Model: Williams Singletary - Music producer, model
Location: Elysian Park
Golden Hour Session With Sophia Yeshi #goldenhoursesh
Model: Sophia Yeshi - illustrator, designer, model
Location: DTLA - Arts District
Black and White w/ Ntombi Moyo
A 2000s Vibe produced by Aliyah Monet
When Aliyah says we are creating a 2000s vibe we are going to create a damn 2000s vibe, and that’s what TF we did! Peep the interview below :)
Credits:
Producer/Creative Director/Stylist: Aliyah Monet
Photographer: Dee Williams
Creative Assistant: Dame Lavie
Model: Jade Radford
Name: Aliyah Monet
Age: 25
From: Brooklyn
Pronoun: She/Her
Sign: Scorpio
- What inspired the concept/styling behind the shoot?: I love the 2000’s because when I was a kid I thought my decade was lame and hated the style and would claim the 90’s because I’m a 90’s baby. Now I see the beauty in the natural glam and low rise jeans and pointy shoes of this era. Kinda my ode to the decade that I didn’t realize molded my style.
- What was the decision behind casting Jade?: I casted Jade because she' inspires me as a creative. She’s out here grinding making moves as an actress. I see how she genuinely loves her craft and thought it would be cool to create content since she’s so lowkey haha! Also she’s gorgeous, and gives me 2000’s natural beauty, perfect for the shoot concept.
Name: Jade Radford
Age: 25
Location: Brooklyn by way of New Orleans
Pronouns: She/Her
Sign: Leo
- What you do for a living? Actress
- What motivates you to continue pursuing your dreams? Seeing my other friends succeed and my family back home motivates me to keep pushing forward!
To further explain what keeps me going is:
To see Black girls out there looking for someone to speak up for them and have their back. I want to be their pillar of strength and someone they can look up to on a human level. I don't want to be a role model because i’m still growing as a person but I definitely want Black girls to feel like they are seen because of the doors that were created for me to walk through in order for me to create another door they will soon walk through. The city of New Orleans also motivates me because I wanna bring back so many opportunities that empowers the Black community.
A New Era - Produced by Monet Maxwell
Once again I have been blessed with the opportunity to bring my friends visions to life! It was a pleasure working on this project with Monet, Coy, Demi, Willy, Jamie and Willy. Moving forward I will be interviewing the producer’s of my shoots to get introspect on what inspired the concept. Peep my interview with Monet below and the interviews she curated with our models.
Name: Monet Maxwell
Age: 29
From/Location: Pittsburg living in Brooklyn
Sign: Libra
Pronouns: She/Her
What inspired the shoot?: honestly I’ve always loved fashion from Elizabethan and Victorian eras. I just thought there was something so flamboyant and powerful about it. I never saw Black people in pictures from that era. Probably because our ancestors were still slaves then. I wanted to create our own images using that fashion as inspiration.
What do you want people to take away from the shoot/questions?: In the work I create I want people to feel the art but also see themselves. That’s why for the most part I use non traditional models, I want people to relate to the subject. I like to tell stories of the subject. We are reflections of each other and are all art. I want to see more people like me in magazines, art galleries, runways, etc. The only way to see change is to be the change. I also knew everyone had their own words/stories to contribute. I want people to look at this project and be inspired, be fearless and share their stories! You never know who’s watching and who may need to hear it.
*Interviews by Monet Maxwell
Name: Coy
Age: 28
Where your from: The Bay Area. More specifically, San Francisco, CA.
What are your pronouns/identify as: Politically I use he/ him pronouns- bc here I am existing in this anatomical make-up (AFAB) while subverting the norm and doing something that I’m “not supposed to be doing”; being on testosterone and altering said anatomical make-up. But I understand my gender as neither and the all. And for me, They/Them best captures my experience of self.
What’s your journey been like a black queer person: The phrase that I would use to best describe my journey as a Black queer person is beautifully tragic. I am constantly becoming. There is always some iteration of self to be celebrated and mourned because nuance. The nuances of what it means to exist as a Black queer person acknowledges ones process as an evolution. And things die during evolution. Understandings of self that have become obsolete via disservice, die, while new and beautiful understandings emerge to further along your anticipated trajectory. Beautifully tragic bc my evolution of self has been dictated by Intersectionality (do yourself a favor and google Kimberle Crenshaw), which at its core saddens me because it illuminates the construction of the Black body versus the state. My journey as a Black queer person has positioned me to have a panopticon gaze on (my) life becauase my intersecting identities requires that of me. Its been lit tho for real for real. Every time I step into a more nuanced version of self I’m elated and reminded that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I think it is a revolutionary act to live freely and exist as queer black peoples. What has inspired you to live this way? Audre Lorde wrote an essay called “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”. She spoke of the pervasiveness of whiteness as a mentality (i.e. white supremacy, anti- Blackness) and its insidious nature. My interpretation of the point being made in this essay is that as a Black person, these systems of domination and oppression can not be extirpated with the same tools that were used to build, elevate, and maintain. But seeing as my Blackness is the reason for the construction of the masters house and it was most likely Niggas that built that mothafucka, existing authentically and intentionally, while holding self with care and integrity, dismantles the master and the house. My authenticity and intentionality inspires me to continue practicing the revolutionary act called EXISTING unapologetically. Knowing that this act destabilizes the masters house while creating new avenues to understand Blackness as non monolithic inspires me. Knowing that my image of self is a curation of my own deconstructed ideologies inspires me. Knowing that I have the power to live freely and exist in any iteration of self that I deem appropriate inspires me to continue on
What advice would you give to the younger generations? If you could say anything to your younger self what would it be?: To the younger baby queers and my younger self I would say: the preservation of self via energetic boundaries is a beautiful tool to utilize. And to please never dim your shine for a mothafucka who cant even see theirs.
