Heritage and Hope: Amanda ‘Butta P’ Small

Heritage is not just where you come from; it’s how you carry that history forward. Sojourners highlights ministers, artists, and activists putting their faith into action fueled by their heritage and hope. Amanda 'Butta P' Small is a hip-hop music maven combining her faith, business prowess, and heritage to change the culture.

Transcript

My name is Amanda “Butta P” Small. I currently live in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. — originally from Pennsylvania — but I've been living here so long, so you might as well just say I represent South Florida.

I own a company called Good City Music, along with my husband.

Most Spanish people who grew up in church, [laughter] you've had a quite interesting experience. You have probably gone to a very legalistic church.

If I'm being honest, I had a tough time growing up with it. For me, it actually pushed me out of church.

And so, when we go to this deconstruction phase, we have to be able to walk through that, [and] say, “Okay, God, like who are you for me? Who are you in the Bible?”

And as I started getting to know who the Lord was for myself, I was like okay, I know how I’m going to walk forward in this and still be able to embrace who I was as, you know, a Spanish young lady, and still be able to listen to really amazing music.

I originally started in the music industry a little bit over 10 years ago as a hip-hop recording artist.

And as my career kept taking off, I started really looking at the business side of stuff and saying, Okay, wait. How can I help women? And not even just women, but just people of color in behind the scenes doing the business side of stuff.

I didn't see a lot of Latinas, like, growing up. I don't think you ever feel left out, but when someone shows up that looks like you, it's like, “Oh, there is a missing piece. I didn’t realize that.”

That's pretty much like my mission statement for my company and my life is: How do you shift the culture? Whether it's a culture that’s big or even the culture around you — whether that's your neighborhood, whether that's your family, whether that's your church culture — how are you able to shift the culture and leave an impact?

My esperanza? [My hope?]

I just want people to learn what it means to have a hope and a freedom, regardless of what the world looks like, because we can feel like we don't have anything to contribute.

Though, the God that I serve is still a God of hope. The God that I serve is still a God of peace. Every tribe, every tongue will be in heaven. Right? And so, that should be a hope that we get to cling to.