Rock n Roll Ninja

A cool chick from Chicago wrote a blog post that really spoke to me:

every since i was a little girl ive gravitated to the unconventionally beautiful.

i've always wanted to be a rockstar ( despite my brief stint as earth mother for 3 years of high school ....trying to prove how "black" i can be we'll tackle that another day)

ive loved "fucked up" looking things since i can remember

messy hair

tight pants

black liner

fuck you attitude

its just always made sense to me...dont think i've never gotten opposition

comb your hair girl

wtf you got on???

why can''t you be more.....girly??

lol...oh i did try at one point , but the shit just

does

not

work

for me. i think its dumb to label yourself something so im not gonna be ridiculous and title myself something , but this shit is old guys.

maybe im just in the wrong city

maybe i just know the wrong people....

ive only been in the industry for a little bit

and its fucked up man

there are only two things black female artist can be....

ridiculous air-brushed divas or

shoe-less spoken word earth mothers

thats how you get noticed.

where are the rockstars ? why is there no room?

blah blah blah.....i digress

im ranting again but the whole thing just makes me itchy and dizzy...

enjoy the pics

stay open minded people

xx

drea

This is from her blog, That One Girl Drea
Check it out to see AMAZING pictures of female rockstars

Check out Drea's band, He Say, She Say to hear a black female rockstar in action.

She is part of an "all female collective that focuses on the areas of art, music, fashion, graphic design, photography and philanthropic work" called CHIPPED RED POLISH


Her blogpost inspired me to leave a comment saying this:

If you consider your post a rant, please continue to speak your mind. Because your saying things I have NEVER heard ANYONE vocalize. It is very hard to be a black girl who is driven to rock/electro/WHATEVER music, because there seems to be no one that creates or listens to that type of music.
In my own personal life, I feel like the black community forces you to stay in certain boundaries. When you don't act like everyone else, you are quickly considered something extreme (goth) or considered an outsider of your own culture. Due to this, I have independently explored my musical tastes alone without the influence (or accompaniment usually) of others. I also grew closer to hip-hop music, because initially it was a subconscious attempt to "relate" to my culture. But through this, I have gained an appreciation for oldschool hip-hop and the current underground hip-hop that expresses the same individuality as alternative music. This has affected my personal style, which can be currently considered a mesh of something that looks like a hardcore kid meets indie person meets hip-hop streetwear. For some reason I have never been able to successfully create the girly black girl look, but people see me as the black girl who has a personal style and does whatever she wants. I have always considered myself an individual, but not a 'free spirit'. I see myself as a person who follow trends like everyone else, but ones that are not seen by most black people, but trends seen on party pic and street fashion sites or myspace pictures. This also relates to fact that I can't "dance", juke or whatever, but I have found ways to move to music without caring about the way I look, but only focusing on the lyrics, beat and intensity.
I'm not sure how this relates to YOUR dilemma, but I think you should stay in Chicago. WHY? Because to my understanding there are loads of people who are living and creating music that's completely different than everyone else in the country and people are slowly but surely accepting them and are inspired by them. You don't need to label yourself just so other people can "get you". There is plenty of room for MANY black female rockstars in Chicago. Basically make everyone forget about your race, make people ignore or empathize with your gender, and make people disregard the genre your music falls into and JUST HEAR IT. I mean yeah, places like Brooklyn and LA are known for their accepting spirit and individuality, but I think you have built a lot of relationships that shouldn't be broken in Chicago and your in the perfect location at the perfect time to do whatever you want in life.

-Melknee the RnR Ninja

The title RnR Ninja comes from the Patti Smith song, 'Rock n Roll Nigger'. It is about her comparison of her role of a feminist in a male dominated rock scene to African Americans struggle for equality. I choose to use 'ninja', because I am personally against the use of ''the N word' for several reasons and I prefer to use 'ninja' as an alternative. I felt personally connected by this song. It is basically a song about individuality and many musicians have performed this song to express their individuality. I was aware of this song, because lines of the song was shown in the beginning of the film Afropunk. James Spooner's film, Afropunk is about African Americans in the white dominated punk rock scene. It explains their struggles with their friends, family and the inspiration of their music. The film was dedicated to any black kid who was called a nigger and to every white person who claimed to know that meaning behind the word.

Baby was a black sheep
Baby was a whore
Baby got big
And baby get bigger
Baby get something
Baby get more
Baby, baby, baby
Was a rock-and-roll nigger
Oh, look around you,
All around you,
Riding on a copper wave
Do you like
The world around you?
Are you ready to behave?

Outside of society,
they're waitin' for me
Outside of society,
that's where I want to be

Baby was a black sheep
Baby was a whore
You know she got big
Well, she's gonna get bigger
Baby got a hand;
Got a finger on the trigger
Baby, baby, baby
Is a rock-and-roll nigger

Outside of society,
That's where I want to be
Outside of society,
They're waitin' for me

Those who have suffered,
Understand suffering,
And thereby extend their hand
The storm that brings harm
Also makes fertile
Blessed is the grass
And herb
And the true thorn
And light

I was lost
In a valley of pleasure
I was lost
In the infinite sea
I was lost,
And measure for measure,
Love spewed
From the heart of me
I was lost, and the cost,
And the cost
Didn't matter to me
I was lost, and the cost
Was to be outside society

Jimi Hendrix was a nigger
Jesus Christ and Grandma, too
Jackson Pollock was a nigger
Nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger,
Nigger, nigger, nigger

Outside of society,
They're waitin' for me
Outside of society,
If you're looking,
That's where you'll find me
Outside of society,
They're waitin' for me
Outside of society

Outside of society,
They're waitin' for me
Outside of society,
If you're looking,
That's where you'll find me
Outside of society,
They're waitin' for me
Outside of society