It only took one video. I recently stumbled across BodaciousThang’s “Let It Go” video, and within minutes I found myself diving deeper into her catalog. With her incredible songwriting, unmistakable voice, and an impressive career with around 1,000 film, television, commercial, and sports placements—including projects with Netflix, Hulu, BET, the NFL, and even a recent Super Bowl commercial—it’s easy to see why her music continues to reach audiences around the world. Of course, at Lhyme, every conversation eventually comes back to food. For BodaciousThang, that inspiration led me to create a vegan fried ‘chicken’ dinner using king oyster mushrooms, paired with buttery vegan drop biscuits featuring ingredients from fellow Lhyme artist Grace Love’s Soul Pantry. The recipe comes later in the feature. But first, let’s get into more about BodaciousThang.
Lhyme listeners may already recognize BodaciousThang from two of our Mixtapes. Her energetic anthem “Get Loose” appears on Nashville Heat: Light & Bright Pride Remix, while “Till the Sun Goes Down” helps soundtrack Neon Stoops: A Philly Summer Story. Music has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. Unofficially, her career began around age four, when she opened services at her father’s church before he delivered his sermons. By sixteen, she was performing professionally in jazz clubs throughout Kansas City, earning money doing what she loved. After graduating from high school, she made the leap to Los Angeles, believing that if she could build a career in Kansas City, she could dream even bigger on a national stage.
Her musical influences span gospel and pop royalty. Artists like Yolanda Adams, John P. Kee, Shirley Caesar, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince, and Stevie Wonder all helped shape her sound, while growing up with a father who also sang made music feel like a natural part of everyday life.
Today, BodaciousThang is always creating, whether writing, recording, performing, or collaborating with producers HAOO and Don Tomás. Recent releases like “Melanin Pride” and “COLONIZATION” show her fearless songwriting on meaningful topics. She encourages fans to support artists directly via Bandcamp, even though her songs are on all major streaming platforms. Apple Music and YouTube Music are her favorite places for fans to discover her work. What stood out most in our conversation wasn’t her achievements but her purpose. BodaciousThang hopes every song and every performance leaves people feeling empowered to live more authentically. Whether someone walks away inspired to embrace who they are, to make a positive change, or simply to enjoy life a little more fully, she considers that a success.
Looking ahead, she dreams of taking that message around the world. As an independent artist, she’s passionate about building genuine community across cultures, traveling internationally, performing for new audiences, creating more music, and seeking out opportunities that resonate with her values—from animation and cartoons to more television, film, and commercial placements. If her career so far is any indication, she’s only getting started.
BodaciousThang Bandcamp
When it comes to food, BodaciousThang keeps things colorful, nourishing, and completely plant-based. The only thing she avoids? Raw almonds. Otherwise, she’s always open to trying something new. Some of her favorite food memories take her back to her mom’s kitchen. Taco night was a staple growing up, with simple crunchy tacos filled with seasoned ground turkey, lettuce, cheese, and salsa. She also remembers her mom making a one-of-a-kind cinnamon dessert pizza—a sweet homemade crust topped with buttery cinnamon-sugar crumbles. It’s still one of her favorite childhood treats.
Today, her meals have evolved into vibrant vegan bowls featuring Impossible or walnut “meat,” beans, rice or quinoa, colorful vegetables, and plenty of vegan cheese. One of her favorite discoveries is Rebel Cheese, especially their brie, which she highly recommends to anyone seeking exceptional plant-based cheeses. For snacks, she keeps it simple with bananas, pumpkin seeds, fruit jerky, mushroom jerky, and Solely fruit gummies. She also enjoys occasional watermelon-juice fasts with herbs, key lime, and cayenne as a refreshing reset after traveling. Desserts aren’t usually her weakness, but there’s one exception: the vegan Rainbow Cake from Doomie’s Home Cookin’ in Hollywood. With layers of vanilla cake and raspberry filling, it’s the sweet treat she always comes back to.
When I asked what meal immediately came to mind, she didn’t hesitate. Fried oyster mushrooms. That answer instantly inspired this recipe. To bring it to life, I made crispy, vegan-fried king oyster mushrooms using the Love Spice blend from fellow Lhyme artist Grace Love’s Soul Pantry. The mushrooms were marinated for several hours, then coated in a flavorful batter featuring the same spices—garlic, onion, thyme, chili powder, chili flakes, dried honey mustard, and cayenne—for just the right amount of warmth. To round out the meal, I paired them with warm vegan drop Soul Biscuits from Grace Love’s Soul Pantry and brushed them with vegan butter. I served everything alongside a sweet pepper peach jam for a little Southern-inspired twist. The result is everything you’d want from classic comfort food—crispy, savory, satisfying, and surprisingly light.
Be sure to check out the recipe below and, of course, spend some time with BodaciousThang’s incredible catalog. Whether you’re discovering “Get Loose,” “Till the Sun Goes Down,” “Melanin Pride,” “COLONIZATION,” or any of her latest releases, you’ll quickly understand why her music continues to resonate with audiences around the world.
Crispy Vegan Fried King Oyster Mushrooms
*Serves 4
Ingredients for Mushrooms
- 1 lb king oyster mushrooms
Ingredients for Marinade
- 1 cup unsweetened oat or plant-based milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons Soul Pantry Love Spice Blend
Ingredients for Seasoned Batter
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2½ tablespoons Soul Pantry Love Spice Blend
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6–8 cups high-oleic sunflower oil for frying (or another neutral, high-heat frying oil)
Directions
- Trim the ends of the oyster mushrooms. Then slice the mushrooms lengthwise into cutlets and pat them dry.
- Whisk together the oat milk, pickle juice, and Soul Pantry Love Spice Blend. Add the mushrooms, cover and marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. I marinated them for two hours.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and Soul Pantry Love Spice Blend.
- Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C).
- Remove the mushrooms from the marinade. Dredge thoroughly in the flour mixture and then dip briefly back into the marinade. Coat once more in the flour, pressing gently so the coating adheres well.
- Fry in small batches for 4–6 minutes, turning once, until the mushrooms are deep golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack to drain.
- While still hot, sprinkle with a light pinch of additional Soul Pantry Love Spice Blend for extra flavor.
- Serve with pickles, corn or even vegan mac and cheese. I served mine with some Soul Drop Biscuits from Soul Pantry, vegan butter and peach pepper jam. Enjoy!
