Rha Goddess is using hip-hop to fight for the rights of people who have mental health issues.
The New York-based spoken-word artist and social activist who coined the term "floetry" will stage her one-woman show, "Low," Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at VSA North Fourth Art Center. It's about a girl named Lowquesha and her journey through the mental health system.
"It is a young woman's story of real struggle and moments of real triumph, as well," she said. "I am deeply committed to the empowerment of young women. Young women rock - they deserve to be invested in.. It's not uncommon that women struggle when they're asked about role models. Women do a lot of the thankless and invisible work that actually keeps this society standing."
"Low" is part of Out of the Ordinary Festival, which ends this weekend.
Goddess said the hour-long performance emerged after her mentor's suicide in 2002.
"When I heard about my friend's death, I came home and wrote a poem called 'How Do You Spell Relief?'" she said. "I was giving a concert a few months later at a really amazing venue. I was working with an eight-piece band doing full-on hip-hop music. I stopped the set and kicked this poem, and it was incredible the way the audience reacted. I knew at that point I had to do something; it had to be bigger than a poem."
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Susanna Kearny, marketing director of North Fourth, said there's an adult language and content advisory for people bringing children.
"She uses authentic urban language when she's in her character," Kearny said. "It's perfect for college - the intensity.. Rha is just a really nice fit for a lot of what we try to do at North Fourth, which is something a little less mainstream, giving voices to artists you might not see elsewhere."
Goddess founded 1+1+1=ONE, an organization that combines art and social justice initiatives to raise awareness about mental illness, empower women and eradicate racism. "Low" is part of the Hip Hop Mental Health Project.
"If we look at the health care system as a whole, we know it's not in good shape, right?" she said. "By any stretch of anybody's imagination, regardless of what the issue is.. The face of mental heath has not been one that's been presented with dignity or with honor. They've presented it as this thing to be ashamed of. Treatment is not as successful as it could be. There are institutions and agencies that are doing incredible work, but as a whole, it's sort of like the health care system but worse. Which is pretty bad."
Jessica Rucell, program coordinator for the Hip Hop Mental Heath Project, said people's social environments impact their lives and that people should consider the social environment before laying blame on one person for his or her lot in life.
"We're doing this work around mental illness to reduce stigma, silence, alienation, and (we're) using the arts really as a way to frame and invite people into the discussion," Rucell said. "Our environments also influence how we're feeling day to day. It's going to feel a little bit different for me if I'm going to be able to bike somewhere versus taking the subway during rush hour."
In 1996, she began working on an album with Marco Jenkins, aka N8tive Son, who was instrumental in bringing slam poetry into the cultural forefront.
"Marco and I were in this conversation in terms of how to describe (the album)," Goddess said. "We were going back and forth and we were like, 'It's music, but it's poetry. It's, it's floetry!' We were just like, 'Word!' When you say 'slam,' people know what you mean. Through my work with him, I feel like I really got a chance to participate in that movement in a significant way."
Goddess was in town during the Albuquerque Slam Team's championship in the 2005 International Slam Competition.
"I was at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the women who were slamming in preparation for a spot on the team - they were just incredible," she said. "So, I'm very, very clear about your artistry in this here city."
'Low'
Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.
VSA North Fourth Art Center
4904 Fourth St. N.W.
$15 general, $10 students
Call (505) 344-4542 for ticket information
