Ease, Joy and Glory: Rimarkable Steps Fully into Her Power
Rimarkable
It is always a pleasure catching up with Rimarkable, a longtime friend of UltraMaroon and the Pines Party family. The Detroit-born DJ, producer, vocalist and educator is as generous with her perspective as she is commanding behind the decks, in the classroom and throughout the communities she helps shape. She has spent decades building culture, carrying the sound and spirit of Detroit wherever she goes, and creating space for the artists coming behind her.
This year marks an especially meaningful chapter. On Juneteenth, Rimarkable launched her own record label, Betty Jean’s Dream, with the debut EP Ease, Joy and Glory. Named in honor of her mother, the label is both a declaration of independence and an extension of the legacy that first shaped her relationship with music. The launch comes as Rimarkable settles more fully into her return to Detroit, a homecoming recently affirmed when the Detroit City Council honored her contributions and recognized her as a cultural architect. As she put it herself, she is firmly in her “flex era.”
Ahead of her return to Pines Party, Rimarkable caught up with Sainte Francis to discuss building Betty Jean’s Dream on her own terms, bridging generations in dance music, stepping more fully into her power and why everyone could benefit from calming down and surrendering to the flow.
Sainte Francis:
Ri, thank you so much, as always, for doing this! We have just come through Pride, and I know you have had a busy stretch of shows. How have the past few weeks been, and what have been some of the highlights of your summer so far?
Rimarkable:
Honestly, I did not do a whole lot of Pride stuff. Well, I kind of did. I am just used to being inundated with Pride day after day, so this felt like light work.
The biggest highlight was launching my record label, Betty Jean’s Dream, on Juneteenth. I also did Soul in the Horn and Motor City Pride, which was a big deal for me. When I was coming up, Detroit was a very homophobic place, and we could not be as open as people are now. It is lovely to see people being free and to see how the city has transformed.
I also played with Musclecars at Signal NYC, and I am heading to Seattle. It is the summer roller coaster. I am just riding, gliding and enjoying myself.
Sainte Francis:
At what point did you realize Betty Jean’s Dream needed to exist?
Rimarkable:
I have been in the industry a long time, and I thought I had to do things a certain way. In 2021, I signed with a pretty major record label. I learned a lot from that experience, including that I could empower myself and apply what I had learned without waiting for a big conglomerate to make it happen for me.
When you are an artist on a label, you are beholden to its timeline and its say-so. The art was pouring out of me in a different time and space, and I knew that, in order to honor that, I had to do it on my own. I was not waiting for anybody else.
I also thought about self-mastery, my legacy and the people who influenced me. The first and biggest musical influence on me was my mother. Her birth name was Betty Jean, although her name was later changed to Elizabeth. She is a classically trained pianist and was a music minister when I was growing up. She instilled integrity in me through her music and everything else she did.
My mother had five children, so she could not live the life of an artist professionally. I caught remnants of her artistry, and I realized that I am most likely living the life she wanted to live. I felt that I owed it to her legacy to continue passing the baton and make that the mantra of my label.
Now I am a boss, and that feels wonderful. Sometimes I think I should have done this a long time ago, but everything is in divine timing. I could not have done it without the information I gained from those earlier experiences.
Sainte Francis:
The title of your debut EP, Ease, Joy and Glory, feels representative of where you are right now. Where did that phrase come from?
Rimarkable:
It was gifted to me during a spiritual reading around 2010. I had experienced this crazy night where I broke my nose, rushed home to take care of myself before going to the doctor and suddenly remembered that I had this appointment.
The reader told me the mantra for my life, my cosmic being and my ancestral being was “ease, joy and glory.” He said, “Everything comes to you with ease, joy and glory. That is how you should remember, and that is how you should live your life.”
I still have the reading on cassette tape. That is how long ago it was. The phrase has been all over my house ever since.
When I was choosing a title, I wanted it to be a blessing. I have been very intentional with this label and this entire project. I was putting something new into the world and thinking about how I wanted to bless and receive it. It is ease, joy and glory. That is how I live.
Sainte Francis:
Talk to me about the two tracks, “Neurodivergence” and “Midnight Flowers.”
Rimarkable:
I returned to Detroit full time in 2023, and since then I have been settling in, although I stay on the road constantly. I started making “Neurodivergence” in 2024 while thinking about the influences that made me who I am and accepting the clarity that I was neurodivergent.
That realization brought me a lot of healing. Things began coming together for me. I was in therapy, settling into my house, reclaiming myself and thinking about who I am sonically.
Growing up in Detroit, there was a radio DJ named The Electrifying Mojo. Do you know about him?
Sainte Francis:
Yes! We talked about Electrifying Mojo during our very first interview.
Rimarkable:
Exactly. I was thinking about Mojo and his influence on me. I came up in the late ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, when there was so much diversity and fewer boxes. I love electro, new wave and techno, and I wanted to convey that fusion.
I was also thinking about everything happening in the world, how everybody was masking and doing whatever they could to stay up without doing the work of looking in the mirror. There is a line in the track: “There’s mirror work in every window I see.” I may be trying to see what you are doing, but all I can see is myself reflected back.
“Midnight Flowers” is a lullaby that I transcribed from my ancestors. It is a gift to them, to the quiet of the midnight hour and to the beautiful spiritual things I was experiencing.
I am really proud of the project. It is me flexing. I am letting people know what a badass I am. This is my label, my voice, my production and my money. I am a beast, and I am letting the people know.
Sainte Francis:
Is this project primarily about understanding yourself, or is it also about helping other people feel seen?
Rimarkable:
I like to say that I am a reflection of the people, so it is about people being seen and amplifying their voices.
