Owning Your Story: RIMIDI on Independent Artistry & Sacred Impact

Deneen L. Garrett (0:32): They say mothering is a biological act. I say it's a strategic one. The intentional choice to nurture a dream and protect a lineage. But what happens when the the traditional path doesn't fit the legacy you are building? Today, we find out.

Deneen L. Garrett (0:51): Let's go. Welcome back to Women of Color Live, the live version of Women of Color, an intimate conversation, a top 20 women's empowerment podcast. We center and empower women of color. We also have a community for black women 50, the Dream Lifestyle Collective. Shout out to our production team at the Leon Thomas Group.

Deneen L. Garrett (1:30): Today's guest is Remedy, an independent recording artist, founder of Noon Recordings, and CEO of Jim Culture. Today, we conclude our May series, She Who Mothers, redefining legacy, love, and lineage. Remedy, welcome back to Women of Color.

RIMIDI (1:59): Oh my God, was muted. I'm so happy to be back. I'm super happy to be back. Thank you for having me.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:06): No. Absolutely. So happy to have you back. And so so you know, I was given some homework from, Remedy, and so I did do my homework. And I also went and listened to our original, conversation, which was a a few years ago.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:22): So we'll kinda, you know, get into that. Okay. Remedy, Juno, the late bloomer is out now. Direct to fan via Bandcamp. That was a very intentional choice.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:34): Talk to us about the decision behind ownership and going direct to fan. What did that mean to you as an independent artist, and what did it cost and create?

RIMIDI (2:47): It means a lot to me to be able to well, one, I wanna educate all of the listeners, all music lovers, those who indulge in music, period, whether it's my music or the music of my peers. You all have to overstand or one of the things I would like for you to know is that when our music is on the streaming sites, for instance, you may listen to music via Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, etcetera. You pay a small fee to listen to many artists all over the world. I mean, countless numbers of artists. And in some cases, you pay nothing at all, right?

RIMIDI (3:30): And then when the artist receives anything from that then they get you know roughly about 0.0003. You can look it up yourself and you'll find that artists really are not making anything from that. Right? And so the best thing when you find an artist that you really, really love and you truly, genuinely want to support them, then the best thing for you to do is actually go to their website, purchase the album directly from their website, if it is available that way, which is direct to consumer. And I want you to think of it like art.

RIMIDI (4:09): Music is art. So when you're buying music, you're collecting art. And so when you go to a gallery and you pick up the art from a gallery, you might pay anywhere from, I don't know, a dollar to millions, right? It's the same concept. And it allows the artist to sustain themselves and continue to create art in a stress free environment because they actually are able to make a living from it.

RIMIDI (4:38): So this is how we wanna support. So that's how I see it. It's a lot to go into this when you are a music artist like originally, especially when we were talking some time ago, I didn't really fully overstand the importance of building an infrastructure as an artist and why that was necessary. That's what differentiates you from being a starving artist to an artist that is a professional artist and makes a career from it. And so that is the difference between the past version of myself and the version of me today where it's like I am looking to build a sustainable career from my music.

RIMIDI (5:15): And that means making sure I have my ISRC codes, making sure that my music is properly registered, not only in copyright, but also with Sound Exchange or Pro, your performing rights organization. So that every time the music does play, it's able to collect money and actually create different streams of income for you so that you can live from it. So, I I feel like that's a big, yeah, that question is like, I don't even really feel like I could say all the things that I wanna say. Right. Because it's a jam packed question, but that's initially what ownership means to me is being able to make my music and create a living from it and yeah, and own it and own it and have full control of what happens with it.

Deneen L. Garrett (6:02): No. And so, I mean, and that speaks to a lot of us, whether we're in music industry, whether we're a different kind of creative, whatever it is that we're doing, now is the time for us to look at owning that, right? Making sure that we're monetizing and getting all the monies that's out there to be gotten, right? That's as well with the podcast. Like, okay, I've been doing this thing for six plus years, Been, been, been time to, you know, to get money out of it, you know.

Deneen L. Garrett (6:31): Yeah. And all those things. So, like you said, getting a structure in place, getting the proper, you know, systems together is something that we all, you know, can do for whatever it is that we're doing and I want to shout out your folks because they they ready. Okay. They came ready.

Deneen L. Garrett (6:48): They are ready dropping comments and I love to go. Why? Let's go because I didn't even want y'all comment. Like, engage with us. Like, that's what we wanna do.

Deneen L. Garrett (6:58): We wanna engage with you. So shout out to your people. Right? We're already, Okay. You know, jumping on So the homework that you gave me was to listen to, you know, the late bloomer, which I did, okay, I did that today.

Deneen L. Garrett (7:12): Was just gonna play it, I'm like, okay, okay. But what really stood out to me is what you wrote. So what's there? You said something about the journey you're on now. And that's what you this album is your journey.

Deneen L. Garrett (7:29): It's who you are today versus who you were before. So when I said I'd listened to the original conversation, I had asked you then, and I'm gonna ask you now, but I asked you then who is Remedy? And I'm gonna ask you who's Remedy today? Because I think we did that back about three years ago.

RIMIDI (7:48): Yeah. Remedy don't play no games. She bought her business. You know what I'm saying? Listen, what would behoove people to overstand about me is like, I am a lone wolf.

RIMIDI (8:07): You feel me? I I thrive best alone. Like, I work best when I can focus, but I also work best in a team of people who are very similar. Right? And so a lot of times, it it might come off like remedy is not social and all that, but I am.

RIMIDI (8:25): I really am. My rising sign is a Gemini. So I like communicating. Communication is important to me. Technology is important to me.

RIMIDI (8:35): Being able to use these things and be on the same page with one another is so important to me. And also being around genuine people. I just love good people. You know what I'm saying? We all have our differences.

RIMIDI (8:48): We may not always be on the same page, but even when we have our differences, we still can love each other. And that's what's important to me. I'm all about love. I'm not perfect at all. In no way, shape or form.

RIMIDI (9:03): I have my days. I could really be the scorpionic person that I am. But at the same time, I'm love. My goal is to be love. I want to embody and my goal every day is embodying the fullness of god.

RIMIDI (9:20): And so that's me. Like, right now, I'm just about my business. You know, if you ain't really talking about my business or your business or how we can help and serve one another, you know, if if my work is not allowing me to serve others, it's like, don't really have an interest right now. I gotta figure out and line up with what God is calling me to do. And I have to be obedient enough and quiet enough to hear it clearly.

