Sarah Good Medicine
Local MC, DJ and artist uses music as good medicine
A DJ, aspiring B-girl and trans artist, Sarah Good Medicine believes in being a good Auntie for her community in Mohkinsstsis. Relatively new to deejaying, Good Medicine feels as if hip hop has made a difference in how she sees the world.
“For… over eight years I was hip hop artist. I started deejaying like a year and a half ago, and I feel like hip hop has really been like a helper for me in my life, you know, just to understand things.
I feel like it’s one of the only spaces where I can sort of stand up for myself and for whatever reason, even if everybody’s not sort of in agreement with who I am or okay with who I am, I still feel like I can be in my power. I don’t feel like there’s just certain things I can do that sort of protect me from that energy.”
Finding a voice through music, Good Medicine discovered it was often easier to communicate through rap than through conversation. “(Rap) was just a place to put my feelings and thoughts… we would go to these things called ciphers where people stood or sit in a circle and you would take turns rapping and there would just be beats playing and you would just see people be vulnerable.
And that was actually the first time I ever came out out loud to somebody I never actually had a conversation with… at the time I came out in a cipher. You’re making rhymes up on the spot, you know what your spirit really wants to say, or sometimes it feels like even what your spirit wants to tell you, it comes out.”
Tune in to this week’s Indigenous Stories podcast to learn more about Sarah Good Medicine and her journey through transitioning and the healing power of music.
About The Storytelling Project: Indigenous Stories
Part of The Storytelling Project, this series raises awareness about local Indigenous artists who, by living creative lives, are making Calgary a better city, affecting positive change and enriching others’ lives.
Sharing diverse stories of creativity in our city, The Storytelling Podcast shines a spotlight on artists and projects that connect Calgarians to the arts.
Have a story to share? Email us at submissions@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.
