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Polished Publicity

@polishedpublicity

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Elevating brands into visibility + influence
PR | Brand Direction | Creative Strategy
For women founders and experts ready to be seen + remembered

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**I Am More Than What Happened to Me! ❤️**

Every now and then, you have the opportunity to connect with someone who creates a space where conversations can be honest, meaningful, and REAL.

I recently had the pleasure of joining **Marla P** on her podcast, *Talk It Out with Marla P*, and what a wonderful conversation we had!

We talked about life, resilience, healing, forgiveness, and the importance of recognizing that while our experiences may shape us, they do not have to define who we become.

One thing I have learned along this journey is that we cannot always control what happens in our lives, but we do have a say in what we allow those experiences to make of us.

Marla, thank you for inviting me into your space, for the thoughtful conversation, and for the work you're doing to give people an opportunity to share their stories. ❤️

**Friends, I want to encourage you to follow and support Marla P and her podcast, Talk It Out with Marla P.** Take some time to explore her conversations. You never know whose story might encourage you, challenge your perspective, or remind you that you're not alone in what you've experienced.

"I've dropped the link to our conversation in my stories. I hope you'll take a moment to watch, subscribe to her channel, and show her some love!"

And remember...

**You are MORE than what happened to you. 💕**

#TalkItOutWithMarlaP #LivingOutLoud #IAmRenaeWilliams #KeepBecoming #HealingAndGrowth

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✨The final days of first-round GRAMMY voting are here!

With African Romances in consideration for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album, I’m especially touched and grateful to everyone who has taken the time to listen, share the recording, and offer such lovely & thoughtful encouragement.

Thank you for your time, your ears, and your consideration!

Voting closes Thursday, October 22.

🎶 Listen at the link in my bio
makedahampton.com/fyc

#soprano #classicalmusic #fyc #grammys #opera

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Sometimes the closure we’re waiting for never comes.

No apology. No acknowledgment. No explanation that finally makes it all make sense.

And at some point, you have to decide whether you’re going to keep waiting…or heal anyway.

I chose to heal anyway. ❤️

🎥 Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Link in stories.

#LivingOutLoud #LivingOutLoudConversations #Healing #EmotionalHealing #RenaeWilliams

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Here's the thing...

Some things you just need to get out of your head and onto paper. 💕✍🏾

The thoughts. The feelings. The questions.

Even the things you haven't quite found the words to say out loud.

Give yourself permission to LET IT OUT!

You don't have to have everything figured out before you begin.

Sometimes writing it down is how you begin to understand it. 💜

✨ Living Out Loud Companion Journal
Available through the link in my bio.

#LivingOutLoud #JournalingJourney #SelfReflection #HealingOnPurpose #BeYouDoYouForYou

~Renae

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✨LONG POST✨ Last night was a magical whirlwind! I still haven’t had time to fully process what it felt like to perform on the Weill Recital Hall stage at Carnegie Hall.

What I can absolutely recall is the stillness of the room as @dr_tanyaradzwa opened our set on mbira—how it calmed the space and opened the path for @orelien67 and me to move into song together.

As we shared a few selections from my album, “African Romances,” there was applause before we could even finish the set. I loved that. Break the rules! I looked out into the audience knowing that friends were there supporting me, and I felt so much love in that room. And to all of you who couldn’t be there but sent messages, well wishes, and encouragement from afar—thank you. I felt that support, too.

But truly, the best part of the night was making my Carnegie Hall debut with two people who are very dear to me.

Tanyaradzwa—my sister now for 10 years, after meeting at our doctoral scholarship vocal competition (I won first place, she won second!)—and Aurelien, a most faithful and generous collaborator and an incredible pianist. Thank you both for keeping this entire experience stress-free, moving with the very fast flow, and simply making beautiful music with me.

And finally, thank you, @rasapiano! First of all, you are INCREDIBLE, and I so enjoyed watching you play. What a night you pulled together! I’m deeply grateful for the invitation to share Coleridge-Taylor’s rare songs and for our shared dedication to bringing unheard and overlooked voices in classical music back into listeners ears.

To everyone I met during this wonderfully fast-paced evening, thank you for your kind words and for receiving our heartfelt performance so warmly.

For now, enjoy a few photos from the whirlwind. I believe some official photos will be coming soon.

And if you’d like to hear/learn more of the music we shared last night, I invite you to listen to “African Romances” at the link in my bio.

#BridgetowerProject #AfricanRomances

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✨Big Day!!! Carnegie Hall debut performing selections from African Romances! I can’t wait to sing and hear the incredible lineup of award-winning musicians on the concert tonight, especially the Bridgetower Project. ✨

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New York! I am so excited to share that I’ll be joining the Bridgetower Project at Carnegie Hall @carnegiehall on Saturday, October 3, for a concert featuring music from recent classical releases. The evening will celebrate the legacy of George Bridgetower, the Afro-European violin virtuoso whose long-overlooked story inspired this project.

I’ll perform selections from my debut album, African Romances, joined by my wonderful collaborators Aurelien Eulert, piano, and Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa, mbira.

There will be a post-concert gathering immediately following the performance. I hope to see you there!

📍 Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
🗓 Saturday, October 3 | 7:30 p.m.
🎟️ Tickets/Details: Link in bio

@dr_tanyaradzwa @orelien67

#AfricanRomances #BridgetowerProject #CarnegieHall
#Debut #NYC

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Yesterday was a lot. In the most beautiful way. 💜

I thought I was prepared.

I got dressed, did my hair, got myself together and headed to Washington, D.C. to be recognized as one of the 100 Women of Excellence.