RIMIDI (9:47): And that sometimes require isolation. So it sometimes require you to go off into the wilderness. You feel me? And so that's just Remedy in a nutshell. I have a lot of titles and I can name all of them.

RIMIDI (10:01): But at the end of the day, am a spirit. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker (10:06): Talk about that.

RIMIDI (10:07): Yep. I'm a spirit and I'm here doing God's work and working every day to align more and more and more in that and less of the mass, less of all that other noise and more of what God has told me to do. More of God, less of me. I love the flesh.

Deneen L. Garrett (10:22): More of God, less of you. Love that. And so, as I said, you know, the podcast is about empowering women of color and black women 50 and up. And so taking that time for ourselves, taking that time to do some introspection, right, it starts with us. We need to get in tune with ourselves and figure out what kind of life do we want, what does that dream life look like, and then work into it.

Deneen L. Garrett (10:45): So, absolutely taking time for self getting out of nature. We talked back then about how you and the kids went on a road trip, right? Homeschooling and how it was about life and living life, right? Just not sitting the room and learning what they want you to learn but learning, you know, the things that are important as well as living the things that are important and you said you were spirit then so that hasn't changed. Yeah.

Deneen L. Garrett (11:10): So, to me, that means that's who you are, right? And that's just an element of you that doesn't, you know, that's not going away. It just may look different, which is looking differently right now. Oh my god. Yeah.

Deneen L. Garrett (11:22): Yeah. Right? Okay. So Landon was late. What was Landon late for?

Unknown Speaker (11:25): I love my nephew, Landon.

Unknown Speaker (11:27): I wish he

RIMIDI (11:28): was watching right now. Oh my god. Oh my god. Landon. So first of all, I have to shout out Futa Kochi.

RIMIDI (11:35): This was Futa Kochi's idea. Futa Kochi is an amazing artist, music producer, sound engineer, and he is my brother. You feel me? Like, is as blood as much as my brother is my blood brother who I love as much. So I gotta shout out my brother too, my brother James.

RIMIDI (11:52): We call him Jazz. But and and then I got my older brother, Shannon. You know? But I grew up with Jazz, and I I I just got a lot of love for him. And and Fuda and I, it feels like he is my brother from another mother and dad.

RIMIDI (12:04): But anyway, Fuda had the idea of like, because the theme around this whole album Juno the late bloomer is, it's about blooming late. And Fuda and my manager One half of my manager, Gino Black, Power Blast, shout out to Power Blast and ML. Gino and Fuda always had this running joke about Remedy and they call it 11:59. They say Remedy is always 11:59. Like I'm always late.

Unknown Speaker (12:31): All the time, like I could be on time and still be late. I don't know what I'd be doing. Just, I don't know. But I've gotten better as you can see.

Unknown Speaker (12:40): I've been

Unknown Speaker (12:41): Yes, you were on

Unknown Speaker (12:42): time girl, you were good.

RIMIDI (12:43): I'm better with this. I'm someone who don't even really believe in the concept of time, but I'm learning how to be mindful that other people do believe in it. So how do I blend the two? Because I don't believe in the concept of time but I do believe we should maximize the time that we have in each day while also giving us But some to answer your question, that was food idea to get Landon to say those words. And so I had to just kinda trick him.

Unknown Speaker (13:17): It wasn't planned. It was planned on my end, but none of that stuff he was saying. He was like, what? Like, he really was confused. Like, what am I late to?

Unknown Speaker (13:25): Right. Right.

RIMIDI (13:25): What am talking about? Like and I was like, you know, you're late. And he's like, for what? I'm like, because you're late. And that really was a very innocent, authentic and real experience.

RIMIDI (13:37): My nephew had no idea what the heck I was doing. And then once it was done, was like, right, thank you. Let's move on.

Unknown Speaker (13:43): Right, exactly. He's like, okay.

Unknown Speaker (13:46): Yeah, and then what's so funny is when he first heard the album, he was younger and he was just like, okay. Yeah, because he was so much younger. He didn't even really get the importance of any of it. But this year, I let my nephew hear the album and he was actually very interested and very like, okay, that's

Unknown Speaker (14:09): good. And I'm

Unknown Speaker (14:09): like, well, thank you. But before he didn't care.

Deneen L. Garrett (14:12): Yeah. Well, what's different now? Then to hear it and to know the significance of it, right? Because like what you mentioned about what this journey is so, know, out to me, grief, right? This month I'm experiencing grief.

Deneen L. Garrett (14:30): You talk about identity healing. So healing is part of the grief process as well. The accountability and the emotional rebirth, right? So that's what your project is about. That's what this moment is about for you.

Deneen L. Garrett (14:44): So he probably understands it differently than back then. Because again, was a you just caught him on the fly and talking to him. You didn't know what was going on, but now he can understand and appreciate his contribution to your journey.

RIMIDI (14:58): I think he's still actually processing it. You know how you hear a song many times throughout your life? And like when you first hear it, you you just love it. But then when you get older,

Unknown Speaker (15:08): you like, damn, I know that's

RIMIDI (15:10): what that meant. Like, or that you know? So I think that's what it's gonna be for him for the rest of his life. Absolutely. He's gonna always find something new in that and appreciate it more and more and more as he get older.

Deneen L. Garrett (15:24): Yeah, absolutely. Because you know what? It's about where we are in life at that time that we listen to a song, we read a book, etcetera. It's about us. Right?

Deneen L. Garrett (15:33): And so it is a reflection of where we are, how we receive the message, whatever that message is. Yeah. So, alright y'all. Come on with the comments and questions. Whatever y'all got for us, let us know you're out there.

Deneen L. Garrett (15:47): Drop a WOC. Yes, streamer. If you're part of the Dream Lifestyle Collective, drop a heart if you're family and friends. We wanna know you're out there. We already saw a few drop some comments.

Deneen L. Garrett (16:01): So we know Gina was out there and I saw it, but I apologize that I didn't didn't remember the name. They were showing and giving love. So, Noom Recordings is yours. Okay. That's that ownership we're talking about in a music industry that often ask artists to trade ownership for opportunity.