Name: Demi
Age: 27
Where your from: Charleston, SC
What are your pronouns/identify as: My pronouns are she/hers
What’s your journey been like a Black queer person: My journey as a Black queer person has been just that; a journey. I’m actually from a small town just out side of Charleston, Johns Island. I always new I was different, didn’t have the words to describe it back then. However I knew that I wasn’t like everyone else. Unfortunately being queer and living in a small town down south,that’s all you want is to be like everyone else, “normal”. I moved around a lot as a kid, nothing ever felt like home to me. Fast forward to 2004, my first time in NY. I knew then that I would live here one day! 12 years later I packed up my apartment in downtown Charleston and my cousin dropped my ass off on Bushwick Avenue. The rest is “Herstory.”
I think it is a revolutionary act to live freely and exist as queer black peoples. What has inspired you to live this way?: I am fortunate to I have to agree it is certainly a revolutionary act to live authentically black and queer. The one thing that inspires me to live this way is knowing that anything I want, I can have (I mean anything).
Maybe I’ve been fortunate, maybe the stars are aligned in my favor, I’m not sure. To exist freely in this heteronormative world is a privilege, and that’s an undeniable fact. Im forever grateful to all the queer folks that came before me! Their determination continues to inspire me!
What advice would you give to the younger generations?: To the younger generation, young queer and trans identifying persons. Focus on you! Take a conscious view of your self in the mirror. Ask your self Do you love who you’re becoming? How close are you to achieving the goals you’ve set. I know it’s hard being young, black, beautiful and wrinkle free but I believe in you!
If you could say anything to your younger self what would it be?: Stop crying, stop being sad, stop wishing. Start speaking out! Laugh more, start doing! It’ll all work out. It always does!
Name: Willy
Age: 25
Where your from: I’m from Chicago IL
What are your pronouns/identify as: He/him
What’s your journey been like a black queer person: My journey as a Black queer has been internally changeling. Despite what society thinks I tend to over think; Which put me in awkward social situations. Once I got passed that stage in my journey I started to love and understand who I really am. A Black queer man.
I think it is a revolutionary act to live freely and exist as queer black peoples. What has inspired you to live this way?: What essentially inspired me to live as I do was responsibility. To whom much is given much is required. I moved out in my early 20’s and it was the greatest decision I ever made. I guess the experience was liberating AF so I continued to explore love and my person.
What advice would you give to the younger generations?: To the younger generation I would say “listen”. Never DIS- Knowledge.
If you could say anything to your younger self what would it be?: To my younger self I would say never try to fit in just for the moment. Always be yourself it’s going rewarding on the long run.
"Colored Boy Palette" produced by Ikem Malyk
Linked up with my little bruv Ikem for a project featuring Black men in his life. Peep the quick interview below:
Name: Ikem Malyk
Age: 23
From: Trinidad And Tobago, living in Brooklyn
Sign: Capricorn
Pronouns: He/him/His
What was the inspiration between the project and overall style choice? Hmmmmm, what inspired me was simply just being black. Being in college, being a Black Caribbean American male, and taking courses about being black and how my blackness was represented and misrepresenting I felt the need to take the power back into my own hands. It was symbolic to me to have a variety of black men and different shades of black men because that’s what the black community is made up of. Different shades, shades mixed with black, white, Latino. Those who are immigrants, those who have immigrant parents etc. The Du-Rags were deliberate because often times we are stigmatize with it as ghetto and everything negative, but never in a positive light; especially in movies. The colors were also deliberate, because to me color is everything, but also important to represent the LGBT community because you can’t be pro black without acknowledging that we have many different queer individuals apart of our community and we should protect and not bash our people.
What do you want people to take away after from viewing the photographs? What I want others to take away from this is that masculinity and the patriarchy has often times been problematic and has even been problematic to our own people. So in this new time, decade and era I want that Black men be the representation they want to see. Men can, be soft and loving and love our Black people for all our difference; especially our Black women.
