Life & Work with Racquel May

Today we’d like to introduce you to Racquel May.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My Name is Rocky Michelle CEO of Bohemia Music Studios, a Music and Film Production Company In Los Angeles California , I Am The Creator of Sessions of Legends, The Platform & A True Lover of The Arts, I Am 32 yrs old & My Story Starts From Being Placed In Foster Care At One Year of Age & Eventually reconnecting with my biological mother and siblings at the age of twenty-one, luckily for me, I was adopted by my loving mother Dorothy May who transitioned October 2021, so my upbringing and childhood was very stable. I grew up in east Los Angeles until ten years old and was raised in the Palmdale / Lancaster area until my return to Los Angeles in 2014. I started writing poetry at the age of 14 and songwriting at the age of 18. I am naturally shy but was constantly encouraged to perform my poetry by my childhood friends & school teachers, I was also asked to recite my poetry around the community, and I’ve been published for my work as well.

Moving to Los Angeles was a major transition for me, for one, my mom was very overprotective so I was very wet behind the ears. Naive one would call me but I’m a free spirit and I love the creativity behind life and love and even sadness. My first performance in Los Angeles was at an open mic called Flight School, I sang an unreleased song( Now Released) called “Heaven in a Minute” I looked down the whole time and I got through it.

After that I was hooked, I hit up spots such as Da Poetry Lounge,  & Legendary Poetry spot “Vibrations”. On December 13, 2015 my first child was born a daughter “Ahsha Monroe’ and two years later my 2nd child ‘Kinnari Love” and here we are today Year 2023. Since then I’ve launched my luxury wig & hair extension line called “Bohemia Hair Collection LLC” founded in 2020, this business was conceived after I was diagnosed with alopecia at the age of 18, the feeling of having to grow to love yourself with visual flaws was a journey for myself, I honestly didn’t look at myself without braids or a weave or wig for years. We can save that story for another time.

Bohemia Music Studios Founded 2021 – was formed as a safe haven for women artists in the industry to have a safe place to create. Being a women in this industry puts a lot of pressure to perform favors, compromising one’s self-dignity. I quickly learned that sex was used as a form of payment and any resistance once the producer or whoever recorded you or made a beat for you, Would used your songs or projects as leverage to control relationships or demand money if you didn’t comply to their wishes. Idk about you but hell no. I invested 1k into studio equipment and the rest is history.

From this escapade. Birthed my natural ability for event planning, I can credit my mother Dorothy May for always encouraging my skills, my first community event was the “Leimert Park” Community Time Capsule, asking local businesses to donate 1 item to the capsule, I was able to enlist the help of the Barbara Morrison performance arts center & the department of cultural affairs along with the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative. I gave “The Heart of Leimert Awards” to Legends Sika, Barbara Morrison, Rene Fisher aka “Momma Nene” and Ben Caldwell from Kaos Theory. Definitely one of my favorite events.

My current project is “Sessions of Legends” (a platform for producers to connect and network directly to local artists in the community) it first started off as a running artist showcase every last friday of the month. I went on to include a live stage for music creators having “Sessions of Legends” Press Play , the outpouring of love and respect I received from my peers and community let me know what I did was needed, the relationships and the places I have gone on this journey to support local artist or sponsor new events have been beautiful, I created a space to build connections and bonds in the artistic world in los angeles. I’m called a trendsetter a serial entrepreneur, a support system by many, but the core of any project I do is “Love”.

My vision for this platform is to put serious artists & producers in the for front to be recruited and signed by labels, I have a passion for finding and developing new talent. My goal is to be on a syndicated television network by 2025, have a physical studio home for Bohemia Music Studios & too become one of the top talent agents in Los Angeles.  (Stay Tuned)

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The anxiety of promoting Events ,because you want people to come and support the artist at these showcases and Low Ticket Sells.

Not understanding business well, & feeling taken advantage of.

Constantly feeling like your losing as an artist.

Not too many struggles other than home work-life balance. I’m a single mom so that’s cray, dating is finally positive and life is still evolving and revealing itself, I’m grateful for the journey.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m most proud of my ability to bounce back from things, I understand nothing is permanent in this life, things change constantly, suns set and moons rise, life is lit, half the time I don’t know and I don’t try to understand in the moment I just be going.

I’m a visionary, a mother a friend I’m literally a jack of all trades but I love helping artists and following their journeys so I would say I closely relate to a community activist but through music and art.

I specialize in producing projects and event planning.

I’m known for being kind, supportive, and smart, I’ve been called brilliant and a trendsetter, I’ve been told I’m going places, where not sure but it’s led me here, so where we going Voyage La?

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can follow me on @bohemiamusicstudios people can work with me, I provide sponsorships, I’m connected to a lot of resources and people I would love to help you with your next project. I do artist write-ups, album/single reviews. Pretty much anything artistic I’m down for.

Pricing:

• STUDIO TIME $50 HOURLY W/ ENGINEER
• PODCAST SPACE 6 HOURS $100
• EVENT PLANNING $100 HOURLY
• VIDEO WORK RATES TBD
• HEADSHOTS $75

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bohemiamusicstudios
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/BOHEMIAMUSICSTUDIOS
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/chosenlyricrm
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jussmerocky
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/@Sessionsoflegends

Image Credits
COURTESY OF @CREATEREALITYPRODUCTIONS