Deneen L. Garrett (16:19): What does it mean to have built a label that fully belongs to you? And what do you want other independent women artists to understand about that choice?

RIMIDI (16:30): Okay. I just had so much love coming here. Had to, I wanna make sure I acknowledge Tawana Akins, a better me and community collaboration exchange. She's an amazing woman, power woman, powerhouse. My girl Lisa Bell, powerhouse, amazing.

RIMIDI (16:48): I just have to say hello to them real quick. Absolutely. Yeah. So it is important for you to own your work and be able to control your work. You have to think of it as building a legacy for bigger than yourself.

RIMIDI (17:11): Right? You have to think about the next generations that will come behind you, whether that be your own family and or your community or your organizations. You have to think of the legacy in which you're building and how you want that legacy to be able to overstand the way that they too build legacy for themselves and for the people that they love and admire and just for for the world in in general. And so when you start a record label, you're you're basically just cutting out the middleman, and you're making it where you're the full executor of what's happening. I mean, you're you're just the one in control of how things are being distributed, who in which you choose to have relationships with.

RIMIDI (17:56): Like for me, I look at people overstand. This Scorpio life ain't nothing to play with. Right? Like, I'm real intuitive and I'm always observant. I watch things that you have no idea that I'm watching.

RIMIDI (18:12): You have no idea. And I sense, I'm very sensitive. I sense a lot of stuff. And so I watch who you partner with. I watch like how are you representing yourself and are you too sure of your own values and who you're getting into business with, right?

RIMIDI (18:29): And the values that they also share. And I like I pay close attention to these things because of the fact that it could also affiliate me with that. Right? And I wanna be careful as to what I affiliate myself with. And these are things that over the last couple of years I have gotten really close to.

RIMIDI (18:46): But when you are creating your own label, you have that choice of being very mindful of who you are making your connections with. You could be more intentional. You could be more intentional about where your music is reaching and who you want your music to reach. You are able to get more clear directions of your stats. I'm gonna say stats, don't mess up the word.

RIMIDI (19:09): But you get more clear on like what your stats are. Yeah, the timing, the choice of your songs. Yes, it's freedom. It's art is like, was watching two things. Yesterday I saw Lizzo.

RIMIDI (19:23): I love Lizzo.

Unknown Speaker (19:25): Yeah, me too.

RIMIDI (19:25): Yes, she's just so bold and honest and true. Yeah. And that's what I love. But yesterday she was posting her own flyers. Saw a video.

RIMIDI (19:32): She was posting her own flyers and she wrote on the screen that she's posting her own flyers because her record label won't. Yep. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, I mean, why not? And like to be able to be in control, I don't have to ask nobody, can I do anything?

RIMIDI (19:51): I run it by my team because I do have a team, Power Blast Worldwide. So I run it by them, but I don't have to ask for permission. Right? It's more of like getting advice and seeing if this is in the best interest, what they think, getting their feedback. And then I go and I move with, I think of them as my advisory team, right?

RIMIDI (20:10): And my partners in business. But at the end of the day, I have the final say as to what's happening. And I see that a lot of times. I hear artists who they can't put their music out because they've been shelved. They gotta wait until the label is ready to get them out there.

RIMIDI (20:27): It's just a lot of things though. So I feel like as a woman, we're powerful and it's time for us to align with that. And I think it's okay. I feel, I know it's okay for us to step into a full leadership and be who we're called to be. Part of that is being owners and the things that we do.

Deneen L. Garrett (20:44): Yeah. And so let's park there for a moment. Right? Because what you said about having that team, we need teams. Don't go it alone.

Deneen L. Garrett (20:53): You can you can. We can. It's gonna take longer. So if you wanna you know? And you're gonna miss a whole lot of steps that are unnecessary had you had a team.

Deneen L. Garrett (21:02): So having a team, having an advisory board, having your own personal board of directors, all of those things are important. That's sisterhood. Again, the Dream Lifestyle Collective. That's what, you know, we're building there like a sisterhood for us so we don't have to do it alone and I'm one of those people like you talked about being solo and like being by yourself. I'm an introvert.

Deneen L. Garrett (21:22): A lot of people don't believe me and I'm what that means is I need to go off by myself, you know, to to recharge. That's what that's that's it. People drain drain, right? That energy, right? It is what it is.

Deneen L. Garrett (21:36): However, I'm like leaning into that sisterhood. No, I'm I need my sisters. I need that board. I need advisers. I need those people to, you know, build off of, you know, growing a team, bringing people on because I'm not an expert in everything, right?

Deneen L. Garrett (21:55): I do well what I do well. The other things that I don't necessarily 100. Instead of me still trying to do it all on my own where I'm wasting time, I'm missing out on a lot of steps. Like I said, that money that I should have been getting these past six years. That's what a team can help you do, accomplish.

Deneen L. Garrett (22:14): So again, women who are watching, listening, get a team, build with other people, find someone who does well the things that you don't do well and build together.

RIMIDI (22:26): 100%. And I definitely wanna reiterate that being an introvert does not mean that you do not work with others. It doesn't mean that. It definitely just means you Like for instance, I have a friend Flo Wolf, shout out to Flo Wolf, he's an amazing visual artist, international visual artist. He is an extrovert and it seems like people charge him.

RIMIDI (22:49): You know what I'm saying? The interaction like me, I'm like, bro, okay. We've been on the phone. Right. I'll talk to you later.

Unknown Speaker (22:55): Like Right. Right.

Speaker 3 (22:56): Like, you you your your energy seem

Unknown Speaker (22:59): to be, like, charging up by talking to me, and I'm

Speaker 3 (23:02): yo. Goodbye. I'll talk to you later. I just,

Unknown Speaker (23:05): I'm sorry, boo. I got a time limit. I got a time You know what I'm saying?

Unknown Speaker (23:09): Yep. Yes.

RIMIDI (23:10): It doesn't mean that. And like, but I definitely have learned in my journey the importance of community, but the right community, the right energy, the right alignment. Because that's important too. It's not just anybody. It can't just be anybody.

RIMIDI (23:24): It has to be people that feel good, people that pour back into you. And it's not a tab. I don't take tabs. I don't do that. You know what I'm saying?

RIMIDI (23:33): But I can definitely feel when I'm like, I'm pouring a little bit too much over here. I gotta because also my energy does require reciprocation. Yes. I gotta feel it again. I'm not taking tabs.