Credits:
Producer: Ikem Malyk
Photographer: Dee Williams
Models: Phillip White, Steven Bobbett, Tristen Powell, Ib Casso, James B
Anysia Kym Batts - Drummers Of The Diaspora (Part 1)
Name: Anysia Kym Batts
Where you are from/live: From Bronx/Westchester, live in Brooklyn
Pronouns: She/Her
When and how did you get into playing the drums?
It wasn't a linear course at all. I grew up in the Bronx, and was on recreational dance teams from elementary to middle school until left the team when my family moved to Westchester County. At that point, cheerleading was just the coolest thing to me since all I knew about it was what I saw in movies (I was trying to live out my dreams of being a Clover like in "Bring It On"), and it was the closest thing to the dance team, so when I got to high school I tried out and made the competitive cheer team. Cheer was my first experience competing, but also winning together, losing together, and being surrounded by people every single day who made a commitment to a specific interest.
When I was 18 and it was time to think about college, I decided to go to a fashion school back in the city. At that point in my life, I was so certain I had to go to college or I'd never qualify for a "stable" job (ha!). Fashion was and is such an elusive, vague industry to me, but growing up in New York and having to stay as fly as possible in order to be respected by your peers, it felt like a no-brainer. I interned a bunch for different fashion brands, but it was my internship at a hip-hop magazine and seeing people, black people predominately, making a career out of what they actually loved doing that sparked something in me.
After college, I began messing around with FL Studios and making beats and flipping samples. After a while though, I didn't want to borrow and flip other sounds because it kind of felt like cheating in a weird way. But I really, really liked laying down drum beats and wanted to make my own sounds. I started taking drum lessons from people and places I searched on Facebook, anyway I could get access to a kit, but not having constant access was becoming a real barrier in my progression. After saving up enough money to hold myself down, I decided to quit my corporate job and pursue a full-time education in music (both performance and theory). I was skilled just enough to be awarded a scholarship to attend, and so I made a GoFundMe asking for support in matching my scholarship. I was clearly on a vulnerability trip, but the support from family and complete strangers alike were really affirming and I was not about to spend my life thinking "what if?" Even though I didn't quite make my goal, I attended the school for as long as I could afford and really locked in.
Why did you choose the drums over another instrument?
I think the idea of a perpetual challenge is why I chose the drums over another instrument. You can't cheat the drums (or any instrument) and playing is both extremely humbling and rewarding. I've always enjoyed playing my position behind the scenes while steady making my contribution to the bigger thing, the way the drums serve as the heartbeat of a track.
Do you have any family members that influenced your interest in drumming?
My younger brother is probably my biggest influence. He’s one of my best friends and when we were little, we'd always write songs together, come up with melodies and beat box. Kid shit that we never took too seriously, just for straight fun. He's also a musically inclined dude in general and taught himself to play guitar at like nine years old and I remember going to his middle school band shows and thinking he was so cool, just never saw myself in that role. I think the internalized misogyny was definitely on 10 back then. Plus, instruments are expensive— I grew up with three siblings and we weren't wealthy. Overall, my family is really supportive and I’m taking the time now to honor the parts of myself I was reluctant to back then.
What are you feeling on stage when you are performing?
A cocktail of excitement and fear. I’m in between my own thoughts and listening to my body, but also listening in to my bandmates’ cues and how all the sounds are combining then and there, improvising based on mood and sound. And then it's over too soon.
Who are some of your musical inspirations?
In no particular order: The JB's, The Meters, Funkadelic; production on any Little Dragon or Mick Jenkins project; Chris Dave, Hiatus Kaiyote, Erykah Badu. I’ve been listening to Jane’s Addiction a lot recently, too. That’s a really small few.
What is it like being a woman, specifically a Black woman in a rock band?
I recognize that my existence in the world as a Black woman is political, generally speaking. It's something I owe to myself and Black women before me not to question whether I belong in this space just because it’s dominated by cis, heterosexual white men. I also don’t take for granted that my bandmates are incredible people; we each have different upbringings but we're still so similar in many ways. We respect and cherish our differences instead of ignoring or downplaying them. I don’t restrain any parts of myself.
What advice would you give younger girls who are interested in following your footsteps?
Try everything you think you might be interested in. Don't get in your own way. And have fun. Pleasure is not a privilege, it's a right you owe yourself to exercise.
Photo Diary From My Trip To Ghana #YearOfReturn
Photographed By..... MY PARENTS!
In 2017 I gave my parents disposable cameras for Christmas. My parents have always been supportive of my photography career. Every time I have a shoot, they beg and beg to see the photos and get upset when I don’t send them, LOL. So, this time around, I wanted them to be behind the lens. Below is what they captured.
