Conversations with Stells di Rossi-Hurst

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stells di Rossi-Hurst.

Hi Stells; so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The band started in Panajachel, Guatemala, in the late ’90s. I was at the time abroad and needed to find something to do to help my family while I was human trafficked. So music went from a means of feeding myself and my child as a single mom abroad after leaving an abusive ex and being stranded abroad after being taken there for trafficking. In 2003 I had my son and needed to figure out how to escape- so Method to the Madness was born. It helped put food on the table, busking at first, then gigs, then resources, and finally, an escape plan with the help of the band at that time. Music saved my son and me and helped me return from being out of the country for nearly ten years. Things would be a lot worse if it weren’t for the band. I used my one skill to change my life’s course. Art saved me. Now I use it to help empower others, and my music is played internationally.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has defiantly been a journey and still a work in progress far from over. I learn more about the industry, my craft, and myself every day. As I evolve and experience the ride, my art and music express that. Music has always been in my family and me. My mother got into it because she was raised around some big names. Her parents were Motown performers making me a legacy; my father’s family also holds big names from Motown (like Gladys Knight and Dr. Dre – to name a few. ), so it’s hereditary. I’m a double legacy, trying to find her creative voice, and who would have never dreamed it was in a different direction from the family creative machine? I choose Alternative Grunge Rock! Many of my family have gone in to produce music typically pigment associated with people of color, coined as Black music. However, Rosetta Tharpe created rock n roll in Alabama in 1915. Few people in rock music today recognize or realize a plus-sized black woman made Rock n Roll. Grandpa was a gigging musician in the Motown era dealing with sundown industry practices and was blessed enough to work with some iconic names on the road and in-studio sessions. Both sides of my family have been in the business for many generations and dealt with racism’s ugly mentality. Being a multi-cultured person from Afro-European culture is something America doesn’t quite understand. You’re not white or black; you’re something they don’t understand but want you to fit into a construct of literal black-and-white thinking- pun intended. It’s one of the worst social diseases in America that no one wants to address.

My family faced many challenges just being creative, especially racial tension performing, and sadly I still see and deal with years of culturally entrained stigma today that my ancestors dealt with. Racism didn’t leave it just rebranded and found ways to hide in plain sight. Coming from a musical legacy family facing the sundown industry is different from people who pick up the passion in modern times. Modern musicians aren’t as aware of the past and how its impact today still has far too many microaggressions. This undertow within the many industries and society today stems from a time when American society was of apartheid-level thinking and behaviors of intolerance handed down and normalized segregational socialism.

Being a minority and breaking the stigma, you catch many people who have never dealt with firsthand racism or intolerance or don’t believe it still exists. I had people say this to me- as if they live under a rock. Then I realize they have no minority friends and segregate themselves knowingly. It’s so culturally engrained it’s subconsciously happening, and people don’t realize it. People are so defensive when what we need to remember is it’s only been 59 years since America ended segregation. We have had 5 generations of people try and fix this, but if people keep the old mentality, we will always have exclusion, oppression, and, sadly, intolerance by entitlement. We are doing better but have a long way to go before we socially balance and begin to understand, and some people may never. However, the majority of the country, the arts, and other aspects of America still have generationally engrained practices that still promote micro-aggressions of intolerance.

This creates a struggle for both myself and the minority of female and minority performers as a constant battle to be treated with respect and given the opportunity of our majority creative peers and community. Some people are oblivious to this. It’s sad how much people don’t consider something wrong and wonder why there is such upheaval over systematic inequality. It doesn’t apply to them. Therefore it isn’t an issue. Music and the arts were also segregated 59 years ago, and despite times changing, many artists and I still face a lot of racism, chauvinism, and discriminant behaviors in 2023, yet no one speaks of this. Those that do are branded as having a chip on their shoulders, bullied, ostracized, blocklisted, overlooked, or silenced. Crossover and breakthrough artistry has been hard for women and people of color for years in America. Despite country, folk, and rock music stemming from ethnic roots, racism sadly feels otherwise, often omitting people of color- despite a few unicorns that dared to be themselves. Often people of color have gone abroad to find acceptance more openly since the 20s with acts like Josephine Baker, for instance. I publish my music out of the UK because America is too racially divided. This has got to change.

There is something very wrong if the general public believes in 2023 that the arts are ok segregated with an implied sense of discomfort to change, cross over, or breakthrough artistry. Or that your gender or pigment should define your creative voice. We say it shouldn’t but lack support for those that do that enough as a society.