RIMIDI (23:51): I just feel it, but I love, especially this season and people like yourself, mean, our relationship has been building over the last three years, but in this last, even the last year or six months, I've been meeting more women. And they look and feel like me. They are just like, let's do this. Let's serve. And it's like, yo, you speak my language.

Unknown Speaker (24:15): Yeah. My language. Hey, can I get more of you? Yeah. God, more please.

Unknown Speaker (24:21): No. And you know what? Another

Deneen L. Garrett (24:22): thing that we talked about is how we manifest. Right? So that's how what we talked about. And as a matter of fact, it was around your birthday because I looked at the date. So it was around your birthday.

Deneen L. Garrett (24:32): I know at the time we talked because you and my son are Scorpios. I think your birthdays are a few days apart, but anyway, you talked about manifesting. And so that's something that I lean heavily into. Not so much lately, like I'm kind of off on that energy and I need to pull back or take that time, really get my mind around manifesting more things like things still are coming to me but and there's things that I really want to manifest that I haven't really put the energy into making it happen for myself. So, that's something I need to figure out but anyway,

RIMIDI (25:07): I got you. I got you. You. I got It's so many people I would shout out because what came to mind just now is Manny Faucession. He may be watching right now, Lopez and he has a powerful community.

RIMIDI (25:22): Yesterday, I did a networking speed networking event with him and it was a whole bunch of women in this space. And I got to meet a lot of women, but he talks a lot about manifestation. But I I just dropped a gym and I know you wanna move on, but to manifest, this is a gym I'm dropping for everybody.

Unknown Speaker (25:40): Come on with it, come on, we like gyms.

Unknown Speaker (25:43): We do. And you too.

Unknown Speaker (25:44): Yeah. Do

Unknown Speaker (25:45): a G, E capital M.

RIMIDI (25:48): Peace your love Noreen. Yo, okay, that's my sister Noreen in the building. Listen, to manifest because I can only speak for myself, but I am in a very interesting time right now where I am being stretched more than I have ever been stressed in my life. And there are days and often many days that I am crying because I'm like, yo, this is a challenge. It is requiring My old self is She's on her last leg trying to stay here.

RIMIDI (26:18): I love her though, like this important to her. Right? I love her. But this thing she was doing is just like she can no longer be that. This person requires a whole another level.

RIMIDI (26:34): And so I'm leaning into it, it's a lot of crying. But in the midst of that, why am I telling you that? And what does that have to do with manifestation? Key to manifestation is remaining calm. It's that simple.

RIMIDI (26:48): You have to remain calm, you gotta relax. It's a lot of stuff that's happened, but you gotta relax. And then you gotta stay super, super locked in. For me, I'm being more intentional about waking up and starting my days with God first. Right?

RIMIDI (27:03): And I I as soon as I wake up because I I was finding myself waking up and getting on my computer. And then going on all these things. And it's like not. Mhmm. I gotta wake up and I gotta tune in to me and my higher power.

RIMIDI (27:14): Which for me is within. I gotta really line up with that. So what I do is first thing in the morning, I'm putting words in my ear and sounds and things that really like all day. Because now I'll hearing these songs at random times during the day. You feel me?

RIMIDI (27:29): Like, because that's how I'm programming myself.

Unknown Speaker (27:32): Yep.

Unknown Speaker (27:32): First thing in the morning, I'm hearing, you know, Lord, I will lift my eyes to the heels. Like, that's that's that's on my mind. So at 03:00 when I'm about to pop off on somebody, oh, boy. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker (27:54): Come on, Wendy.

RIMIDI (27:56): Let me line up. But that for me, it feels like what I'm learning is this season has been teaching me is and people are in my life constantly reiterating this whether they know that they're doing it or not. God is speaking to people like, you gotta relax. You gotta remain calm because I can go deep, man. I can go deep.

RIMIDI (28:19): I don't wanna confuse people but we but just remain calm, relax. Me and you, Deneen, like we could you and I can get on call any day and I'll be happy to exchange like manifestation tools, but it is the key is remaining calm and your focus is everything. What are you giving your, oh, algorithm girl, we can preach on it. I like, listen, the algorithm, let me tell you no, because I be telling people this all the time. Like, these platforms be teaching you who you are and you don't even get it.

RIMIDI (28:48): Like, it'd be teaching you you're a creator. It'd be teaching you that you work with the most high, that you are in co creation with the most high, and and that you are literally working with the most high to create the algorithm of what's coming into you. You feel me? Like it's crazy. Okay, who dropped that?

Unknown Speaker (29:06): Oh, that was Ms. Lynn Wiz, my sister. Okay, ma'am. Look at this. Yo, yes.

RIMIDI (29:12): No, that's listen. Okay. One last thing. I just said the one last thing. Because I just want, I gotta drop the gems right.

RIMIDI (29:19): One last thing. I want y'all to do yourself a favor and I want you to go to your homepage of your algorithm. Let's say Instagram. I like Instagram and TikTok. Those two are really good at showing you what's happening in your real life.

RIMIDI (29:33): Not necessarily that those things are what's popping up in your real life, but just how your real life works. So when you go to your homepage, it's like the For You screen and it shows you all the stuff you like. If you go to that screen, it's showing you what you like. And then the algorithm is saying whatever you're seeing, the algorithm is like, that is what she likes or he likes. What they like, that's what they like.

RIMIDI (30:01): So I'm gonna keep sending them more of that until I want you to do me a favor. And I just want you to go and click on something that has nothing to do with you like. Y'all do that's your homework. Gonna go to another page. It could be about motorcycles or ducks.

RIMIDI (30:20): And then you're gonna click on the duck. And then I want you to go back to your homepage. And I just want you to see how all your homepage starts showing ducks and animals or whatever you looked at. That is how life works. Break Yeah.

Unknown Speaker (30:34): It down.

Unknown Speaker (30:35): Let me tell

RIMIDI (30:36): you, girl, we're have to have another life for this. Okay, because this is class. Yeah. This is a class, but that is how life works. And then the algorithm starts to send you more of what you bring your attention to, whatever you're focusing on.

RIMIDI (30:50): So where I've been for me personally, because manifestation for me is very important. It is the center of my life. My team could tell you. And I have my moments where I go off, but right now I'm like, I can't afford to go off. I So spend a lot of the attention listening to myself.

