Seattle, Washington

THE
MEDICINE

Heritage

Lakota • Irish • White Center, WA

Real Name

Christian W. Goodman

Oranj Goodman is an R&B artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Seattle, Washington. His music bridges contemporary soul with the spiritual depth of his Lakota and Irish ancestry— a sound that press has called "heaven-sent hooks and inspired production."

"It would be a travesty to compare Oranj Goodman to anyone other than Oranj Goodman."

— EARMILK, 2021

The Name

Oranj.

The name "Oranj" comes from his favorite childhood color—a stylistic homage to 80s soul legend Oran "Juice" Jones. It's a deliberate choice: a bridge between the classic soul tradition and something unmistakably his own.

Born Christian W. Goodman in Washington state, he carries the weight and wisdom of two bloodlines—Lakota on one side, Irish on the other. These aren't biographical footnotes. They're the source code of everything he creates.

Origins

Pike Place & The Ukulele.

One of his earliest memories: standing on the rain-slicked cobblestones of Seattle's Pike Place Market at eight years old, ukulele in hand, performing alongside his uncle. They made $40 that day.

"It wasn't about the money. It was the feeling of making people stop in their tracks. That's when I understood what music could do."

This baptism in street performance—the honesty it demands, the immediate feedback of indifference or attention—would shape everything that followed. Before the studios, before the collaborations, before any of it, there was a kid on a corner learning that authenticity was the only currency that mattered.

The Neighborhood

White Center.

Oranj grew up in White Center—an unincorporated neighborhood just south of Seattle's city limits. Known locally as "Rat City," it's one of the most diverse zip codes in Washington state: Vietnamese restaurants next to Mexican taquerias, immigrant families and longtime residents sharing blocks.

This environment—multicultural, unpretentious, far from Seattle's tech-money sheen—became the crucible for his artistic identity. The neighborhood taught him that realness couldn't be manufactured. That people could smell authenticity from a mile away. That community was the foundation of everything.

Lakota & Irish Blood.

His Lakota heritage deeply influences his visual storytelling and connection to the Pacific Northwest nature. The duality of indigenous spirituality and Celtic soul-searching runs through every song, every visual, every creative decision. This isn't performative. It's genealogical. It's in the blood.

Two Rivers, One Current

The Evolution

From Rapper to Soul Man.

Oranj started in hip-hop. For years, he was rapping—sharpening his pen, building his voice, learning the Seattle scene from the inside. But something shifted. The melodies kept coming. The soul kept bleeding through.

He cites Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly," Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life," and Usher's "Confessions" as pivotal influences on his songwriting. The throughline: artists who refused to separate technical craft from emotional truth.

The transition wasn't abandonment—it was expansion. The rap precision stayed; the melodic freedom arrived. What emerged was something press would later call "Alternative R&B"— a blend of soul, hip-hop, and the dark undertones of trip-hop.

The Craft

Songwriter First.

Before he's a performer, Oranj is a songwriter. Before he's a vocalist, he's an instrumentalist. This ordering matters. The songs come first—melodies worked out on keys, progressions discovered through repetition, lyrics refined through honesty.

His production approach leans toward warmth over polish: the goal isn't a flawless mix; it's a feeling that translates. Soul music, in his reading, is supposed to feel like something—like a conversation with someone who's been through it.

Recognition

Spotify Fresh Finds

In 2020, Oranj was selected as Spotify's Fresh Finds Artist— recognition that his approach to R&B was connecting with listeners beyond the Pacific Northwest. That same year, his track "Vienna 1971" was released through Kitsuné Musique, the Paris-based label known for championing avant-garde soul and electronic music.

Watershed Moment • 2021

"MINERAL"

The 2021 music video for "Mineral" featured an all-Indigenous cast—a deliberate choice to center Native American visibility in contemporary R&B. For Oranj, this wasn't a statement piece; it was simply an honest reflection of community. A refusal to separate heritage from art.

The video, directed by Carlos Antwuan and filmed across Washington state, established a visual language that continues through his work: cinematic, intentional, rooted in something real. EARMILK praised the collaboration for its "relentlessly catchy hook" and compared his delivery to "early Post Malone."

Featured by EARMILK & Vice Noisey

Identity

"Purple Glitter"

The 2020 track "Purple Glitter" marked a turning point. In the song and its "beautifully intense" visual, Oranj addresses his Indigenous roots, his culture, and the legacy of both power and trauma. He explores how his Christian upbringing influenced his interpretation and expression of his own identity.

"A beautifully intense track that ushers in a new sense of sentimentality in R&B and Alt hip hop."— Ones To Watch, 2020

2025

The Medicine Era.

Medicine is the culmination. Released in late 2025, the album features production from legendary hitmaker Danja(Timbaland's protégé, behind classics for Britney Spears, Maroon 5, and Nelly Furtado) alongside yogic and Oranj himself.

The album—featuring "$106," "Sweet Aromatic," "Petty Slide," and "Who?"—represents the full realization of the sound he's been building: contemporary soul with the weight of heritage, the precision of hip-hop, and the freedom of someone who's finally found his voice.