Mariah Michelle: ‘Music is My Testimony’

"Black Diamond," the EP. (Photo by Doug Bedford)

If you listen to “Free From Me” on the EP “Black Diamond,” you’ll learn a lot about Mariah Michelle Stokes. She is a young, rising soloist striking a familiar chord that young women like her would understand. 

“I’m very emotional and vulnerable,” said Stokes, 22, who uses “Mariah Michelle” as her stage name. “I wrote that song when I was depressed during a very dark time in my life.”  

What resulted from that somber experience was Mariah Michelle’s heartfelt testimony that she set to music. “I went through some things in life and I felt like music is my testimony,” she said. 

With rock-solid confidence now, Mariah Michelle hopes to inspire people, young or otherwise, via “Black Diamond,” a compilation of five R&B/soul selections with message-laden lyrics that inspire and motivate.

Mariah Michelle was front and center
at the Juneteenth Urban Music Festival
last year at the historic Robert R. Church
Park in downtown Memphis. (Photo
by Wiley Henry)

“Black Diamond” is the title track. The others are “Go Get It,” “Be Loved,” “Break,” and, of course, “Free From Me.” The songs are produced by Ja’Mar Productions.  

“All the songs have a message,” she said. “Black Diamond celebrates us. It’s a celebratory song about black people, about tearing down all stereotypes.” The remaining songs on the EP are just as compelling, she added.

Consider the chorus in “Black Diamond:” “You’re a black diamond, you gon shine forever/ They try to tie us down, but we gon reign forever/ When you black and you proud, it just don’t get no better/ All the mess we overcame, we on another level.”

While Mariah Michelle radiates confidence and touts the finished product as good – which took over a year to complete – her journey to creative expression could have ended before it began.

At the onset of her life, not long after awakening into the world, Mariah Michelle was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called alopecia areata, which attacks hair follicles.

Completely bald now, the image that she showcases on stage and in her daily life is bold, alluring, and self-assuring. People gaze upon her baldness in admiration and surmise that it is fate that God has ordered.

 “Black Diamond” is Mariah Michelle’s foray into the music industry. But like many black singers, whatever the genre they inevitably end up singing, the church was their springboard. It’s no different for Mariah Michelle.

“We still got to walk by faith. Sometimes in the music industry it takes a while [to get noticed],” Mitchell Stokes, her father and manager, said. He plays lead guitar for his home church, Golden Gate Cathedral, and for The Soul Shockers, an R&B group.

Mariah Michelle is a praise dancer and sings in the church choir. The message that she conveys in her music is tantamount to the message that comes forth when she sings God’s praises.

“My music is clear and inspirational,” she said, denouncing music about money, sex and drugs for music that uplifts and makes a positive statement.

“She has a gift and she’s anointed to do what she’s doing,” Mitchell Stokes said. “We want her to continue to grow in Christ, continue to love herself, and continue go after her dreams.”

Her mother, Sandra Stokes, embraces the objective of ensuring that Mariah Michelle is grounded and rooted in faith. She and her husband believe that all things are possible, considering the unpredictability of the music industry. 

“I’m just the prayer warrior,” Sandra Stokes said. “I don’t know about music. I just try to keep her committed and connected to Christ.” 

Mariah Michelle initially didn’t want to sing professionally, her father said. But then something happened. Someone had seen a video on social media of Mitchell Stokes’ little girl singing and contacted him.

“She has always sung,” he said. “Our family is musically-inclined. It’s inside of her.”

Mariah Michelle added her spin: “Music is in my genes. It’s a natural gift.”

Although music is her passion, “in my genes,” education is underscored. This year, Mariah Michelle will graduate from the University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Why psychology?

“I’ve always been interested in the way people think, the way the brain works, and how people behave,” she explained.

Until she walks across the stage with her degree in hand, she’ll continue to sashay across the stage at other venues, where she’ll sing songs that accentuate the positive and evoke thought. 

A song on the EP, “Go Get It,” released on Nov. 29, is reflective of Mariah Michelle’s endeavor to go after what she wants in life with a clean-cut message that sets her apart from her contemporaries.