RIMIDI (31:07): I'm very tuned in with my thoughts. I'm not saying I don't have off days. I have off days, but I have a lot more good days these days than I have off days. Even in the midst of a storm, even in the midst of my life changing, even in the midst of a huge life and business transition, I am still a lot of myself tuning, but I'm tuning in like when I hear a thought and it's not what I wanna hear, I'm like, alright. That was cool.

Unknown Speaker (31:33): Change that station.

Unknown Speaker (31:34): Yeah. Let let's let's go

RIMIDI (31:36): into another frequency. Let's let's yeah. I'm not I don't wanna tune in to

Unknown Speaker (31:40): Well, click on another station. Click on a different meme or something in there.

Unknown Speaker (31:43): Yeah. I wanna change the god frequency.

Unknown Speaker (31:46): Even with the algorithm, we're click on something else.

Unknown Speaker (31:48): I don't like that. There you go.

Deneen L. Garrett (31:50): Alright. So look. You started off by educating, which makes sense. Right? Because that's that's your the space that you're in.

Deneen L. Garrett (31:57): So Find Your Remedy and gem culture are growing and both live at the intersection of your music and your mission. For the woman watching who was navigating a season of transition as both an artist and a mother, How do we use that late bloom to our advantage? And hold that thought. We'll be right back after this break. Hello, everybody.

Deneen L. Garrett (32:20): It's me, Deneeno Garrett, a cultural alchemist who shifts shapes culture through storytelling, through writing, through speaking, and through the Dream Lifestyle Collective, which is a community for black women 50 and up. You also know that I have the podcast, women of color and intimate conversation, which is a weekly live on Thursdays at 1PM. Well, as of Friday, it's official. My journey to become entrepreneur of impact has ended. Good news is I did make it through top five.

Deneen L. Garrett (32:55): Again, the bad news is the journey is over. Yes. A bit disappointed that I will not make the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine. I will not have the one on one coaching with Damon John. And of course, the 25,000 prize money, which was going to be invested in into the podcast and the collective.

Deneen L. Garrett (33:17): But, hey, here's the thing. Those things can still come. They can still happen. It's just that my contest journey is over. So there's that.

Deneen L. Garrett (33:26): So if you're wondering how to back up, first of all, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Because of you, because of your daily votes, because of your tax deductible donations to Jen Youth, I did make it through to top five.

Deneen L. Garrett (33:42): So, you know, let me go ahead and celebrate that. Let's clap it up for that. Now wondering how you can still support me? Multiple ways. Watch and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Deneen L. Garrett (33:53): Subscribe and listen to the podcast. If you are a black woman 50 and up, join the collective. And if you are a business looking to sponsor, hit me up. So just getting started. Just one part of a journey has ended.

Deneen L. Garrett (34:07): It's only, open space for this next part. So again, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Alright.

Deneen L. Garrett (34:15): Welcome back to women of color live. We are talking creativity, ownership, and intentional lineage with Remedy. And before the break, I asked how we use that late bloom to our advantage. Remedy, how do we do that?

RIMIDI (34:31): How do you use the late bloom to your advantage? Well, you use the late bloom to your advantage because you realize that, you know, and I have to just say thank you to a lot of people in my life right now because they're also constantly reminding me that, hey, you're not starting over, you're starting from scratch. I mean, that don't even make sense. Cut, start over. Right, right.

Unknown Speaker (35:00): No, no, no. And I

Unknown Speaker (35:03): was so confident. You

Unknown Speaker (35:06): did with your full chest. You

RIMIDI (35:08): gotta use that as a blooper. Anyway, point I'm making, they always they keep reminding me like, you're not starting over from scratch. You're starting over from experience, okay? You feel like, and oftentimes I'll be honest, it feels like I'm starting over from scratch. But I'm actually starting over with, so I have a wealth of information.

RIMIDI (35:32): I have more resources than I have ever had in my life. You know what I'm saying? And I'm in a space now that I'm beginning to become more clear at being able to recognize them around me. That's a part of manifestation too. That's the other thing.

RIMIDI (35:48): We wanna manifest but we fail to appreciate what we have right now. That's what blocks your manifestation. Because instead of us being in the present moment, we're in the future, right? Or we're stuck in the past. And that's why it's hard for us to manifest or call in new things and get in alignment with God to call in these new things that we're wanting.

RIMIDI (36:08): Because first you need to be able to see what's around you first and work with what's around you. And so that is what I would say about that. Being able to realize like, yes, you may have bloomed a little late, but if we look at the plants, I have a whole garden. Thank you, mama. My mama helped me.

RIMIDI (36:26): Like I have a garden growing outside of my balcony. I have a balcony garden And like, my plants are showing me, like, they're all different. Yes. They have different needs. They require different stuff.

RIMIDI (36:35): Some of them need more water and more attention and more love. Whereas some of them, it's like, yo, I'm good. Put me out here with the sun, and I don't really you know what I'm saying? Like, my cat. My cats.

RIMIDI (36:46): She Olive. Okay. I got two cats. But Olive, man. Olive the one that be getting my attention because sometimes Olive wants your attention.

RIMIDI (36:54): And sometimes she don't want your attention. And she lets you know, like, you know what mean? Yeah. So it's like, you know, some of us are roses, some of us are dandelions, some of us are weeds, some of us are, you know what I'm saying, lilies and all stuff. But we're the Rose looking at the Lily and asking why I can't be the Lily.

Unknown Speaker (37:16): You can't because you're not. You know what I'm saying? You're not the Lily.

Unknown Speaker (37:20): There's that.

RIMIDI (37:21): Yeah, and there's that. And the beauty of it is like, even let's say in a family of roles, we're still all different. You know what I'm saying? We're still, some of us may be different colors. Some of us, you know what I'm saying?

RIMIDI (37:34): May grow a little taller, some may grow a little smaller, but even still in that there's individuality in that. There's beauty in that. There's beauty in us being different from one another. And that's something that we have to get to a place to begin to accept that in our plan, in the plan, it's not always our plan. It is the plan for our lives, right?

