C. NaTasha Richburg: Your vision belongs to you

C. NaTasha Richburg

Your vision belongs to you

From retired information technologist for the US Federal government, C. NaTasha Richburg has turned her talents and decades of experience as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore Country, preacher and motivational speaker to inspiring young people from all walks of life. She has written numerous books and is passionate about the illustrations within helping the reader to find a moment of peace in the middle of life’s storms.

‘After spending many years teaching young people in the church setting, I started writing stories that enhanced urban youth’s understanding of various life situations. Eventually, I was inspired to write books to offer my story-telling abilities to a broader audience. I wrote my first book, Life… What’s Up With Yours, full of short stories to guide instruction in an entertaining manner.’

‘My voice as an author comes from deep within my heart. In 2019, I plan to release an autobiographic depiction of my 36-year marriage to my husband, Melvin, and complete my first screenplay based on my book, The Truth About the Lie I Live.’

On top of this, she’s the founder of Jeremiah’s Kall Productions, established in 2006.

‘Jeremiah’s Kall started as a spin off from a hip-hop competition used to give young men a voice through music. The competition brought young men from across the nation to Frederick, Maryland, to present their talents to a panel of judges. While they were competing to win $1000, they didn’t know at the time that I was also auditioning for Jeremiah’s Kall’s first roster of artists. From that competition, five acts formed the initial roster.’

Jeremiah’s Kall Productions aims to provide opportunities to support community-based civil objectives, leave audiences with lasting expressions of optimism, and promote talented indie artists.

‘Over the years, Jeremiah’s Kall artists visited youth prisons and group homes for teenagers with motivational messages of hope. Each artist offered words of inspiration via self-written hip-hop songs with lyrics that resonated with the young peoples’ experiences. One example close to my heart is when we visited a youth prison in Michigan. Some inmates at that prison were as young as 13 years old. Though the inmates were heavily guarded during our visit, the fact that someone took the time to visit and speak the language of hip-hop to the inmates was greatly appreciated by all in attendance.’

As part of the vision, the Jeremiah’s Kall artists lyrically ‘promote positive prose that powerfully provides profound insight without profanity’.

‘We want to boldly state that we have lyrical proficiency without the use of profanity. That way, fans don’t have to wonder if our music can be listened to by audiences of all ages. It’s important artists stay true to themselves, so we don’t judge others’ use of profanity.’

It’s the ambition of leaving audiences with lasting impressions of optimism that resonates most; not only do we generally need more optimism in our lives, but hope seems to be a lacking premise in most people’s interactions with music these days.

‘For some, it is socially acceptable to be negative. The premise from which Jeremiah’s Kall works is to expose audiences to music that values the notion that hope is alive. I don’t know if I would say optimism is lacking; gaining consistent exposure to optimism is a difficult task. Meaning: audiences have to diligently search to find the vast abundance of positive music since it is not as readily accessible as popular music. I would like to believe, once an individual is exposed to consistent optimism in music, that the music would promote the emotions giving one the audacity to hope.’

The organisation also provides holiday gifts and gift-wrapping services for a Maryland-based group home for teenagers and now wants to expand from its focus on music to reflect the business’ broad scope.

‘The name ‘Jeremiah’s Kall’ is a carryover from a fictional place in one of my books called Jeremiah’s Café. Due to life’s progression, the name Jeremiah’s Kall will phase out due to its narrow focus on music, and the new name, C NaTasha Productions, will be its replacement in 2019 to broaden the scope of the business. C NaTasha Productions will provide 360 services that include music production, touring, talent management, video production and film production.’

A varied career indeed, with NaTasha understandably proud of it: ‘I am most proud that my multifaceted life consistently balances being an adjunct instructor, talent manager, life coach and author.’

Her top piece of advice for young adults these days?

‘Your vision belongs to you; don’t expect others to understand or embrace it.’

‘Building the foundational infrastructure for your business will take time. Believe in yourself and never stop planning, writing, marketing, promotion, and making new connections to expand your audience. Work hard and don’t let the clock determine the end of the day. Break your project into meaningful tasks that can be completed within a reasonable time frame and work until the task is complete.’