We recently connected with Soulliaa Rae and have shared our conversation below.
Soulliaa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
Healing is a journey that is self-prescribed. We have to decide in ourselves and for ourselves if it is worthwhile to embark on its path and be willing to face the music that comes with it. I am Soulliaa Rae, MSW, MS, MA a songwriting songstress and mental wellness and equity expert. In 2020 I fully committed to my own healing journey, which has proven to be far different than supporting others on their own. During this season of healing so many new things have been birthed and one of the most meaningful things has been the release of my debut musical project Wholi Unplugged (Vol. 1)(Vol. 2 is on the way).
When I first began my healing journey I was a suppression artist. I held all of the harm that had ever been done against me and generations before me so close, that it made up huge parts of my identity and I was unwilling to let them go. This produced a lot of destructive behaviors that turned into patterns in my life. In 2020 I experienced a trauma that I couldn’t suppress at all (oh, how I tried), due to its severity and quite frankly having no more room in my being to do so. I was living alone, miles away from support networks, disconnected from God and trying to figure out all over again who I was. After so many moments of despair and loath, I turned to God and creativity found me and I began to regain my sense of self.
My debut musical project Wholi Unplugged is the culmination of the healing work that was done in private for two years. And if I am really honest probably began two years prior to that. It is a living breathing artifact from my personal healing journey. And to see its release feels like a transition into a new beginning that I couldn’t have imagined when it began. As you listen to the project you will be transported to different parts of the human experience with palatable emotions felt in every melody and each lyric. The project is dynamic and it is my greatest hope that the catharsis I experienced while creating it will be what is experienced by whomever listens.
When I originally wrote the songs a part of the project I did not believe that anyone would ever hear them or me. I didn’t believe I was worthy enough to have a voice let alone it be as impactful as it has been in this creative landscape. This project means so much because it is not only the first of many steps in my journey as a professional musical artist, but a sacred reminder of where I’ve been, my potential to be, and a living affirmation of who I’ll become. Wholeness isn’t only for Heaven, but it’s for now; Wholi Unplugged is a tool and I hope that folx will access as often as they need, so they can experience whatever their version of wholeness is, now.
Soulliaa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Again, I am Soulliaa Rae, MSW, MS, MA a songwriting songstress and mental wellness and equity expert. My life’s work and artistry is rooted in creating healing equity in the Earth in counter culture/systemic ways. Over the past couple of years I have been serving as a creative therapeutic and equity contractor and performing artist across Houston. I have had the opportunity to cultivate stronger social/emotional skills (self-soothing, communication, traumatic processing, recovery) through expressive arts intervention, professional developments, and public performances in the communities I serve alongside some beautiful nonprofits and community members (YAH, CUT, SAID, more).
I have been privileged to study traditional and holistic means of healing through graduate university study, spiritual practice, various trauma informed trainings, and experiential means. My personal paradigm situates me to create/serve/work, from a critical cultural and trauma-informed lens, to process social, mental, emotional, and environmental woes through creative means (expressive arts intervention, EMDR, herbal remedies, etc). This work constantly shows me the need to create room in my nervous system on a moment to moment basis and how important healing maintenance work is.
This season my community work has been concentrated in the fifth and third ward communities in Houston. It is my hope that the city of Houston and other community stakeholders will increase their investment in supporting the expansion of the work I am doing in my community and artistry. In 2023 I will be seeking stakeholders to invest in creative musical endeavors on the horizon and the Healing Bus project. This project aims to eliminate the barrier of transportation in accessing the creative therapeutic services I offer, by acquiring and converting a retired school bus into mobile programming space. I deeply believe that we have the tools we need to maintain and achieve wholeness now, it’s a matter of accessing them and doing the work. Our individual, household, and community healing is an integral part of creating the lasting tomorrows we want to see for the generations to come.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding piece of this journey changes for me season to season. This season I have been falling more in love with the discipline of this process. Being creative should flow, but like with any other skill or talent, polishing has to happen in order to grow or reach the next phase or level of whatever you are trying to do. For a long time I ran away from music theory things, understanding the digital production process of music curation and more! It felt challenging and not “fun” like just creating for creating sake. You have to find balance of course (so create just to create), but for me it has been imperative to participate in the things of artistry I’d rather not with a cheerful heart and consistency. The reward in this has been unlocking new understandings of the gifts I’ve been given which translates into more dynamic experiences for the folx I have been privileged to share all of my things with during performances.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Society is such a blanketed term that gets tricky to navigate. I believe individuals who support artists can be more intentional about figuring out what they enjoy about the art and consume or engage with it from there. Verse engaging with it solely based on trends. We may begin creating for ourselves, but the products in which we create are often meant for someone else. If individual consumers can begin to resonate with artists creating for them intentionally, then I believe the competitive sentiments that exist within the creative ecosystem could cease. Making way for more artists to thrive within their art without a negative comparison complex. This keeps the art pure and authentic making it the most impactful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.soulraez.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulraez/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Soulraez
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/soulraez
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@soulliaaraevevo7519
- Other: Debut 🎶 Project – Wholi Unplugged Vol. 1 ft. AJ McQueen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YncTs4TRu2w&t=257s
Image Credits
Pluto V Young Audiences of Houston Center for Urban Transformation Allia Foley Nicholas Hunt