RIMIDI (37:56): It is a matter of fact of what is it that we've been called here to do and that might require you to bloom a little bit later because there might be a stream of lessons that your life requires that didn't be required for this person. And then it's all about people being positioned at the right time in the right places. You know what I'm saying? New experiences popping up, new eras that are made just for you and what your work is doing where it's that time. So we have to start to look at like, oh, I'm all that time before that is just me honing.

RIMIDI (38:29): It's me honing. That's what we should be doing. Like sitting still and just honing Yeah. Time and and keeping our head down and staying focused on our work. And then when so that when the time is ready, we don't have to get ready.

Unknown Speaker (38:43): Yeah. We're already there. Like, with Yeah.

Unknown Speaker (38:45): We're there.

Deneen L. Garrett (38:45): Using the whole with the flowers in the garden and all that kind of stuff, plants, water, prune, watch it grow, move them around. Right? Because you you want the whole thing to get some sun as opposed to just one side because that one side that's getting that sun, that's the side that's really gonna grow more than the other side. So you gotta move things around. And that applies to our lives.

Deneen L. Garrett (39:08): And and that's what Remedy is talking about right now. So gym culture is about your you know, the work that you do with the youth. So as a mother and a mentor, how do these platforms extend what you're doing on stage and in the studio? And how has your own evolution as a mother shaped the way you show up for the young people in your community?

Unknown Speaker (39:29): Okay, you're gonna have to break that thing down to three different questions. I

Deneen L. Garrett (39:35): will start with how the platforms that you're using, right? The ones that you're shifted to, extend what you're doing on stage and, how do they extend what you're doing on stage and in the studio? So how has that shifted how you show up?

RIMIDI (39:52): Well, I I like to add that I have had moments of imposter syndrome. Right?

Unknown Speaker (40:00): Okay. Keep on it. I think

RIMIDI (40:02): that's very important. Yeah. I think that's very important to honor that things have not always been perfect and that there were times that I really had no idea who I am or doubt in my purpose. Really just like not really not sure of myself and what I've been called to do. And those moments are important too because those moments are what have groomed me in really just being able also to see all sides of myself.

RIMIDI (40:39): Right? The good and the bad, and then learning to appreciate the light and the dark. And so the way that my work translate on the stage, in a studio, I show it real real. I I I just I work real hard to just be myself. You know?

RIMIDI (40:58): I work real hard to shed a lot of unnecessary layers that are not mine or that I felt I had to have or that someone else told me I had to have. I worked real hard on shedding those things. So my work translate across in every place that I go because I come from a family of a lot of real people. You know I'm saying? No matter what, even if I don't always like some of the things they do, it doesn't matter.

RIMIDI (41:24): They're still very real and authentic. And so I I just that's just my work. It's it it comes through in my work. It comes through whether I'm in the studio making music or even just in my room writing a song and making a music in in my living room or in food is living room or in rods. Shout out to my drummer rod and my right hand in his living room.

RIMIDI (41:46): Like, it doesn't matter. Like, that's where it goes. And then when I'm working with the young people, I mean, I love them because that's when it really like, it really comes out because that's I love the Jits. I'm always love the Jits because they, you can't hide. You can't hide with them.

RIMIDI (42:03): They could see right through you because they are the closest to God. They're the closest to purity. And so they're gonna call you out on your stuff. And so even my daughters I love my daughters Leah and Malone. There was a part of your question that talked about motherhood and how that translated.

RIMIDI (42:23): Motherhood is why gym culture exists. Did a Girl Scout. I was a Girl Scout leader and I loved it so much. Prior to that I was a cheerleading coach, a cheer commissioner. I was a substitute teacher, reading interventionist.

RIMIDI (42:42): I've done it all when it comes to the young people. Don't ask me how I became a cheerleading coach because I am not

Unknown Speaker (42:47): a

RIMIDI (42:47): cheerleader. Don't wanna be, but it was fun. Like it taught me a lot of stuff and that space I had to learn to coordinate and I had to get out of my comfort zone because I had to continue to show up for them because it was really I was a commissioner who ended up becoming a coach because I had to keep the space alive because it was hard to find coaches. And I couldn't give up on the girls. I couldn't let the girls down.

RIMIDI (43:09): So I just filled in the coaching position, but I made the girls lead because I don't know how to do this. I'm not cheerleading. You know what I'm saying? But you know, and it, but it was like a lot of the things that I was doing was because of my daughter's existence, because I was looking for things for them. So like I ended up becoming a girl scout leader.

RIMIDI (43:29): I did it twice, but the second time I did it, it was the most powerful time that I did it. I was girl scout first, let's say that. Was girl scout as a young woman as a girl. And then Yeah. Yep.

RIMIDI (43:39): When my daughter was when my daughters were like one and because my daughters are 10 apart. So maybe one and one in my stomach, I started another Girl Scout troop, but it wasn't timing. And then years later, ended up starting I moved to Orlando for a little bit and I started a Girl Scout troop there, Girl Scout troop number one with Citrus County, Florida. And I have 40 girls and seven leaders and I was so into it and I wasn't making any money. And that's when I was like, you know what I'm saying?

RIMIDI (44:14): Like, I think I do love these kids. Think I was, you know I'm saying? Was so like, All I did was breathe, eat, sleep, the organization of it, playing it, everything. I loved it, putting everything together for them. I really felt like I was doing it more for me than I was for them.

RIMIDI (44:30): I really loved it. And so whatever, fast forward, I ended up coming back home, getting back into teaching and was like, I wanna start another Girl Scout troop. And I have to shout out that principals because she was like, well, and then mind you, prior to that, was like, I wanna do my own thing. But I didn't, Girl Scout had so much resources. And I didn't see a lot of women who looked like me doing stuff like You know what I'm saying?

RIMIDI (44:55): So that, even though I idealized the concept, it didn't seem real that I could do that. So she was like the invitation, where she was like, I think you should do your own thing. I was like, was like, voila. And I went upstairs and I was like, what this thing gonna be called? And she said, gym culture.

Unknown Speaker (45:20): I mean, she, she, she. She said, gym culture. God gave

RIMIDI (45:25): me a download. I didn't even have to think hard on it. That was the name. And at the time I was real deep into crystals and all that stuff. It just came with gym culture is just like, we're polishing the gym.