People ask whether I will release other artists on the label. I am not doing that just yet. I need to be financially responsible and profitable enough to offer others the kind of space I want to give them. I need more money, more time and more juice.
Right now, I am growing my own thing on my own terms.
Sainte Francis:
You were also recently recognized by Detroit City Council for your contributions as a DJ, educator and culture bearer. I was fist-pumping the air when I saw that. What did that moment mean to you?
Rimarkable:
That was such a big deal. I felt like a little girl.
I left Detroit in 2005, and so much happened after that. When I came back, I felt like this auntie trying to get into the club. There was a whole new movement, and some people did not know me. I was not here with boots on the ground, but I contributed to the city’s growth by carrying Detroit everywhere I went. Detroit has always been a badge on my shoulder.
To be recognized in that historic building, across from The Spirit of Detroit and the Joe Louis fist, felt incredibly validating. The proclamation called me a “cultural architect,” and I was like, “You damn skippy I am.”
I worked my ass off. I was in New York for 17 years, and I helped create a lot of the culture that exists today. Because I left, sometimes it feels like out of sight, out of mind. But I carried Detroit everywhere, so I never really left.
I am in my flex era now. I spent years operating through fear and instability, being portrayed as something that did not always correlate with who I really was. I had to do a lot of work to put that down. To be acknowledged by my city made me feel humbled, honored and so happy.
Sainte Francis:
What responsibility comes with this new energy, confidence and visibility, particularly in relation to younger artists?
Rimarkable:
The disconnect in culture right now is that the older generation is pissed off with the young generation, and the young generation is not respectful of the older generation.
Our generation created this culture out of nothing. We did not have shit. Then people were offered the world, became mesmerized by what it could give them and left without showing the next generation how to keep things moving. Younger people have a lot of information, but they do not necessarily have wisdom. The bridge is broken.
I have seen the old and the new, so my job is to be a new kind of gatekeeper. The way we keep the gate is by teaching other people how to keep it, sharing the culture, acknowledging the past and welcoming the future.
I teach at New York University and the Underground Music Academy, and my curriculum honors both the old and the new. I am stripping away misconceptions about how young artists should operate while lifting up what the older generation should have left us.
I am the auntie. I have seen people come and go. I do not get caught up in whatever the hot shit is right now because I am going to be here when you are exhausted from becoming a slave to it.
Everybody asks, “How do I get gigs? Do I need an agent? Do I need a manager?” I am like, “You just started. Have you seen people dancing on the tables yet? If you have not seen people dancing on the tables, baby, you have not arrived.”
It is about longevity, integrity and leading by example.
Sainte Francis:
I recently spoke with your friend Juliet Mendoza, and we had a very similar conversation about bridging generations. Our interview was supposed to last 30 minutes, and we ended up talking for two and a half hours. She was the biggest sweetheart.
Rimarkable:
That is my sister. Juliet and I are very similar. We came from the same place, and we are part of that generation that has seen both the old and the new.
We are just here to stay.
Sainte Francis:
You are no stranger to Pines Party. What makes returning to Fire Island so special?
Rimarkable:
Those are my babies. I played the beach party in 2022 and stayed for the whole weekend, so I got the full experience. I had also played on the island before that.
I am a sucker for flawless production, and they do an amazing job with the themes and every detail. Everybody is sweet, kind and loving.
The beach party is mesmerizing. There is something holy and spiritual about being under the moonlight on the beach beside the ocean. Thousands of people are dancing under the moon, and the way the water comes onto that shore is spectacular.
I feel like I graduated. I am playing the beach party. Let’s go. I am ready to turn it out.
Sainte Francis:
How are you thinking about this year’s Alter Ego theme?
Rimarkable:
I love a theme. I am an artist for real, and I am a little esoteric, so I am thinking about what I am going to wear. I love a costume moment and a look, but it is also going to be hot.
Sonically, I know the kids want to twirl. I may take them on a beautiful journey. That is what I do. I am the middle child in the lineup, so let’s go.
Sainte Francis:
Looking ahead, what are you most excited to keep building?
Rimarkable:
My label is getting me out of bed right now. I want to keep pushing this legacy. I love surprising people because I still feel underestimated.
I am excited about expanding my educational offerings, making a music video and showing people everything else I have coming. I am also looking forward to remaining steady and balanced spiritually, mentally and physically.
Sainte Francis:
Any final thoughts before we get into a few rapid-fire questions?
Rimarkable:
Everybody calm down. Everybody relax.
There is nothing you can do that you have not already been doing. Being in a space of surrender is very powerful. Not anticipating and simply allowing things to flow can be beautiful and rewarding.
Everybody calm down.
Sainte Francis:
Okay, rapid-fire. One record that works anywhere in the world? Last time I asked you this question you said, “Red Alert” by Basement Jaxx.
Rimarkable:
That’s a great one. I’ll also say “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan. The original. We do not need all these bloody remixes. Leave it alone.
Sainte Francis:
What record is getting a lot of play from you right now?
Rimarkable:
DJ Spen’s “Houston, We Have a Problem.” There is something in that song that begs you. It calls on your spirit.
Sainte Francis:
Who is one producer or DJ people should be paying more attention to?
Rimarkable:
Rimarkable, the hell?
Y’all need to be paying attention to me. Watch this space. I enjoy being the underdog, but it is also like, more respect, please!
Sainte Francis:
Ri, this has been such a pleasure, as always. I am so excited to see you in a few weeks!
Rimarkable:
You too, babe!
Catch Rimarkable with Joey with the Mustache and Avalon Emerson at Altar Ego: The Beach Party on Saturday, August 1, 10pm - 6am.
