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"I would like to somehow know my worth, cause I been putting in the nightwork."
Rising Atlanta-based artist TAYLOR ALXNDR is gearing up to release her debut EP, NOISE, which will premiere July 7 through Futurehood, the queer label behind underground stars Mister Wallace and KC Ortiz.
Related | KC Ortiz: From Air Force Discharge to Underground Hip-Hop Princess
A self-proclaimed "DIY pop priestess," ALXNDR leads her breakout project with "Nightwork," a dense, autotune-heavy track about the oft overlooked hustle of drag culture--especially as a trans person of color. "I would like to somehow know my worth," ALXNDR coos wistfully, but with a clear sense of self. "Cause I been putting in the nightwork."
ALXNDR's "Nightwork" video, produced by ACAPULPO, was captured during an Atlanta show she performed at this December. With shots of the singer getting into gig, the visual showcases the behind-the-scenes process of a drag performance--all the gritty hard work that goes into a single night of glamour.
"Sometimes you leave the show feeling empty, even with a purse full of tips," she says, describing how the song unpacks the tug-and-pull relationship of life as a drag queen. Though dreamy and transcendent, the work is also labor-filled and exhausting.
"NOISE is a soundtrack to the experiences of my life," ALXNDR says of her debut. "As a queer and trans person of color trying to live and thrive in this world, you get used to the 'noise' or dissonance that comes with existing. From the noise of being a drag queen to the noise of being a part of the Black Trans Lives Matter movement, this EP captures the struggle and the success of my living. It's a love letter to the communities I'm a part of that, despite the powers that be, still thrive."
Watch the OUT premiere of TAYLOR ALXNDR's "Nightwork" video, below.
