An Ode to Soul + Performing Live Feb 17th/28th

See y'all this month 🌟

“Is American way erasure?” — Carla Hall on Chasing Flavors

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about lineage and the power of doing your research. With Black Futures Month upon us, I’ve been researching the history of soul music as a part of NOIR AT NITE’s honoring of Black music. Each day this week, we’ve highlighted well-known and unsung LGBTQ+ icons of soul music. I urge you to tap in.

While gathering information on Jackie Shane and Sylvester in particular, I couldn’t help but thinking about how many of my musical elders have been left out of the conversation of legendary contributors. How often they have paved the way and broken boundaries in ways that folks both within and outside our community were influenced by. I’m thinking about how common that is amongst my people in this country. We’ve in some ways grown accustomed to being excluded from necessary documentation of our contributions; we gotta get free from that way of being.

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It’s lit a fire under my ass to continue telling our stories, and to continue exploring my own. I’m reimagining my relationship to music and archival research. NOIR AT NITE this year will be a bit different, I’m interested in modifying the programming to honor the various iterations of African American Secular Music. How can we pay homage to the folks before and around us presently who are doing the work of preserving our genres, our forms of storytelling? I look forward to exploring that this year and beyond.

Folks have been showing mad love to LIVE FROM THE WEST SIDE. Thank you <3 That offering was a labor of love, it’s been a pleasure to bring my musical world to the physical and I’m grateful for how it’s been received thus far. If you haven’t already, watch the live performance here.

Before we wrap, I am performing new music live tomorrow at SUMAC’s R&B for a Broken Heart show at 8pm with Forager. More info here.

I am also performing new music with Banswomb, J.Scott and cry$cross on 2/28 at Public Records. Get your tickets here.

555 things to share

1. NU REMIX ALERT 💿 Remember when I told y’all about FREE THEM ALL? NelsonBandela released a remix of the song last month, listen to it here.

2. SEEKING NU WORK 💼 I recently put out a call for freelance, project-based, and short-term work! Currently seeking music, project management, and event production gigs. Remote work preferred. Based in NYC, open to LA/PHL/ATL. Read my full call here, and check out my portfolio.

3. NU SHOOT ALERT 📸 On my last day in LA, I had a shoot with Nancy Hernandez at Happy Ppl Studios. It was giving ALIEN SUPERTHEY 🛸👽 Check it out here.

   

   Photographed by Nancy A. Hernandez

4. NU SHOWS I’VE ENJOYED 📺 Y’all know I love my shows. Here’s a few I’ve enjoyed this last month: Sort Of, Chasing Flavors, Griselda, The Vince Staples Show, Clone High (2024).

5. WEBSITE 💻 I finally had the chance to update my website! Music video BTS, new photos, updated bio, the whole 9 yards. Take a gander and let me know in the newsletter comments how you like!