*girlqueen*

LISTEN HERE ON SOUNDCLOUD

to *girlqueen*

~ CLICK on a performance art image

(below) to view it as a

larger/clearer slideshow ~

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    J. Cole recently said something along the lines of, 

"You can wait forever, and the inspo might never come."

JUST DO IT.

(on some Nike $hit.)

and so, it's more about practicing your craft, whether the creative result comes out pristinely each time or not- this build-up of practice (exercising your artist's born gifts and skills) 

adds-the-fok-up on 

the path of one's artistry, or ...

... a steadfast investment of time and energy, as

heart-driven / cutely "mad scientist" / loyal asf,

i fully believe yields results / successes before the artist

no longer lives in flesh ...

< ~ successes on your own terms ~ >

(it must work this way, i humbly and firmly assert.)

             

i learn over and over the importance of *dailiness,* 

meaning presence in the seemingly mundane beauty 

(and sometimes non-beauty)

of making your day ...

... making your food.

making conversation with friends.

not making conversation with friends-

a necessity if you're introverted or highly sensitive.

... making your work ...

making and adhering to a sensible sleep schedule when you can.

caring for your pet or kiddos.

attending an outing/event in art's name ...

ALL. THE. BTS. 

(behind the scenes)

your art practice is part of this dailiness too, obvi.

~ (insert your own organization of how this flow flows for you) ~

each day may differ.

… as someone who has enjoyed self-designed sparkling adventure much of her life, amid an undeniable shit ton of emotional pain too, i have come to realize as i navigate my late 30’s, that there is something to be said for more groundedness, for more surrender to the simple tasks in our daily lives that keep us level-headed, fed, passionate, and content. 

anyway!! i cannot believe that i’ve been sitting on this song for a few months. i don’t necessarily have a good reason why, except that i anticipated writing a huge article to go widdit. i created a Gmail folder for this *girlqueen* article that contained eighteen different resources i intended to reference.

this morning, i deleted it all. 

too much brain power required. 

for now.

let the heart speak. 

let the music fill yuh.

take in the images if you plz.

note to self: keep it simple,

because sometimes you need to.

the fuller story is that i’m working on an EP that debuts around my bday in July. my dear friend, Steve Narvaez, is behind the original beats and teacher-duty, and our mutual wizard-pal, BLK ZEN, helps us in the studio to record vocals and add, as Steve says, “the bells and whistles.” 

~ dream team much? ~

so, the second song of my EP is called *girlqueen,* and the lyrics (EXPLICIT) are below. (to hear *snowflake,* the first song of my not yet titled EP, click HERE.) this second song came through so quickly, and i giggled quite a bit as it wrote itself. like Cardi B’s, WAP, there is shameless rapping about one’s own body. the female body- the body/being most often objectified in raps by males. 

in fifteen+ years of performance artistry, 

and newly rap, 

reclamation is always at play.

note: this *girlqueen* article is part of a larger body of work called, "new/mind/ritualz." *girlqueen* is movement #14 of 56 yet unfolding. to engage with my artist's statement and archive for new/mind/ritualz, CLICK HERE.

this is the last sneak peek of songs before the full EP launches.

LISTEN HERE ON SOUNDCLOUD!!

*girlqueen* is an original song x kelly shaw nyala, aka: reinita sweet snake

// made in Brooklyn, March 2021 //

beat + production + rad support in artistry’s name x STEVE NARVAEZ

additional recording + production x BLK ZEN of elevensixtysix

**lyrics**

"i'm the kind of girl that you fall in love with/

you like these homegrown tits n my fat pussy lips, yeh/

i'm the kinda girl that you fall in love with/

got a gem 4 a brain & a past filled wit pain/

but i gained a joy phase & a whole lotta praise for/

a heart healed & sealed wit a kiss in the rain/

& i reign a queendom come, yuh betta not play dumb/

i werked too hard to stay alive but a miracle survive/

n ima thrive yeh, ima thrive yeh, ima thrive/

even if u ain't ride or die/

i'm the kinda girl that you fall in love with/

gotta fat ass heart, my imagination smart/

i'm the ~ i'm the kinda girl blow the snow round the globe/

pull up sweeter in the grove/

honey suckle diamond buckle/

gimme peace, gimme shelter/

no more foking helter skelter/

cuz i'm the kinda girl that you fall in love with/

i deserve the whole goal, lil baby & some gold/

break the mold i been told i smell like a rose/

pussy sweeter lil heater watch the meter grow hawt/

my juicy waterfall overflow the whole lot/

i'm the royal doll ball/

erybody dancin y'all erybody dancin y'all/

erybody thriving, y'all/

ima thrive, yeh ... ima thrive, yeh ... /

ima thrive even if you ain't ride or die."

photos of the artist were taken in very late Winter becoming early Spring by Olivia Oh in Queens, NY. i felt like i was coming out of a snowy funk, and was able to recalibrate myself both socially and creatively in this shoot. this shoot also happened around the time i was writing *girlqueen,* so it feels appropriate to house everything here together, images wit sound. 

find Olivia’s work HERE and HERE.

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