Her voice is ethereal; haunting- it often bars me from sleep, leaving me staring wild-eyed into infinity and oblivion. Her croon conjures images of women from centuries past, gathering in sensual worship of the moon, shadows, stars, and all things umbra. For a self-proclaimed pop artist, Be Steady’s art exhumes a depth as vast and enveloping as an ocean.
For a self-proclaimed pop artist, Be Steady’s art exhumes a depth as vast and enveloping as an ocean.
Singer/songwriter filmmaker Be Steadwell shares her struggles and triumphs as an independent artist by This Light on Mixcloud
Before I continue on about Be Steadwell’s art, I have a confession to make; I know Be personally.
I met Be as an adrift adolescent, attempting to formulate a self in the realm of DC’s radical art and social justice scene.
The first Be Steadwell performance I witnessed left me dazed- with a microphone, a looping machine, and her own voice, Be brought magic into the room.
Afterward, I obtained a CD; the thought of endlessly have more of these sonically euphoric experiences was euphoric. Be gave me the CD for free, even though she was selling them for $5, or more, each. Which is to say, Be is nice. However, ‘nice’ has never made great art.
Be Steady began recording music in the two-person group, The Lost Bois, with childhood friend Awkward Original (a.k.a A.O). According to the groups’ Bandcamp, A.O and Be sang in the same jazz band during their teen years. While in college, the two independently continued pursuing their musical passions and, upon returning to DC in the summer of 2009, the two began collaborating to “challenge the sexist, racist, and homophobic hot-mess that is mainstream music.”.
The Lost Bois released an EP in the early summer of 2012 and, in it, one can clearly hear the earlier stages of what I would name Be Steadwell’s sonic signature; ethereal, eclectic, and layered- without pretension.
The Lost Bois no longer seem to be collaborating as frequently anymore- music was last uploaded to their SoundCloud account four years ago. The Lost Bois are still “together” in some sense though, they had a 5-year anniversary concert this past April at the Potter’s House.
However, Be has been consistently rising in her career as a solo artist- in music as well as film.
Be’s art is complex, in form as well as content. From what I understand, Be produces, writes, and performs each of her musical pieces herself. Incorporating a wide variety of sounds, drop-ins, fall-outs, and other production sleight of hands- what would easily become ambitious and amateurish in the hands of a less talented and experienced producer, Be transforms into seamlessness and silk.
In regards to content, Be often sings of love; in its various stages and manifestations. Love in murkiness and mess. Love unwanted and unrequited. Queer love between women. In her track Gilded Cage, Be sings about a relationship as pleasurable as it is stifling. Although Gilded Cage is an exemplary example of Be handling the content of her work with complexity, it is by no means an aberration.
One of Be’s most recent releases, Black Girls Who Can’t Dance, was intentionally created to convey a more nuanced portrayal of Black woman- a representation rarely often seen in media- independent and mainstream.
In Be’s work, we are allowed an intimacy that is as alluring as it is astonishing. Unlike many other independent artists, Be doesn’t seek to construct a persona behind cheap aesthetics and pretension- instead, she lets us in, without betraying her mysteriousness and privacy.
Now an artist-in-residence at the Strathmore in Strathmore, MD, Be is steadily expanding her career.
Two or three years ago, a QWoC friend of mine posted lyrics from one of Be’s songs in a Facebook status. Initially, I was shocked to know that this friend, who lives in California, had ever heard of Be. However, this friend nonchalantly replied that Be is quite well-known across the United States, especially in QPoC circles.
In the time since this Facebook exchange, Be has been on tour across the country- performing her music live, as well as screening her film, Vow of Silence, which has been screened on 4 continents, over 10 countries, and close to 25 cities to date.
Before long, Be will be touring her music internationally, and haunting other Queer folks of color across the globe with her bewitching art.
