The Recording Academy and its affiliates are dedicated to elevating the work of creatives with varied lived experiences throughout the year. Through its DREAM (Diversity Reimagined by Engaging All Musicmakers) Initiative, the Academy spotlights cultural contributions of creators and implements member resource groups around eight priority groups.
Throughout July, recognized as Disability Pride Month, music industry creatives have shared their lived experiences — from navigating inaccessible venues, to redefining mainstream narratives, to celebrating the power of disability culture, community, and artistry on its own terms. The Academy’s RAA+D DREAM Network (Recording Academy Access & Disability) has partnered with RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) to spotlight the voices of creators and professionals with disabilities, neurodivergence, and chronic conditions.
The Recording Academy and RAMPD have been working together since 2022 to address everything from a more accessible GRAMMY night to having many who openly identify with disabilities be elected to Chapter boards. Among the fruits of this effort is New York-based EDM singer/songwriter and disability inclusion advocate Lachi becoming an elected Trustee — making her the first openly disabled, blind, and neurodivergent person in such a position at the Academy.
The work of the RAA+D DREAM Network — a core part of the DREAM initiative — has been instrumental in building an inclusive foundation that doesn’t treat access as an afterthought, but as part of the design. “The work of RAA+D is about more than visibility — it’s about partnership, representation, and making real change alongside the community," says Ricky Lyon, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the Recording Academy. "We’re building a future where accessibility and disability inclusion aren’t just recognized, they’re embedded in the DNA of the music industry."
As part of this ongoing collaboration, RAMPD and GRAMMY.com hosted a powerful conversation with award-winning artist and RAMPD CEO Lachi, RAMPD President Precious Perez, as well as GRAMMY-nominated artists and Recording Academy Chapter Governors who represent the RAMPD network. Their candid roundtable conversation includes a powerful call to action: Invest in more performance and leadership opportunities for disabled and neurodivergent talent across the music industry.
The Recording Academy’s commitment to the work and ethos of RAA+D continues year-round, ensuring access and disability inclusion remain a permanent part of the music industry’s future — not just during July, but year-round. Together with RAMPD, the RAA+D DREAM Network is redefining what leadership, visibility, and inclusion look like — and inviting the entire industry to do the same.
Let’s start with the word: Disability. Is this the appropriate term? Or should the industry be using different languages?
Lachi (Recording artist, National Trustee, RAMPD CEO): Say the word! I grant thee permission! Tip-toeing around it often comes off patronizing to a peer music professional who has a disability. I get the spirit of the question, though. You may run into someone from the disabled population that prefers euphemisms like “differently-abled” or “handi-capable.” But there’s a difference between the general disabled population — anyone who happens to have a disability for statistical purposes — and the disability community — those who proudly identify in solidarity with disability identity and who share common cause, culture, and language. The disability community prefers just saying the words "disability" and "disabled" to both reclaim its power and challenge any stigma and fear associated with it.
Disability breeds adaptability, resilience, drive, and creativity, making for some of the most innovative problem-solvers due to constantly navigating a world not quite designed for us. I’ve found that accepting, embracing, and harnessing the power of those things in me society has tried to convince me are limiting, is literally how you win. Living life and creating art as your most liberated self.
Jay Manuel (Music producer and TV personality): The term "disability" works for me. It connects me to a larger community and a shared history of fighting for access and inclusion. While we all have different experiences, I see disability as a source of creativity, resilience, and pride.
Being recognized as a leader while showing up fully as myself has been a major win. I’ve spoken on national panels and partnered with major brands, all while making disability and neurodivergence part of the story, not something to hide. That kind of visibility matters, and I’m proud to be part of the shift.
Chris Redding (Recording artist, producer): The term "disability" is useful as a broad category while recognizing the vast diversity within it. I’ve seen a growing awareness around disability and neurodivergence in the music industry, especially since RAMPD has emerged onto the scene. While progress is being made, true inclusion is still limited. It begins with open and honest discussion.
Personally, I embrace the term "disability" because it helps raise awareness and foster community. But I also emphasize the unique experiences of neurodivergent individuals within that space.
Precious Perez (Recording artist / RAMPD President): Disability is often viewed by society as a bad word. I use the word disability to reclaim my power and redefine the connotation associated with it. There's no need to sugarcoat what it is. I use the term proudly and unabashedly, because using the term — especially today — feels like a celebration!
Has the music industry stepped up to embrace and represent disabled or neurodivergent communities? What more could be done to help break stigmas?