Then somewhere along I-95, the floodgates opened. 😭

Memories came rushing back. Things I've lived through. Things I've overcome. Things I've accomplished. So many moments I've brushed off with, “It's not that big of a deal.”

Apparently, my heart decided some of it was a big deal.

The ceremony was beautiful. The host and team didn't simply recognize us—they poured into us, speaking words of affirmation over women who are probably much more accustomed to pouring into everyone else.

And I received it. 💜

I also have to acknowledge Shari, the woman who submitted my name for this honor. Most know her as the PR behind my brands, but she has become my friend and family.

She said my name in a room I wasn't in—and yesterday she was there to watch me receive the recognition that followed. 🥹

And then...Jackie and Nance. 😭

I hadn't invited them because we'd been told seating at the ceremony was limited.

They figured something else out.

I was sitting at brunch waiting for the food when I caught them out of my peripheral vision...

With THREE FREAKING DOZEN ROSES. 😭🌹

I lost it.

They had secretly made arrangements to be there simply because my moment mattered enough to them to show up.

And maybe that was the lesson threaded through the entire day.

I know how to pour into people.
I know how to encourage.
I know how to support.
I know how to show up.

But I'm learning it's okay to stand still sometimes and let people pour into me.

It's okay to receive the flowers.
It's okay to receive the words.
It's okay to receive the recognition.

And it's okay to acknowledge that some of the things I've spent my life calling “not that big of a deal” actually were.

I came home exhausted, carrying three dozen roses, an incredible honor...

and a very, very full heart. 💜

Yesterday, I felt seen.

And I will never forget how that felt.

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Today is the day. 🥹💜

I thought I would wake up this morning with something profound to say.

I don't.

I literally just have emotions.

This morning, before I had even really wrapped my head around what today is, a friend sent me the most beautiful message congratulating me.

And when I responded to her, I didn't think about what I was going to say. I didn't try to make it sound good. I just typed what was on my heart.

I told her:

“I have been saying ME????

Not because I don't believe I deserve it, but because literally everything I do comes from a place of obedience.

I didn't seek out this path. God placed me on this path when I was six years old. He dropped breadcrumbs throughout my life and I followed them blindly…and here I am.”

And here I am. 🥹

Today I will walk into the United States Capitol as one of the 2026 100 Women of Excellence Honorees.

Whew.

I keep typing something after that sentence and deleting it because apparently, for once in my life, Renae ain't got no words. 🤦🏾‍♀️😂

Just gratitude.

Gratitude for every breadcrumb.

Gratitude for every person God placed along the way.

Gratitude for every yes I gave when I didn't fully understand what I was saying yes to.

Gratitude for the six-year-old little girl who couldn't possibly have known where any of it would lead.

She just kept following the breadcrumbs.

And somehow…

they led her here. 💜🥹🙏🏾

Today is the day.

Father I Thank You 🙌🏾

#100WomenOfExcellence #WomenOfExcellence #Leadership #Service #LivingOutLoud

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❕Hey y’all! Friends, Family, Supporters…THANK YOU for showing me so much love on my #FYC campaign launch. Please see my update as I explain/clarify the Grammy process and where I currently am in the process so far. Stay tuned for more content and thank you again for your support! 🥰

Explore the story… Link in bio
makedahampton.com/fyc

#soprano #foryourgrammyconsideration #classicalmusic #artsong

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🌎They were just 22 and 25 in 1897, living an ocean apart—Paul Laurence Dunbar in Dayton, Ohio, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in London. An incredible meeting in London sparked a friendship, and African Romances, Op. 17 was born.

Nearly 130 years later, I have the honor of bringing a new voice to this rarely recorded work that helped lay the foundation for the Black art song tradition.

Explore more of the story…Link in my bio

FOR YOUR GRAMMY® CONSIDERATION
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
“AFRICAN ROMANCES”

Makeda Hampton, Soprano
Aurelien Eulert, Piano
Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa, Mbira

#grammys #iamtheacademy #recordingacademy #soprano #foryourconsideration

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OMG. THREE DAYS. 😳💜

Three days from now, I will be in Washington, D.C. at the United States Capitol being recognized as one of the 100 Women of Excellence 2026 Honorees.

And apparently my subconscious has decided that being excited about it while I'm awake, simply isn’t enough. 😂

Y’all…I had a whole DREAM that I was late and almost missed the ceremony. 🤦🏾‍♀️😂

Not running a little behind.

Not “Oh, I’ll just slip quietly into the back.”

LATE late. About-to-miss-my-own-recognition late. 😩😂

I woke up like, Oh absolutely NOT.

Because underneath all the excitement, I think it’s finally starting to hit me.

This is really happening.

In three days, I’ll walk into the United States Capitol wearing my purple, surrounded by an extraordinary group of women being recognized for leadership, service, impact, and excellence.

And my name will be among them.

Whew. 💜

I am excited. I am grateful. I am still a little in awe.

And apparently…I am just nervous enough for my brain to start rehearsing emergency scenarios while I sleep. 😂

But one thing I can promise you:

Renae Williams will NOT be late on September 18th. 😂😂😂

Baby, I already have a parking plan, an Uber plan, a security plan, an arrive-early plan, and probably enough cushion built into the day to qualify as an overnight stay. 🤣

Three more days.

What an incredible honor.

What a beautiful moment.

And what a blessing to get to live it out loud. 💜✨

#100WomenOfExcellence2026 #WomenOfExcellence #WomenWhoLead #WashingtonDC #LivingOutLoud

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