Today we’d like to introduce you to Ms.Artra Johnson.
Ms.Artra, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Hello, my name is Artra Johnson, aka “Ms.Rax” from Memphis, TN. I am a person who has truly enjoyed the ups and downs of life! I seem to think of my life as a movie you know, not a drama, but more of a mystery with a lot of unexpected climaxes! I thrive off of laughter and helping others beyond their set limitations. I wear many titles in my life but looking to narrow them down and focus on my true passion of music full time! I’ve worked with the youth of Atlanta & Tennessee in many sectors from the classroom teaching, to juvenile detention centers, to residential treatment facilities, to my mentorship program Woman Of Substance ENT. Which is not only my publishing company through BMI but my brand & passion behind the mission. One thing I stand on is remembering my words, how I’m carrying myself, and am I being true to me. Only you can answer these questions for yourself! I am a Tennessee State Alumni (class of 09), and I later received my Masters of Education from Strayer University in (2016). I’ve always known that regardless of what happened in my life, at least I had my education, and I’d be able to make a decent living. I’ve always had a mission in my heart to beat all the odds. It’s not that anything was wrong with me, but I believed in myself from the very beginning, I always knew it was something special about me.
I grew up in the youth choir at my home church MVBC in South Memphis. I always led solos and wrote songs as a kid. You could find me entertaining my parents salon customers and making up dance routines! I chose to fight through every adversity I had. I’ve always felt trauma hit me left and right from a child up until now! I am truly blessed to have overcome so many obstacles in my life. I continue to strive to inspire in spite of my disparity. I’ve always been a person that worked in social services as well as had a dream.My music is everything to me and can be found on every digital platform under my stage name “Ms.Rax” ( name meaning Go-Getter). I am a published songwriter and have been able to express my emotions through my music & with the youth I’ve worked with all over the south. If it wasn’t for the youth and them all believing in me I don’t know if I would be here today! My parents did a great job because I got the bad things out of the way early and I’m humbly grateful.
After all, life was going to require me to be tough, self-assured, and strong willed. The past three years almost killed my dream of being a musician. One trauma after another happened to me from a house fire in 2017 where I loss everything and had to start over from start over from scratch, living in another state commuting back forth to be a caregiver to two ill self-employed parents with the help of my siblings, to losing both of them within a year of each other( my mother in 2018 to my father in 2019, I even suffered a miscarriage immediately after my mother’s death) I could’ve easily given up and thrown in the towel, trust me I wanted too, but I was convinced that God wasn’t done with me, there were also too many youths that believed in (Ms.Johnson aka Ms.Rax) and I couldn’t let them down nor myself . I still had something left is a phrase that got me through I told myself this daily “I still got a lot left” and ”I’m still my parents’ shining star“. I prided myself saying that to them being that I am the middle child just let me say that’s a hard position to be in okay! You feel as though you are always fighting for attention, love and a voice! I later learned to embrace it. Despite the challenges, I’ve had a great life, and I’m so very glad I did not give up on myself. After everything that happened to me the past few years I still managed to be filmed as a stand-in and extra on STAR Fox-network, I was a contestant on We TV’s Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta’s SpinOff Show Atlanta BootCamp with rapper Dabrat and Manager Ms.Deb.
And my newest single “Queen Drip” dropped recently Mar 11, 2020. This song is me being empowering in spite of while having the highest of self-esteem as a plus-size entertainer & influencer & model(Ashley Stewart 2010 Student of Style Scholarship winner). In this song I speak on the Queens in my village that supported me, inspired me, and showed true compassion when it came to my series of events that could’ve broken anyone, but God kept me. I really believe in this new project with Queen Drip, and a video is soon to follow. I plan to promote and network this track full throttle because I’ve always felt like I deserved a fair chance now I have no choice but to go for it! There is so much in store for me and my growing brand Woman Of Substance Entertainment “Bring The Substance Back to Music”.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been an easy road at all , I have literally overcome every obstacle faced.Having an incarcerated father for 10 years, to looking for love in all the wrong places as a young teenage girl to trying, to self identify and truly understand who I was on the inside and my true calling for my life. Many things happened to where I cried a lot growing up but honestly I still adored my childhood. I’ve always been my own worst critic I don’t know I just wanted to be great! I grew up with many friends and very involved in sports and extracurricular activities, I even remember being Prom Queen my senior year.I knew I was destined for greatness. Watching both my parents suffer from cancer was eye opening and a wake up call to “Get Busy Living” it my uncle’s quote lol. That’s exactly what I plan to do!
Tell us more about the business.
Well, Woman of Substance ENT. Is my BMI publishing company and brand Established since 2015. I am an independent artist and published songwriter. I represent WOS as a brand and CEO. I have a long list of songs and have worked with many artists. In 2020 I am expanding Woman Of Substance ENT. (@msrax_wos)and looking to start giving away scholarships and things of that nature. My slogan is “Bringing the Substance back to music. “ I can write to any beat and have a strong way with wordplay. I’m also know for my mobile eyelash trade (@lashofart). I started this business while in college to make extra income and still ten years later thriving . I’m most proud of the products, samples, musical selections I’ve created on this earth, which continues to give me the motivation that one day the masses will hear it🙏🏽. What sets me apart is that I am naturally funny and have a really good spirit. I can write my thoughts to any track and make hits, I think! I am very resilient!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’ve experienced a bit of both. I’ve seen many wonderful days and magical moments, but the bad days the storm lasted a while until I got the memo on how to follow directions and listen. I wasn’t good at that at first but later learned through trial and error.
Pricing:
- $1000-$2500
- Willing to work with any budget
Contact Info:
- Phone: 4043377379
- Email: msrax28@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msrax_wos/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/msrax
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/Iam_MsRAX
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
