I was given these gifts and talents to share with the world and do not take them for granted.

Contact Info:

• Website: marireddent.com
• Instagram: mariredd_
• Facebook: Marielle Mari Redd
• Twitter: mariredd_
• Other: Tik Tok: mariredd_

Image Credits
Photographers: Aaron Christopher, Melanin Blossom, Chris Blackburn