Many know him as the choreographer who brought us “Freakum Dress” and one of the head choreographers behind Beyonce’s B-Day era, making him one of the choreographers who helped shaped her movement vocabulary that still exists today. But Jonté is no one trick pony.

While traveling abroad to work with a slew of K-Pop groups, Jonté has been cultivating his own solo career. He frequently hits it out of the park with his tracks in my opinion and always gives with the visuals. So when the “Tiger” video started and the Balenciaga visor came across the screen, I expected nothing less.

And of course Jonte gave it all.

For me Sony Cobain is still a relative newbie and I haven’t completely established my opinion on him. There’s no doubt that he’s competent with his bars, but sometimes it’s more than that. There’s something to say for delivery like in the cases of Last O and Cakes da Killa. The two artists give solid verses for Cobain’s Married in Club, a track off the artist’s “My Hustle” mixtape.

I was browsing through YouTube looking for new tracks for this week’s Music Monday and I stumbled upon this video of young boys rapping about… a certain oral fixation. Giving their own take of Drake’s started from the bottom, the teens, all seemingly African American, go back and forth in a cypher-like format spitting lines that make even me blush.

While it’s totally great that they feel comfortable enough to say those things and confident enough within themselves to have found like-minded friends, I’m not exactly sure that high school aged boys were the people we’ve been advocating for.

I had the opportunity to interview someone who is both talented and extremely interesting. Meet Canadian rockstar  Lucas Silveira. He is the lead singer of an awesome band called “The Clicks” and the mark he’s left on the music industry thus far is HUGE. Lucas and I chatted about his new album, his experience with the music industry as a transgendered man and his evolution as an artist.

This was by far one of the most intriguing interviews I have done in a while. Enjoy my interview with Lucas and share it with your friends!

http://www.thecliks.com/

Interview

Tell us a little about yourself. When did you fall in love with music and what inspired you to make the decision to make music your life?

It’s always something I get asked and I kind of feel like I didn’t choose music, it chose me. My dad was a trumpet player and I grew up with music around me all the time. It was always there and I always knew it felt the most natural to me. I started getting serious about music when I was 12. That was the age I wrote my first song and I bought my first guitar too. I always wanted to be a rock star.

Let’s talk about “The Clicks”. How did your band form and what was the process of finding band members that have a great chemistry like?

It’s become a joke that I can’t seem to keep a band. Early on in my career I didn’t realize who I was on as an artist. When I first started the band I had two members who didn’t appear on the second album and the third record had different people as well. On this project I feel like I figured out who I was as an artist and I didn’t have a band. I just have a drummer.

 In the past I chose people who had the same vision and the same passion. These days I play with people who really love music. Interestingly enough, since the band has been rotating members I’ve maintained relationships with anyone who’s rotated through the band.

You are an inspiration to trans men around the country. Let’s talk about that for a minute. What has the journey to becoming the true you been like and were you ever scared of being judged by people in the music industry?

Yeah definitely. I was horribly afraid of being judged. My transition, I think like everybody’s transition, is a very difficult. I think people have a hard time talking about it and the feelings that come with transitioning. You think you are supposed to be happy right away and that’s not how it goes. Now you have a whole new set of societal fears you have to adhere to. You have to re-evaluate your own perception of self. You have to become extremely self -aware and be aware of how you re negotiate your space. There are other parts that made me happy. My connection to music and be able to listen to music from finish to end and feel grounded in myself. They want respect and they want to respect people for who they are and I think they just want the physicality accepted. People get stuck on its my body and they don’t remember it’s mental too.

Your voice changed once your full transition was complete. Did this help or hurt your career and how did your voice changing change you as an artist?

I transitioned with hormones and towards the end of my voice dropping is when I started writing this. When you transition with hormones as an adult a lot of things happen inside of you. It has a lot to do with learning who you are and accepting who you are. There’s so much evolution inside. I felt the real me coming out of my body. It took me back to Jackson 5 and Smokey Robinson and just everything having to do with soul. The music I wrote before was very very rock based. I think it had a lot to do with it being masculine. Soul music wasn’t something I thought I could pull off with a female voice. Love, life, loss, and just daily inspiration.

Last question. What is your ultimate goal as a musician and is there a life mantra or a motto you go by to stay inspired to chase your dreams? Thanks again! 

 Being who I am, I have to have more realistic expectations of what I do. I want to do what I’m doing successfully. I want the part of me being trans to become the lesser of the focus. To make a living and exceed at what I dont for the rest of my life while not always having to go into conversations.

I have a treat for all of you who are fans of the DC based lesbian web series “Skye’s the Limit“. Episode six aired a few weeks ago and I absolutely LOVE what they have done with the show. There are interesting new story lines and characters on this episode. Check it out, enjoy and spread the word to friends!

This is absolutely amazing and I smile every time I see the development of my hard work in action. Studology 101, Brittney Griner, and myself are among a few of the lesbians of color who were included on GO Magazine’s annual list t of “100 Women We Love“. Making this list a a very big deal and I want to take time to applaud all the ladies who made it.

Kudos to GO Mag for including such amazing people on their annual list and dubbing it the “Inspiring Class of 2013“. You guys are amazing!

Click HERE to read on TheFabFemme

Click HERE to read on Brittney Griner

Click HERE to read on Studology 101

Out rapper, Loco Ninja releases music video for “Live” off of his Misfit album.

It was one of my highlights when I reviewed the debut album, so I was pretty stoked to see that he had coupled it with some visuals. Mostly made up of what seems like b-roll and unreleased footage, the video depicts casual scenes from the NYC based rapper’s life.

This is a cute show and I absolutely love the gay couple that’s featured on this season. Meet Jeff and Blair. They are a new couple that’s struggling with co-existing as a new union and even though they’re deeply in love, the age difference between them is starting to drive a wedge in their relationship. Check out the clip below.

Alright Issa Rae! This is what I call good casting. The creator of Awkward Black Girl, Issa Rae, has been casted to play Nina Simone in the new Lorraine Hansberry Biopic. Hansberry and Nina Simone were good friends and her role in the film will be significant. Will Stewart (Casting Director for Scandal) did a FAB job casting actor for this film. I cant wait to hear more about this project! Kudos to Issa Rae for landing such a big role. Very inspiring!

Source: Clutch Magazine