a musing: caprisongs by fka twigs
as the adage goes: we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. we are souls swimming in a sea of physical form, sometimes coming to the surface and drawing air. every so often i come upon an artist that distills from that timeless moment for me, such as fka twigs. i first came upon her work in college through a friend. her visuals were unconventional, dark, and textured. her voice and choice of sounds blended ethereal and abyssal tones that reflected the poetry of punk, and the soul of r&b. she brought a biting and sacred eroticism that made my knees buckle in prayer. i was quite literally shook. it’s like she tapped deep into my subconscious, and connected it somatically in ways i never knew existed. this is the work of the lovers of the ahl bayt and the beloved. to gnaw on your heart, until it surrenders to the unbearable love of the almighty. artists are important. they mirror the deepest unsaid longings, sorrows, frustrations, and joys of the collective in a way that isn’t threatening or asking to be fixed. it is just honest and simply laid bare. that’s rare, and that is why art is sacred.
naturally, i was excited to listen to her newly released mixtape called caprisongs. it took me a while to get used to how different it was from her earlier music. i found a comment by one of her fans that created a sacred space for twigs’ storytelling in my heart. fans are important too:
caprisongs speaks to an exciting moment in our culture, whereby self-love is now becoming the bedrock for our evolution, and not just relegated to the self-help aisle of barnes & noble. twigs’ musings of self-love are not curated for perfection, but includes a backdrop of messy romantic relationships and an honest, yet playful exploration of them. she tackles attachment-styles, codependency, low self-worth, and the transformative power of friendship and community. the communal experience of the mixtape reminds me of the miseducation of lauryn hill which also included charming soundbites of late-night conversations about love, heartbreak, and the triumph of spirit. you feel like both a fly on the wall, but also a main character. caprisongs mirrors conversations many of us are having with loved ones and on social media, exhausted by the old paradigm of playing small and settling for less, and instead restless for what’s real and life-giving. it is all so beautiful and so important, and i am here for it!
