Oh Mykki, You’re So Fine
NICK PELLING
The artist Mykki Blanco defies easy categorisation. I could shuffle and deal–poet, photographer, performer, glam-rapper, trans-gender activist and so on. But, let us leave labels to one side; Blanco is simply quite something. They have performed with all sorts of mega-stars, from Kanye West to Madonna and Michael Stipe. A few weeks ago, Mykki played a ‘secret show’ in Hastings. How on earth, you might be thinking, did this comet from some other non-binary universe pass through our seaside town?
The origin of the extraordinary gig itself is intriguing, but more of that later. The brilliant local musician Mike Willis kicked off the evening, at the His Place venue, with a set of his own Country-infused material, including Let the Answer Come to You, Cold Kentucky Water and the thought-provoking Turtle on a Gatepost. Mike brings a certain authenticity and warmth to everything he touches musically. He then took control of the turntable to support Mykki.
COME CLOSER HASTINGS
Mykki arrived on stage holding a large, bejewelled microphone, wearing what seemed to be a spangly leather waistcoat, filigree-grungy jeans and nothing on their feet. It was not, I guessed, a natural ‘Mykki’ audience: the age range was, to put it politely, wide. Mykki is used to big venues but gave it everything, working the crowd brilliantly, emanating a writhing sort of electrical charge, drawing the crowd deeper into a conspiracy of truth.
The music itself was far more cleverly put together than the quick-fire rapping might suggest, and much of it was searingly political. Words and rhythms came flying at such a speed and with such emotional energy that it was very hard to pin it all down. Certain motifs seemed to recur but were then immediately subverted. A song about the murder of George Floyd had a fleeting, bitter touch of Sweet Home Alabama; while Mr Sandman riffed off the old song in all sorts of angular ways. Some of the politics is undiluted: at one point the crowd was joining in with the chant that “patriarchy creates climate change” and at another point the “colonial systems” embedded in modern life became, somehow, a source of enchantment. Holding this sort of stuff together, and keeping it from being too preachy, is surely Mykki’s genre-blending sense of fun. Mykki has a sort of super-charged charisma, laced with glamour, anger, hilarity and melancholy that made the whole performance quite spellbinding.
GETTING IT ON
The background to the gig is worth explaining. As Mike Willis puts it, “it all came together quite organically, almost spontaneous.” The primary initiator of this event was undoubtedly the remarkable Dan Demarre Meththananda, a relatively recent arrival in St Leonards, who has brought his own powerful energies to the art world here. Dan became friends with Mykki when they met at the Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik. Both artists share a multi-modal approach to art–and life. When Dan came to this town, he conceived the idea that perhaps Mykki would agree to perform here. With the help of Mike Willis and several Hastings-based community groups and individuals–such as Katy Baird from Home Live Art, Catherine Wood from Tate Modern, Tess from Rock, Body Soul and all at Laundry Day–it was speedily pulled together: Mykki would bring his subversive practice to the Church and Community hub His Place in Robertson Street.
It was a rare gig and, as such, a big, glitzy thankyou to all involved. Mykki Blanco’s latest album is Postcards from Italia mykkiblan.co
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply