2024 Vermont Public | PRIVACY

TEXT TEXT TEXT
NEWLINE
LINK
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Homegoings
Homegoings cover art
Homegoings

Stories from the spotlight: Surviving the music industry as a woman of color (part one)

By Myra Flynn
Published June 13, 2024 at 5:25 PM EDT
The music industry is full of contradictions, protect yourself while you exploit yourself, while you hold your head high. These artists, Res and Madame Gandhi, are forging their own path.
Photo: Res / Lindsey Byrnes
/
Graphic: Elodie Reed
The music industry is both ripe with opportunity, and danger. These artists, Res and Madame Gandhi, are defining fame their way.

Fame, or the idea of it, is deeply woven into our society. It’s currency — people knowing you, knowing your name, knowing your art — can be priceless for an artist. Something to spend your whole life seeking. But fame also comes at a cost, and for young women of color in the music industry, those costs have names. They are: financial devastation, mental health challenges, violence and sexual assault. In this two-part episode of Homegoings, we’ll pull back the curtain and hear from three female musicians and an expert about what it means to be ambitious, broke and brown and Black in the music industry.

This is the latest episode of Homegoings, a podcast that features fearless conversations about race, and YOU are welcome here. Follow the series here.

Loading...

Sign up for the Homegoings email newsletter for updates on new episodes, events and more. Sent every other week on Fridays.

Loading...

The music industry sends conflicting messages about fame, and how to attain it. Be sexual but not too sexual. It’s all about your talent, but depending on your genre, your image is a big part of that too. Put yourself out there, cover yourself up. Protect yourself while you exploit yourself while you hold your head high.

It’s exhausting — chasing a mirage.

And I’ve always tried to keep my head held high as a Black woman. But before you can be a proud Black woman, you’re a young Black girl. Naive as anyone else, except — the world doesn’t see you that way. In fact, many studies show that, across all age ranges, the world views Black girls collectively as more adult than white girls. The perception, also, is that we need less protection and nurturing than white girls, and we are perceived to know more about sex at a young age. In short: We are not afforded innocence.

So, at the age of 16, when I found myself straddling college and recording studios, I entered the music industry somewhere between a girl and a woman. And that, in America anyway — especially while being Black — is a deliciously vulnerable and enticing space to occupy for predators.

But right now, in 2024, while this episode is dropping into your feed, hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with five lawsuits in New York accusing him of sexual assault, sexual trafficking and engaging in other criminal activity. Former model Crystal McKinney also filed a lawsuit accusing the rapper of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his New York recording studio in 2003. Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, spoke out after CNN obtained a 2016 video of Combs attacking her in a hotel hallway. Grammy award-winning R&B singer R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex. Young Black girls and women abused in the music industry are finally a little more seen. A little more heard. A little more welcomed into the conversation of injustice, and humanity.

Which means here on Homegoings, it’s time to hear some stories — and for me, it’s time to finally share some. This episode is part one of a two-part exposé of sorts, as I speak with two female musicians and an expert about what it means to be ambitious, broke and brown and Black in the music industry.

“We are not always being honest on stage, a lot of the time we are faking it. And nobody understands that. And we're not supposed to let you guys know, that, like, the person we're sitting next to is an abuser, or a drug addict, or, and now I live with them on the bus. It's really interesting that as authentic as you think an artist is, we're just not. Because we can't afford to be.” - Res

Part One

Res, a Philadelphia-based artist with a hit classic record says: “It's interesting that, you know, we hide so much as artists to have a chance to do our art. We just in general hide so much.” - Res
Res
/
Courtesy
Res, a Philadelphia-based artist with a hit classic record says: “It's interesting that, you know, we hide so much as artists to have a chance to do our art. We just in general hide so much.” - Res

Part Two

“This is living in a way that pushes me forward rather than feeling stuck in depression. Usually for me, when I get my mind right, the rest follows quite naturally.” - Kiran “Madame” Gandhi
Lindsey Byrnes
/
Courtesy
“This is living in a way that pushes me forward rather than feeling stuck in depression. Usually for me, when I get my mind right, the rest follows quite naturally.” - Kiran “Madame” Gandhi

Deep listen

Res - I've Known the Garden

I’ve Known The Garden - Res
Santi White/Jeremey Lapinski

One of these days the gig is up
Shouldn't we take the time now
To show our love

Yeah, I got the blues again
My mistake
Tell me did you see the end coming
Now I'm searching for a sign
But looking back there are only good times
Now I'm on the road again
My soul aches
It's clear that match won't work for me
And now though things don't seem so hot
I know I gave him all the love I got

Bye-bye roses
I got me a hand that's bitter sweet
But I don't care
I've known the garden

Bye-bye roses
I got me a hand that's bitter sweet
But no regrets
I've known the garden

One of these days the gig is up
Shouldn't we take the time now
To show our love

She was always my best friend
Never late and coffee ice cream made her smile
Now she's left and gone away
And I'm here by myself another day
And though I'll miss her to no end
My heart breaks
Tell me did she see the end coming
At least I know it was sunny
All the time that she spent with me

Bye-bye roses
I got me a hand that's bitter sweet
But I don't care
I've known the garden

Bye-bye roses
I got me a hand that's bitter sweet
But no regrets
I've known the garden

One of these days the gig is up
Shouldn't we take the time now
To show our love

Credits

If you or someone you know is facing the trauma of sexual abuse, you do not have to navigate it alone. Help is available.

This episode was reported and mixed by Myra Flynn, with help from associate producer James Stewart and edited by Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. The music was composed by Myra Flynn and Derick Rice. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions. Elodie Reed is the graphic artist behind this episode’s Homegoings artist portrait.

See you in two weeks for the next episode of Homegoings. As always, you are welcome here.

To continue to be part of the Homegoings family:

Loading...

Tags
Homegoings New England News Collaborative
Myra Flynn
Myra Flynn joined Vermont Public in March 2021 and is the DEIB Advisor, Host and Executive Producer of Homegoings. Raised in Vermont, Myra Flynn is an accomplished musician who has come to know the lay of dirt-road land that much more intimately through touring both well-known and obscure stages all around the state and beyond. She also has experience as a teaching artist and wore many hats at the Burlington Free Press, including features reporter and correspondent, before her pursuits took her deep into the arts world. Prior to joining Vermont Public, Myra spent eight years in the Los Angeles music industry.
See stories by Myra Flynn