RIMIDI (45:35): They already gems, we're just polishing them up. And so we can send them out into the world so that they can be the most powerful version of themselves and power the world through just being their most authentic self. I'm saying by being comfortable and then being confident that they could do it because they're connected to the resources, to the people, to the funds, to the places, to the experiences, etcetera. And so that's all that. But gym culture came in the moment where I also was still like my daughter, my youngest daughter was going.

RIMIDI (46:06): She was going to school at the school I was teaching at. And I wanted something for her to do. Girl Scout came because I needed to, I showed up to a first orientation and the leader, it was for my daughters, it was something for them to do. And the lady go, yeah, the leader, she goes, yeah, so I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore Someone needs to be a leader.

Unknown Speaker (46:30): I'm new to

Unknown Speaker (46:30): the town. I don't know none of these people.

RIMIDI (46:32): Right. You know what I'm saying? But I'm like, I'm gay. And then I'll do it. And then this is how dream culture exists.

RIMIDI (46:41): It all has been my daughters and then the way my mom has brought me up and like my mom is the one who put me in things. You know what I'm saying? My daughter is the same thing. Like, I'm putting you in anything. I don't care if you don't like it or not.

Unknown Speaker (46:52): Just gonna put you

Unknown Speaker (46:53): in it.

Unknown Speaker (46:53): You could try it. And if you don't like it Right.

Unknown Speaker (46:55): A new experience.

Unknown Speaker (46:56): Life. Yeah. I'd like they fought me hard on a lot of stuff. And then years later,

Unknown Speaker (47:00): dang. I'm glad you did that.

Unknown Speaker (47:02): Yeah. I'm glad you put me in that. You know, thank God my mom put me in cheerleading for one year of my life that I could connect to the other cheerleaders. Because I I was like, why are you putting me in this? I knew when I was young, I was like five, she put me in cheerleaders.

Unknown Speaker (47:15): Was like, why am I here?

Deneen L. Garrett (47:17): Let me throw something at you. You mentioned earlier and we're gonna connect it to Jim, right? So Jim was dropped in your lap that was put before you polishing, being our best selves, etcetera. But you also told us earlier on that you have, what did you say? The Gemini something?

Deneen L. Garrett (47:36): What was that?

RIMIDI (47:37): Oh, oh, Everyone okay. Short answer. Everybody has three big you have the big three. So but most people only know about the big one. I'm a Scorpio.

Unknown Speaker (47:49): What are you, Deneen?

Deneen L. Garrett (47:50): I'm a Gemini. My birthday was yesterday.

Unknown Speaker (47:53): Oh. Happy birthday. Girl, how did okay. Did you post about that? No?

Deneen L. Garrett (47:59): I kinda did. I kinda did. I did. I dropped this little, like, a video. It was several different shots of me, and I was like

Unknown Speaker (48:06): I have

Unknown Speaker (48:07): to go to that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta check.

Unknown Speaker (48:08): Yeah. You gotta see it.

Unknown Speaker (48:09): Oh, happy birthday. Birthday.

Unknown Speaker (48:11): Thank you.

RIMIDI (48:11): Oh, okay. I I got you. Okay. So the okay. Everybody knows, like, you know you're a Gemini.

RIMIDI (48:22): I know I'm a Scorpio. Somebody else know they're Aquarius, Libra, blah blah blah blah. That is your sun sign. Meaning, you were born, that is the con first of all, those are also constellations. So when you were born, the sun was positioned in the constellation of Gemini.

RIMIDI (48:37): For me, it was Scorpio. The sun is masculine. The sun represents your personality. Right? How you might show up personality wise.

RIMIDI (48:47): But then you also have your moon sign. That's the second of the big three. That's your emotion. It's feminine. It talks about how you show up emotionally, how you respond to life emotionally.

RIMIDI (49:00): Right? And then you have your rising sign. How people appear or how you appear to people before you know or before they know you. Right? So my rising my big three is Scorpio, Capricorn, and Gemini.

RIMIDI (49:19): So my personality is very Scorpionic. Like, you know, I might have a mood every now and then. I have a mood every now and then. I'm very observant. I'm very calculated.

RIMIDI (49:34): I'm very mysterious. Think you know me, but you don't because I'm constantly shedding and I'm constantly transforming all the time. I'm a new person every couple of years. Not because I want to, but because it is my nature. And then my moon sign is Capricorn.

RIMIDI (49:52): But also my personality is it's it could be intense. Right? Because Scorpio is intensity. Okay? And now and it's not for everybody.

RIMIDI (50:00): Right? I had to come to to learn that. Like, I'm not for everybody. You know? And then, like, people might perceive me one way when they before they know me.

RIMIDI (50:11): And then when they get to know me, they see, like it it it seems like I'm all, like, sheltered and, you know, whatever. But when you get to know me, it's a lot. Like, I I love to talk. I have deep running watery emotions. Like, you know, so you gotta be able to love me for the fullness of who I am.

RIMIDI (50:27): But then my Capricorn moon though grounds the emotions sometimes. So you may not get all of the water all the time because I got a grounding. Capricorn is a earth sign, so it grounds me. You know what I'm saying? And then my Gemini rising is communication.

Unknown Speaker (50:41): So you see I'm talking right now, but when I get off of here, it's like, okay, goodbye. I don't wanna talk anymore. I'll talk to you. You know what

Unknown Speaker (50:47): I'm saying? Like,

RIMIDI (50:48): and so that that describes me. So, like, most people don't know people are starting to get into their big three, but most people only know the one, you know, their sun sign. And then but there's actually more to it. Like, there's there's you have your Venus, your Saturn, all the Mars. You have a whole bunch that make you up to what you And it's so And then I need to say this.

RIMIDI (51:13): Astrology is not a religion. It just is what it is. Our people used it to build pyramids. I just need to make sure that's very clear. It just is what it is.

RIMIDI (51:25): Whether you believe in it or not, because it's not something to believe in. But whether you believe in it or not, it is what it is. And it is so eerily accurate when you get past the surface level aspect. That's why people be like, I don't believe in astrology. And it's like, yeah, because you only know the fake horoscopes that you're reading that this is why one Scorpio is different from another because we're not the same.

RIMIDI (51:45): We might have personality traits that are similar, but there's so much more that make us up. And then there's levels to the Scorpio alone. Like the Scorpio, there's the Scorpion, then there's the eagle, and then there's a phoenix. That's why you have some Scorpios that are like real stingers. They show a lot more negative traits of the Scorpio because they are on the bottom of the Scorpio.

