Rissi Palmer photo courtesy of Hot Schatz PR.
May 8, 2008 — Rissi Palmer walks a unique road as one of the few African-American women to pursue a career in country music. So it’s not surprising that she also earned a unique place in the media when Major League Baseball gave her ink in its "Hot Prospect" section on MLB.com.
Rissi’s made herself known at a few ballparks, singing the national anthem during the American League Championship Series and at several NFL games. And she’s turned heads with her musical choices, as Charley Pride did years ago. Rissi actually declined to sign an R&B recording deal at an earlier age, insistent that country music was where she belonged.
"I have a deep love and passion for country music," she told MLB.com. "It’s not a gimmick that I thought of one day, like, ‘I’m gonna be a black woman in country music [and] see how that works out for me.’ It wasn’t like that. I genuinely love this music."
Her "Country Girl" video got played on GAC, and she’s received plenty of ink in such places as Newsweek, Rolling Stone, People and The Wall Street Journal. She takes the notoriety that accompanies that attention quite seriously.
"I feel a sense of responsibility to kids, especially young girls and women of color, to make sure that any time I’m seen and any time I put anything out that it’s very positive and it shows us in a positive light," she said. "A lot of time in society and in media, we don’t always get portrayed in the best way."
Her current single, "Hold On To Me," made its first appearance on the Billboard country chart last week.
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