A woman on a mission.

Chakalatay Berry understands that she has a higher purpose on this earth to touch the lives of others and she’s doing everything in her power to achieve it. The 31-year-old wears many hats as a mother of 2 boys and the founder of Berry Goodz, LLC; where she runs a cleaning service, food service, and women and men’s empowerment groups. But her biggest passion comes through her music.

Coming from humble beginnings in the Harold Ickes Projects in the Low-End neighborhood of Chicago’s Southside, Chakalatay first discovered her love for singing at a young age. While she credits artists like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, and more with helping her find her sound, it was her church upbringing that played a big part in how she expresses herself as an artist. She recalls attending two church services every Sunday since she was a child and singing in the choir, and she explains that she studies different gospel artists when she trains her voice.

It’s this spiritual background, matched with her overall passion for inspiring togetherness among everyone she encounters that drove Chakalatay to develop what she calls inspirational R&B, IRB for short, a genre of soulful rhythm and blues centered around elevating her listeners in all aspects of their lives; though not necessarily in the clean-cut sense that comes with gospel music.

“It doesn’t have to be gospel, but it’s meant to uplift,” she explains.

She is extremely driven to keep improving her craft and she’s passionate about her purpose, and the music isn’t about ego for Chakalatay; who explains she isn’t in it for the fame. Instead, she’s in it to touch the lives of her listeners. For her, it’s about using her God-given gift to make this world a better place while she’s here.