Uplifting the Voices of the Underrepresented and the Unspoken with Ramel Wallace

Written by Margaret White, originally published in December 2021 print

When you look at all of the things Ramel Wallace has achieved and done, you can see his deep connection to the arts and storytelling. It seems like everything he does is to inspire and link creatives together.

With over 10 years of experience as a recording hip-hop artist, Remel Wallace has always focused on representing the underrepresented and amplifying the voices of the unspoken. As a recording artist, he has worked with AbJo of Soulection, Blu, Ryan Lewis, and Daniel Koestner, and $later.

His experiences with engaging crowds as an artist translated well into his office life. In 2014, Ramel Wallace was one of the original co-founders of thChrch, an organization that works to bridge the gap between art, tech, and creativity. thChrch describes itself to be a collaborative community between creative industry leaders and professional educators. With thChrch, Ramel is breaking down the struggling artists’ stigma and the barriers of business and entrepreneurship for artists.

Ramel Wallace is also the owner and CEO of The Holyfield, a community based organization that focuses on music, education and empowerment. With The Holyfield, Ramel and his team are working to raise awareness and provide social emotional support through music and education.

He also sits as a board member of the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts and as a Senior Community Manager at BAM. With his advocacy for the underrepresented in creative spaces, Ramel has become a community leader for those of us here in San Diego. This has led to him speaking at USD, UCSD, SDSU, A Reason to Survive, and other events about art as a form of social activism and therapy.

One of his more recent achievements is being the first Black Host of Creative Mornings San Diego, a breakfast series that brings together creative professionals to celebrate local talent and provide a space for people to network and engage with like-minded people. In an interview with San Diego AIGA, Ramel shares that he plans to use this opportunity to invite more diversity to the Creative Mornings space. In a space that has been predominantly white, Ramel hopes to bring inclusivity and equity and simply speak for the unspoken.