Today we’d like to introduce you to Empress.
Hi Empress, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Ahhh! It’s been a winding road, as I started on a completely different path — studying Sociology at Clark Atlanta University, in the same halls where W.E.B. Du Bois once taught. My Africana Women’s Studies and Psychology of Religion professor, Stephanie Sears, awakened in me a deep curiosity around Black consciousness and the Black female body, reshaping how I engaged with my personhood—not just as a Liberian American, but as a Black woman in America.
As a Brooklyn Park native and the daughter of Alexander Barmon, former president of Grand Gedeh Association, I have always been proud of my Liberian heritage, but CAU taught me that while race is man made, Blackness is patriotic.There, I also learned that when “liberty and justice for all” was promised, I wasn’t accounted for, but my foremothers did the work anyway. My experience at the Illustrious Clark Atlanta University deepened my awareness of who I am and has remained at the center of how and why I create.
While in ATL, I paused my studies to come into my artistry, spending a few years exploring—performing at open mics, investing in my first LLC and clothing line, DOPE SOUL, working with various recording artists, and releasing my first track, “Love Me.” It was a time of great uncertainty, but I immersed myself in the experience, which ultimately nurtured the spine of my expression as I built an intimate relationship with myself and stepped into my creative one. By 2019, that relationship led me back home to Minnesota, into a memorable season. I released my first EP, unEMPRESSED, and opened for global acts like Burna Boy and D’banj. It was a fun time, filled with tons of external validation. But once I got back in the studio, my writing felt lifeless. People around me might have disagreed, but I knew the words were coming from skill, not my center.
So I took a break from trying to write and leaned into heels dancing, where I came back into contact with my creativity. It was also during that season that Kaydee and I birthed Brown But BLACK, along with our Brown But BLACK Voices Mentorship Program. But during that break, I never stopped writing—I simply changed my relationship with it. I still showed up to recording sessions, but I decided to lead with inspiration instead of productivity. If a sentence, a melody, or even one word came to me, I recorded whatever landed and called it a successful session. Until one day, I looked up and had five songs. I tried pushing toward a full album, but something in me said no—because my journey was never about proof of production; I had simply been cultivating what was innately mine. So I named that unedited project There She Is and released it in 2023.
Today, I’m still creating what feels true to me, and Brown But BLACK has become the home for that practice. This year, we’ve been expanding our reach, and I’m so excited to announce that on Saturday, August 29, 2026, Brown But BLACK is bringing a live iteration of our Conversation Club to the Phoenix Theatre stage for the first time with There She Is: A Conversation of Elevation LIVE—bringing our culture of reflection, connection, and expression into greater visibility.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, but if it were, it wouldn’t be worth it. I chose a path of great risk and minimal structure because I wanted my passion and purpose to carve out something uniquely and unequivocally mine—so naturally, I’ve stumbled along the way. I’d have to say, the hardest part has been learning most of the world appreciates authenticity in theory, lol.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As co-founder of Brown But BLACK, I’m known for Conversation Club, an arm of BBB where we gather monthly to discuss the real, layered, tension-heavy parts of being a Black woman that don’t always get language or regard—and for Empress Avenue, my own heels dance class, where women reconnect with their bodies as a source of confidence rather than something to shrink or explain. My class motto is, “the choreo is the guide, and you are the moment.” My intention in both spaces is to help women root in their center and encounter themselves outside of the stereotypes and roles that can make their innate sense of self secondary.
What I’m most proud of, without question, is Brown But BLACK Voices, our mentorship program for Black girls. There’s nothing more rewarding than watching our girls grow in confidence as they affirm themselves and gain language that helps them better navigate the world around them—as they write their stories.
What sets me apart is my commitment to creating conditions for what’s already true to emerge, rather than setting rules for what should happen.
What were you like growing up?
As a kid, I was actually pretty reserved, but I LOVED raising my hand to read out loud in class, lol. I was also a little destructive; I distinctly remember locking myself in the bathroom to mix hair products together, just to see what would happen. After getting in trouble enough times, that same curiosity found a better outlet, which was baking!! I mean, kid you not, by age six I was full-on baking pans of cornbread to order & I am not exaggerating!
After my cornbread era, my mom eventually put me into dance classes at Dancing on Broadway in Brooklyn Park. But before I learned 2nd position, I learned how to cha-cha slide at birthday parties—not to mention I was part of the cousin group that made dances to perform at various family gatherings.
Without a doubt, the highlight of my dance career as a child had to have been the talent show at St. Al’s. I was maybe in 1st or 2nd grade when two of my best girly pops and I—the three Black girls in our grade—signed up for the talent show. We wore matching pink outfits and performed a routine to “No Scrubs” by TLC for the entire school in the gymnasium. We 200000% thought we were Destiny’s Child. This was PEAK CINEMA. Honestly, I get chills just thinking about it.
Middle school was cute. I became a lot more social and really got into volleyball, which I played all the way through high school. Fun fact: I actually made the dance team freshman year, but chose to play volleyball instead.
High school was fun. I was a social butterfly and was voted “Loudest” my senior year—to this day, I am not beating the allegations.
Looking back, I was a content kid. I never really tried to be anyone but myself. I liked what I liked, I was curious about everyone, and I had a friend in every friend group! I wasn’t outwardly “artsy” or “different,” ( idk, some might beg to differ ) but I was always VERY expressive and outspoken.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekingempress/
- Other: https://substack.com/@brownbutblack