Shelby Lock (Mix engineer, Chicago Chapter Board Governor): There’s still a long way to go, especially when it comes to non-apparent and dynamic disabilities, but I’m optimistic. I’ve seen a big shift in the industry’s willingness to welcome disabled professionals since RAMPD has evolved in the space.\
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One important step to being more inclusive is to stop assuming none of your collaborators or employees is neurodivergent or has a non-visible disability. Just because a disability isn’t apparent doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Also include accessibility information on your studio/office/event space website to send a message that people with disabilities are considered and welcomed.
Natalis Rubero (Singer/songwriter, New York Chapter Board Governor): I’ve seen more conversations around accessibility and representation especially since RAMPD, but true progress will require continued hiring, funding, and platforming of disabled creators across all genres and levels. The industry must also recognize and normalize the existence of non-visible disabilities and empower artists without forcing them to “perform” their conditions to be believed.
Gabriela Gironas (Sr. Director at Wasserman, L.A. Chapter Board Governor): RAMPD has opened doors and brought visibility, but the industry still treats access like a bonus, not a baseline. There’s more representation, but we need to move past panels and posts. Inclusion means paid opportunities, leadership roles, and real investment in Disabled and neurodivergent creatives.
Many believe that disability has a single appearance or that neurodivergence is merely a trend. This perspective is misleading. The industry must cease waiting for individuals to request access and begin incorporating inclusion during the design phase.
Jay Manuel: There’s been meaningful progress. We’re seeing ASL on the GRAMMYs red carpet. We’re seeing leadership roles from Chapter Governors to Trustee, mainly due to RAMPD and the Academy’s joint efforts. But there’s still a ways to go. Some still have the outdated fear that our individual needs may make things more difficult for everyone else. In reality, accessibility is useful for everyone and allows more diverse creativity into the room. The industry needs to invest in disabled talent at every level, from hiring to headlining to leadership, and treat long-term accessibility as a standard, not an add-on.
Mandy Harvey (Singer/songwriter, "America’s Got Talent" finalist): The world likes to label and put people in boxes of limited potential. Highlighting amazing artists from all walks of life encourages others to dream and push the boundaries of what is possible. This elevates everyone and unlocks more creativity and freedom in expression.
RAMPD and the Recording Academy have maintained a great community partnership, with many Professional Members of RAMPD also Academy members. How has being active in both impacted your career and/or your identity journey?
Lachi: RAMPD’s journey began within the Recording Academy halls. The first party I’d ever gone to where I openly used my white cane was a 2019 New York Chapter event. It was the most terrifying thing I’d done to that point. And when I walked in, folks were just like, “Hey, whatup? Cool cane.” I joined a committee, and they were energized by my story; I spoke to leadership, and they were welcoming of my ideas. RAMPD emerged after a panel on disability-inclusion that we put together with the national leadership; the Academy became RAMPD’s first partner back in 2022, and the rest is history.
From folks like Sharon Tapper to Valeisha Butterfield Jones and so many others, it has been powerful women at the Recording Academy who have personally given me the support, strength, and opportunity to advocate and lead as I do now. So I am deeply grateful for the impact the Academy has had on my journey, on RAMPD, and thus on the journeys of all the future disabled and neurodivergent creators like me looking for that welcoming “Hey whatup, cool cane” space.
Joey Stuckey (Producer/Engineer, Atlanta Chapter Board Governor): It is such an honor and privilege to represent both as a Professional Member of RAMPD and as an Atlanta Chapter Governor at the Recording Academy. I started my musical journey as an artist wanting to record and perform. But with my blindness, travel was often inaccessible. So I built my own studio so people would come to me.
Through speaking and performance opportunities I acquired through RAMPD, I have had a chance to tell my story and learn from others. More and more folks are recognizing RAMPD as a hub to explore disability inclusion, and I’m grateful that the Recording Academy is amplifying that, too. At the Recording Academy, I am privileged to bring my voice to our Atlanta chapter, serve in leadership, make new friends and peer allies, and educate and empower others.
Chris Redding: Being part of the Recording Academy and of RAMPD has been empowering. It has connected me with a community that understands the importance of neurodiversity, giving me a platform to advocate for acceptance and inclusion. It has strengthened my identity as a neurodivergent artist and reinforced my mission to use music as a tool for healing and change.
Gabriela Gironas: It has helped me lead with greater honesty. Being part of RAMPD made me feel less isolated, and the Recording Academy has provided me with a platform to advocate for change. It has influenced how I build teams, advocate in meetings, and show up completely as myself.