Another area for improvement is finding work in places that would rather support a cover than the original creators. We have got to start supporting more original creators and less recycled acts. The people we have nostalgia for were once nobodies somebody had to start supporting to get where they are- stagnation in music is killing the craft, making it hard for new innovators. Pass the torch. Don’t let it go out by recycling what’s already out there; nothing against cover bands. Some of them are great, but the bands they cover already exist- support their creative genius, not the copycat. We all start somewhere; if we don’t support those that have evolved, we are not paving the future by being stuck in the past obsession looking backward. We have got to start supporting women and minorities and people breaking stigma a lot more to represent creative humanity truly. Balance is needed for sustainability.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a composing musician, singer, and songwriter, first and foremost. I also model, act, produce, and paint. So I like to consider myself a Bard. I’m also a bit of a creative activist for change. I like to use my art and media to empower and educate others. Psychological expression with art has always been a passion of mine. Where there is no voice, art speaks, overcoming years of trauma and recovery from life experiences; art has been my conduit for healing. Music is what feelings sound like; art is what it looks like. And if art imitates life, why can’t it help raise societal consciousness, promote understanding, and connect us as humankind? That’s what Bards do- we utilize our attributes and creative soul to create something from nothing, promoting humanity to feel or react to something. We are storytellers, musicians, entertainers, and healers – inspiring the soundtrack and moments to life is what musicians and artisans do. And it’s an honor to work with so many amazing and talented people. I am blessed. Technology has not quite met its balance in the arts, so many shifts and changes will happen to the industry, but there will always be arts and entertainment as long as people exist. People want to be entertained; they work hard, and we work hard to help engage them.

I think the thing that sets me apart is that I’m a plus-sized, multi-ethnic woman of color in a genre dominated by majority Caucasian men. I’m a unicorn. Also, I grew up in a family of entertainers, so I see it differently than someone who enjoys it as a hobby or pastime. It’s a legacy, the family trade, and passed down generationally.

Growing up in a creative family doesn’t mean every child is creative, but we tend to come in packs, or certain people inherit the trait. Our family, the majority of us, are entertainers, models, actors, musicians, producers, or work in something along those industry lines supporting one of those avenues. Being a female musician is a challenge in a male-dominated world! I see photos of previous shows that are fond memories. Groups shots, and I’m the only female, the only plus-sized female, and the only woman of color up there. It’s bittersweet. Growing up, I had no one to look up to like myself in rock music. So I became that person for little girls of all nationalities to look up to.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I take risks every time I take the stage. One of the biggest risks I took was to believe in myself. There was a time when I had a lot of other people attempting to control and micromanage my dream. I have had this dream since childhood and worked my whole life to get here. I have spent the past 26 years focusing on my band, songwriting all of it. Society is not fond of plus-sized people. There is a bias about us, especially women., even more so of women of color. Many people have tried to creatively peer pressure me to be what they feel is more “Black,”- which is racist. My pigment doesn’t dictate my character, personality, or preference in life.

Many people have pressured me to lose weight to be successful. They will say you’re so talented you should lose 100lbs or 50lbs, and people will take you more seriously. Dress this way or that way- it’s exhausting. Being constantly told you’re not good enough tears a person down. And when it’s coming from your own Allie, it’s time to make a change. I had everyone from bandmates to people in the public try to pigeonhole my dreams, change my look, undermine and oppress me, sabotage opportunities derail my vision in a different direction from who I am for years, and it felt smothering, oppressive and I hated life. I was beginning to hate art, music, humanity, and myself for allowing it.

After years of it, I decided to bet I. I fired everyone who was overstepping boundaries or holding me back from being my best self professionally and authentically. Best decision I ever made. I fired the whole band last September after an event (Life is Beautiful) in Vegas. It was after too much conflict and had become toxic to me, the music, and my family. It wasn’t a peaceful parting; it was brutal. Friendships ended, trust was broken, and bad blood came from my standing up for myself and my dream. It was a harsh reality of a much-needed risk, but it made me stronger. It paid off. Things took off after the change within me and the choices I began to make without oppression. It taught me that taking ownership of your dreams is key. If you can’t believe in yourself, what are you doing? Other people can’t tell you who to be. So, after letting go of what made me miserable and taking a chance, I found my groove. Stella got her groove back. We got a lot harder, better the sound I originally wanted came to exist. We started getting acclaimed airplay internationally, interviews, red carpets, magazines, radio, and festivals. My dreams are coming true. I returned after all the trash talk, bullying, and rumors and just got on stage and did my job. I’m here to entertain. Funny how struggle and pain can either make or break you. Diamonds aren’t made without pressure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bonfire.com/store/locowear/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/getalittleloco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stells-di-rossi-hurst-088878272
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCFyi3GkGWVCdZlfoxDmI75w
• Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/method-to-the-madness/1270808821

Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Method to the Madness, THOR Media Productions and House Rossi Records.