RIMIDI (52:07): Whereas I just say I'm a phoenix. You feel me? I'm always coming out of Wisely.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:12): Coming off the address. But listen, so I only brought that up because of gym, the gym culture. Right? So you mentioned that being part of you and and so that was also you attracting that that you attracted that gym as well.

Unknown Speaker (52:26): Yeah. I definitely did. Because like I said, God gave me the name of Jim Coulter. I didn't come up with that.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:31): Yeah. Yeah. And so for those who are watching or listening, the series that we're closing out is about She Who Mothers. And that's why we're talking about the motherhood part. We talked a lot about music and transforming the journey.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:46): Now we're talking about the And we kind of sprinkled in the motherhood part of it as well, but that's why now we're kind of talking about the gem culture. We shifted, again, as part of a journey, right? It's part of who you are and what you bring to the community. I wanna get into permission because we really focus on that in this space. What permission does a woman of color need to give herself today to stop settling for a life that doesn't and to start our world on her time, her own terms, in her own time?

RIMIDI (53:21): Well, I mean, you know from conversing with me in the past that and I and I'm so glad that you brought it up in the beginning that I needed to be reminded of that. Like, I do a lot of things afraid. I do a lot of things without the validation of other people. A lot of things I do, I am looked at incredibly crazy. You know, when I homeschooled my daughters, when I pulled them out of school, was like, man, this ain't working for me no more.

RIMIDI (53:49): You know, I I have family members like, hey, you know what I'm saying? What you doing? That same as when I decided I don't wanna eat meat no more. I ain't never liked it. You know, I I didn't like it.

RIMIDI (53:59): You know what I'm saying? Like, it's cool, but I I I you know, whenever I did eat meat, I always ate small portions. My mother is my my proof. Right? I only ate small portions and then my plate was filled with the starches and the vegetables.

RIMIDI (54:13): Know, because my mom always prepared us with two vegetables, one meat, one protein, and one starch. So I was used to eating vegetables and all that anyway. And so I just decided, man, you know what? Like, I'm an adult now. Can make my decisions.

RIMIDI (54:27): And I feel like that's kinda where we have to come to a place where it's like, we are adults. Even if you're a young woman watching this, like, you have to start even if you there are some things limitations that maybe you can't do certain things right now, you gotta start embodying it even if it's just in your mind alone. If you could see it in your mind and dream it up, it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen because that's you co creating with the creator that is God. So it's like you're gonna you're gonna you're gonna be able to do it.

RIMIDI (55:00): And and then time doesn't exist. I just sent out a newsletter and I put that a picture of that in the newsletter. Was like, the time does not exist despite us all wanting to claim that it does. It doesn't. The only time that exists is now.

RIMIDI (55:14): Because can you go back to Monday? I mean, might, you might be able to. I'm not against

Speaker 3 (55:20): that either. But like, can you

RIMIDI (55:22): go back to Monday and do what happened on Monday? Or can you go to tomorrow? You know what I'm saying? Like, no. Like, can you go into the next hour or the next twenty minutes?

RIMIDI (55:31): No. Like, the only thing that matters at this moment is now. And that's the only thing that is this. That's it. That's all that is this.

RIMIDI (55:39): So I will say to you to focus on focus all of your energy on right now. Allow yourself grace and allow yourself to do give yourself permission to do what terrifies you. Give yourself permission to be uncomfortable, even if it's just for a little while to get to where you're going. Allow yourself and give yourself permission to do what others dare you don't. Give yourself permission to be everything that you see yourself to be, even if that means being looked as crazy.

RIMIDI (56:17): Because when you get to where you're going, you're gonna be a genius. Even though you already are.

Unknown Speaker (56:24): Right. But right now you

Unknown Speaker (56:25): look crazy. But then when you get there, it's gonna be like, oh. I know because I've seen this many times in my life. Like, I'm a living proof of this. Whereas like, she crazy now.

RIMIDI (56:35): But then when I get to my destination, oh. Now I can see things differently. Right. Because I paved the way so you

Unknown Speaker (56:44): could do that. It wasn't

RIMIDI (56:46): you know what I'm saying? Like, you you know, so anyway, that's holding the conversation. But just give yourself permission to do the things that that make you scared. And it's I'm a tell you, you're gonna be scared and you you gonna you're gonna feel like you made the wrong decision. And you're gonna get a lot of pressure from the people around you when you decide to do something different.

RIMIDI (57:04): You're gonna get because and it's not because they I I gotta make sure I say this. They mean well, they love you, but it's

Deneen L. Garrett (57:11): It's not their journey.

RIMIDI (57:13): It's not their journey. And when you haven't walked that journey, you can't see it. You can't see You can't see it. So you you know, they may impose their own fears on you or the or or just us in general. Because I could be that person to somebody else for the record.

RIMIDI (57:27): You know? It's just when people are doing things you don't understand, you fear it. You know what I'm Or or when you love them, you want the best for them. You you just want them to have the best. And so you can't let people's fears affect your decisions, even if your decisions are even scaring you and that's it.

Deneen L. Garrett (57:44): So you don't wait for permission, you become it. And when you become it, everything rises to meet you. That's the Dream Lifestyle Standard. So if you're ready to live it, join us inside the Dream Lifestyle Collective. We provide the strategy, sisterhood, and structure for Black women 50 ready for their next chapter.

Deneen L. Garrett (58:03): So I want to thank you, Remedy, for sharing your time with us, sharing your wisdom, your journey, your blooming where you are today. Shout out to your people, right? Shout out to

Unknown Speaker (58:16): my people. Shout out

Deneen L. Garrett (58:17): to my people for showing up. I love it. Gina, thank you so much for all the coordination. Shout out to the Leon Thomas group who is the production team.

Unknown Speaker (58:28): Lauren, Leon.

Deneen L. Garrett (58:29): That's Yes. All the folks. We're here every Thursday at 1PM eastern. And next week, June, we're moving into a new series, the execution series, power, pivot, and purpose. And our guest is Tanya Spencer, power in bad Ashery, visibility and leadership influence is what she and I are gonna talk about.

Deneen L. Garrett (58:50): So again, Remini, thank you so much. Thank you everybody, and see you

Unknown Speaker (58:54): next time.