Musician, disability advocate, author and businesswoman Lachi, who was born legally blind.
Photo by Caroline M. Stucky
Lachi, a Black woman born legally blind, has a new book, “I Identify as Blind: A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power,” releasing on Jan. 27 via Phoebe Robinson’s publishing imprint Tiny Reparations (under Penguin Random House).
Beyond her work as an author, Lachi stands out as a musician, disability advocate, founder of the nonprofit organization Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities (RAMPD), and owner of the fashion line Glam Canes. These roles reinforce her influence across creative and advocacy spheres.
Adding to her multifaceted career, Lachi has also cultivated a substantial following on Reddit. There, her makeup looks have gone viral for years. Her team carefully uses the caption field to visually describe her face with makeup, ensuring blind users can enjoy the content as well.
She said, “It’s one of my favorite communities to be a part of. My 2025 GRAMMYs look became the top-viewed post of all time on Reddit’s makeup page, and we’ve built a large and fun following there. I’m often stopped on the street by a Reddit fan before I’m stopped on the street by a music fan!”
Reflecting on her motivation for writing, she shared that the book was for her 8-year-old self, who desperately needed such representation growing up. At the time, there just weren’t people who looked like her or who had her story on TV and the radio.
“I didn’t know how to feel about my disability, and there was no roadmap to follow, especially as I began navigating the music industry. I wrote I Identify As Blind to be that representation for someone else. Far too often, we all tuck away our quirkiest, brightest, most visionary selves so we don’t seem ‘too much,’ ‘too different,’ or a diagnosis waiting to happen. We’ve been playing it cool out of sheer fear of being pathologized. Exhausting, right? But the moment we drop the stigma… we drop the mask,” she said.
According to Lachi, the main theme of the book is the celebration of disability identity and the embrace of difference, drawing on her personal experiences and those of others in the community. The book dives headfirst into disability identity, neurodivergence, and embracing difference — with joy, humor, and zero apology. It also entertains readers, straight into celebrating their inner visionary.
“I want to invite everyone to think a little deeper about that inner spark, that adversity that forces them to evolve, and how they themselves are more powerful because of that difference,” she added.
She also discussed what her journey of writing the book was like, and stated that once the book deal was signed, she teamed up with Tim Vandehey, a renowned book doctor. The two of them dove into research while she conducted interviews with dozens of visionaries and leaders in the disability and entertainment spaces.
“I was traveling across the country, from Georgia to San Fran to Hawaii, all the while writing away in the many planes, trains, and automobiles. Using the stories from these interviews, and weaving in my own storytelling (and the occasional dad joke and rap bar), the book came together quite seamlessly,” she shared.
She continued and stated, “At the same time, I was performing vocal piano gigs for my corporate clientele, flowering my sets with acoustic versions of my dance electronic sets. I then took those re-imaginings and sprinkled the music into the audiobook version of ‘I Identify as Blind’ to add a layer of who I am, but also to ensconce the reader into my musical world. I’m really proud of the final product, and early readers are already really getting the message.”
Ultimately, whether readers identify as part of the disability community or not, Lachi hopes her book provides an invitation for everyone to proudly come into their own Disability identity.
She wants readers to understand: “The bottom line is everyone intersects with disability, and we’ve all been masking that part of ourselves. Society tells us to hide the most powerful parts of who we are, labeling them as flaws or weaknesses, leaving us afraid of being seen as noncompetitive – and afraid of being pathologized. We end up masking the part of ourselves that makes us strong.”
For those in the disability community who read it, Lachi says the book offers a fun and modern invitation to drop that mask, adding, “I hope readers join me in celebrating their inner visionary and recognizing Disability as a cultural movement, creative force, empowering identity, and a blueprint for innovation.”
Lachi invites everyone — whether part of the disability community or not — to discover, celebrate, and be empowered by their inner visionary.