Natalis Rubero: Being part of both the Recording Academy and RAMPD has helped me reframe my identity as a strength, not a liability. It’s also given me the language and tools I need to advocate.
Jay Manuel: RAMPD has given me a strong sense of community and helped me show up more fully. RAMPD has opened real doors and created new opportunities. My Recording Academy membership has allowed me to build relationships and attend events I wouldn’t have had access to before. Simply being present in these spaces has helped bring more visibility to disability and opened the door to conversations in my local chapter that might not have happened otherwise.
Shelby Lock: Being part of both the Academy and RAMPD has introduced me to some wonderful friends and collaborators and opened up many professional opportunities. When I joined RAMPD, it was so empowering to see that there were other people like me who had created paths for themselves in this industry — and who weren’t afraid to openly celebrate their disability identity. This has helped me do the same and not look back.
Mental health is a big topic in the industry right now. Should disability and neurodivergence be included in the mental health discussion? If so, why and what steps can be taken to include it?
Shelby Lock: The reason mental health is discussed but not neurodiversity is because having a disability is still seen as a negative thing. Discussions of mental health often shy away from calling mental health conditions disabilities and instead focus on everyone’s need to take care of their mental wellbeing. While these are important conversations, they overlook the reality of people with chronic mental health conditions and other forms of neurodiversity: Our brains are wired in a way that society was not built to accommodate.
The mental health discussion will never be complete until neurodiversity and disability are included. It would help if more mental health-related initiatives offered support or at least acknowledgment of the unique challenges faced by those with chronic mental health conditions.
Gabriela Gironas: Mental health is now easier to approach. However, disability and neurodivergence continue to unsettle many. These issues are interconnected, and it's essential to discuss them collectively. Inclusion begins by allowing individuals to articulate their own needs and ensuring an accommodating environment free from stigma.
Lachi: The mental health discussion is a very “you” discussion. I.e. if you are stressed, feeling anxiety, depression, or living with substance abuse, you should seek wellness services, a healthcare professional, perhaps change your diet or environment. While all of this is good and necessary — this framework sets “you” as the problem and “wellness” as the cure. But “you” are not the problem. Time and again we find that isolation, stigma, exclusion, feeling like things are not in one’s control are the problem. And the low-hanging solution is always community.
Having a friend who’s going through or living with what you’re going through (let alone a group of friends and colleagues) dismantles the isolation, breaks up internalized stigma, and opens you up to powerful release. Don’t go through your mental health journey alone. There is community right here in the music industry waiting to welcome you as you are with open arms.
Are there any wins or upcoming projects you can share, being both a music industry leader and a disability/neurodivergence thought leader.
Chris Redding: My forthcoming album The Colors in My Mind, featuring GRAMMY-winning and critically acclaimed collaborators, including RAMPD CEO Lachi and producer Jay Manuel, draws directly from my experiences with ADHD and synesthesia as a neurodivergent artist. It’s designed to celebrate neurodiversity and foster deeper understanding through immersive music that heals and connects.
Shelby Lock: I like to think that just being successful, serving in leadership roles, and being open about having a disability is a big win. So much of the stigma about being disabled is the misconception that it makes you less capable, so the more of us are out here proving otherwise, the more we can challenge those negative assumptions.
Gabriela Gironas: Establishing safe, adaptable teams has been a significant success. So has advocating for access as a fundamental aspect of our work and planning processes. Although it may not be loud or flashy, allowing space for others to flourish in their unique ways creates the most profound impact.
Lachi: It’s been awesome being able to infuse my message into my art, my art into my advocacy, and to both power-build and artistically collaborate with a ton of talented creators who share my passion for disability inclusion. I have the honor of collaborating with Chris Redding on Colors of My Mind, a project amplifying neurodivergence, co-arranging a classical meets electronic dance track "We Be Stars" for the United Nations Chamber Society alongside fellow blind composer Kemal Gorey, and recording the audiobook for my book I Identify as Blind releasing through Penguin Random House’s Tiny Rep Books in 2026.
As for wins, RAMPD is always the win. Our amazing relationship with the Recording Academy’s DEI team is a win. Through songwriting camps, mentorships, community events, and powerful partnerships, RAMPD not only brings bigger and better career opportunities, visibility, and community to our professional network, but as members of the music industry, we’re able to hold up the mirror and give the industry the opportunity to look at itself and do better…not despite us, but with us. Because of us.
Learn more about the RAA+D Network and the Recording Academy's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, recent DEI achievements, and year-round work to support artists, creators and music professionals of all backgrounds.