Come As You Are Ft. Xenamay
DJ SPOTLIGHT
What are your pronouns?
she/her
What is your cultural background?
Black (Ethiopian & Eritrean)
What is your favourite genre of music?
Picking a favourite genre is VERY difficult. My mood changes quite often but, I always end up coming back to my Ethiopian/Eritrean music which is basically a mash of disco/jazz/house etc...
Who are 3 artists that you feel have made an impact on you, and your work? And in what way?
Growing up, it was always Alemayehu Eshete. The exploration of different genres in his music really helped me understand how to break out of a genre focused mindset. Good music is just good music. In high school, I was all about that Beyoncé (still am because hello???). I loved how she could easily exude power and confidence in her music. She completely changed my whole outlook on vocal production and performance. At my big big age now, I'm really into the girls rapping. I am all here for women feeling powerful enough to explore their careers, sexuality, beauty, expression etc... so Megan Thee Stallion or Rico Nasty are doing it for me!
What does it mean to you, to be your most authentic self?
Being my authentic self means loving myself. I am queer. I am black. I am disabled. I am a woman. I am a refugee. I have literally FOUGHT for the right to love myself when it should come naturally to me. The world is constantly urging me to doubt myself but, I'm not about it. I will hype myself up even when I am mediocre. I will hype myself even when I am miles away from perfection. I will hype myself at every level of progress because even at my worst, I deserve to love myself. That is the only way I can be my most authentic self.