“…I’m gon do my own thing and go get it/ Go get it and unleash the champion/ Go get it…” she sings. “Whatever you want, go get it/ What you been hoping for, go get it.”

“Go Get It” is streaming on all major platforms, such as Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Apple Music, and Google Play. “Black Diamond,” the EP, is $5. For more information, email info@moriahmichelle.com, or call 901-338-7028.

Beauty radiates despite hair loss

Mariah Michelle Stokes suffers from alopecia areata, a lack of hair. But her parents,
Mitchell and Sandra Stokes, make her feel like she's the most important person in
the world. (Photos by Wiley Henry)

When Mariah Michelle Stokes was born, her mother envisioned grooming her hair with dainty ribbons and colorful barrettes. But after her baby girl’s first birthday, her head-full of hair started falling out.

Something was happening to Mariah, which sent her parents, Mitchell and Sandra Stokes, searching for answers. “We took her to the emergency room,” said Sandra Stokes. “We also went to see several doctors…and Mariah had lots of blood work.”

They soon found out why Mariah had loss her hair. “At that time, they (doctors) determined it was alopecia areata, an auto-immune disease that attacks the hair (follicles),” said Sandra Stokes, who was devastated after receiving the glum diagnosis.

Chances are most people wouldn’t know what alopecia areata is unless a loved one, or someone they know, is struggling with the disease. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, this “polygenic disease” affects as many as 6.8 million people in the United States with a lifetime risk of 2.1 percent.

Mariah Michelle Stokes and her parents
Mitchell and Sandra Stokes.

In some cases, there may be a total loss of hair on the scalp, face and body, and then hair may return to those areas. In either case, there is no cure for alopecia areata.

“I never had an issue with it,” said Mariah, who is quick to flash a toothy smile when complimented, and even when she’s not. “I never felt self-conscious. I feel self-conscious about other things – but not about [not] having hair.”

Mariah never really noticed that she was different until she started school and began socializing with her playmates. “I never felt different,” she said. “When I’m around other kids, I probably noticed I’m the only person who looks like this.”

“When all of this first happened, I wondered what I could do to help her,” said Mitchell Stokes, recalling a conversation with Mariah who asked him point-blank why she had to be the one stricken with alopecia areata.

“I tried to have a sound answer for her as much as I could,” he said. “I just told her that God knew she could handle this…and that it will help somebody else.”

The couple, also the parents of 31-year-old Mitchell Jarod Stokes, instilled in their daughter that she is beautiful, imbued with self-confidence, and possesses a positive attitude.

“My parents didn’t make me feel like I was different,” said Mariah. “They always told me that I was beautiful. I never had a problem without hair. I actually like it now.”

But that wasn’t always the case. During her formative years, mean-spirited kids teased Mariah and gawkers, including curious adults, assumed she has cancer.

“I’ve dealt with people staring, people coming up to me asking me if I have cancer. And I’ve been called a milk dud,” said Mariah, now 18 and a freshman attending Arkansas State University Mid-South in West Memphis, Ark.

“Beauty comes from the inside out,” said Sandra Stokes, recalling an incident when she was ready to “jack up” a group of cruel children who encircled Mariah in a mall. “I’m like, ‘Leave my baby alone. Give us some privacy.’”

Mariah is used to roving eyes and revolving heads. “She doesn’t let it get her down,” her mother said. “Sometimes I wonder if she really knows she really doesn’t have hair.”

Mariah said she just wants to be happy and encourage others. She also likes dancing and glorifying God, which she gets to do on Sunday mornings at Golden Gate Cathedral, her family’s home church. She’s a praise dancer and once sang in the choir.  

She loves children too.

“I want to be an OBGYN,” she said. “I’ve always liked kids, but I didn’t want to be a pediatrician because I don’t want to see sick kids. I feel like bringing them into the world. I want to help people. I want to deliver babies.”

“We’re Christians,” said Mitchell Stokes. “So we tie the word into everything that we do. We let her know that all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord.”