Music executive Shanti Das leads campaign to increase awareness of multiple myeloma

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a rare blood cancer that affects Black people at a higher rate than others. This incurable disease affects plasma cells in the body, causing them to grow out of control and affect your immune system. Black people make up 20 percent of all MM cases and have twice as high a chance of dying from it than other races.

As devastating as MM is, this disease is still uncommon to most. Shanti Das aims to change that. She is a former music executive based in Atlanta, GA, with years in the industry. She became a health advocate for this matter and is using the That My Word campaign to raise awareness for this cancer. The more knowledge and support for MM out there, the better outcomes are possible for those with the disease.

“We want to raise awareness that it is a rare blood cancer. We want to empower those living with it or those at risk to manage their health actively. With this campaign, we want to be able to educate our communities, so hopefully, they can have better health outcomes,” said Shanti Das, host of the Mibo show podcast.

The That My Word Campaign launched in March 2023. It involves people promising to inform and talk about MM to help others and families with this disease. That’s My Word was created by Johnson and Johnson. They brought Das on because she highlights the disease and the work the company is doing to a larger audience. Das, unfortunately, learned about MM through the health journey of her sister, who passed from it.

Das was a marketing executive for Laface Records. She has worked with huge artists like TLC, Usher, and Outkast since the beginning of their careers. Das pivoted to health advocacy because so many of her friends and family members were dealing with severe health issues. Das shared that her mom has Altmeiers. Her sister passed from MM, and her brother has heart issues. On top of all that, she had physical and mental health challenges arising. In 2009, she decided to leave the music industry. After getting some of her stress and anxiety issues resolved, Das realized she needed an outlet to discuss health and how the black community converses about the topic.

“I realized health was everything. It was just such an important part of my life. I decided to walk away from the industry and focus on using my platform to raise awareness about these different topics in the black communities. I felt like nobody was living at the intersection of health and culture,” said Das.

Das launched her non-profit Silence is Shame, which empowers and educates communities on mental health and wellness. In 2023, Das launched her podcast, The Mibo Show, hosted by Shanti Das. She brings her celebrity friends on to talk about music and health. One notable episode recently featured Grammy-award-winning gospel artist Erica Campbell. On the podcast, she revealed that her father passed away from MM.

“When Erica shared that her father passed away from MM, she didn’t realize what type of cancer it was at his diagnosis. Her sister explained what he was going through, and now Erica is passionate about raising awareness about cancer. We want listeners to take away the importance of having informed conversations about their family health history,” said Das.

The That My Word Campaign wants to shine a light on a less familiar disease than most cancers but just as dangerous. Das, Johnson, and Johnson, and everyone involved with the campaign, want MM to be on everyone’s radar because this matter can hit closer to home than most think.

“I guarantee you that once you start talking about MM, you will realize you’re not as far removed from it as you think. You may know someone who has it or somebody affected by it. It is closer to us than we think it is. This is a rare blood disorder that we must learn more about for better outcomes and access to treatment,” said Das.

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