LunaLotus Love. Its a name that just sounds like music. And her presence is just as majestic and her free-spirit, just as addictive.

But her real name is Rachael Phillips. The 36 year-old Florida A&M graduate is a mother,  musician, teacher and entrepreneur based out of Tampa, Fla. Life has thrown  her a few curve balls, from starting a family at a young age to divorce. But after taking some much-needed me time, on what she calls her ‘Luna Island’, she is now finding new purpose in herself .

“I just had to sit on myself, I  had to unplug, I pulled away,” she says. ” I pulled away relationships and I pulled away things  and people and places and I just really stripped  all of that away. Now my focus is more centered and balanced. And it was one of the best things for me because it reintroduced me to myself; it pulled me away  from the illusion of what I thought I wanted and what I really needed was grounding.”

In 2016,  she released a new single called “Keep on Moving”  which she says is a testimony within itself about her growth as a woman and an artist.

“New independence is so beautiful and terrifying at the same time,” she says. But she adds she’s enjoying every moment of it because its shaping her into the woman she was always destined to be.

Her latest projects include an Extended Play called “Mirror Magic”. And while some people use speaking engagements and books to motivate others, Luna uses her music . Her lyrics scream women empowerment, inner strength, confidence and beauty. They’re elements she not only tries to encourage in others but herself as well.

That same year, she launched the Lotus Love music group. The name ‘LotusLove’ is a personal one. It comes from the group she and her twin sister started when they were younger. The pair toured together from middle-school and throughout college.

 

“We had a idea that our career was going to lead us in the direction at the same time in a certain way,” she tells RoyalTee. “It was going to be a certain way and that didn’t happen. “

From that moment, the two sisters decided to branch off as solo artists. But they still support each other more than ever.  Luna tells RoyalTee her current head space is investing in herself and helping others around her. Through her music group she mentors other artists, write music and offers creative services such as consulting, education and artist development.

“Where I am right now is really moving ‘LotusLove’ music forward in terms of me as a solo artist and in terms of me as a CEO.”

 “New independence is so beautiful and terrifying at the same time.”

But her main focus she says  is youth artist development and women and girl empowerment. Her latest project is ‘Pretty Wings’ ,  a youth  artist development for girls who share a common passion for singing and having their voices hear.

” Its a girls community choir,” she says.

Her ultimate goal with Pretty Wings is to use the program   to expose the girls to international audiences and eventually take a small ensemble to France. One key advice she tells her students and anyone looking to break out into the industry is the importance of  having a solid foundation.

“When people say ‘oh I’m on a empire state of mind or I want to build a empire’, you can’t build from the top down,” she says. “Having an foundation as in being 100% clear of who you are, especially as a artist so you can know what audience you need to connect to versus who you want to connect to.”

But her road is still only at the beginning And her goals this year are spiritually and intentional.

“I still have so much music left in me,” she says .” I want to be free to feel in my gut, in my eyes, in my fingertips and every part of me. “