“I've been hurt in love by so many people,” says DEVMO, an LA rapper.
“It made me so angry and vengeful," she admits. "I started playing with girls’ hearts, like how mine had been played with, just to see what it was like. I put myself in the shoes of those that had done damage to me, to see if it would make me happier and feel more powerful.” She sings about it in Call It A Night, her five-track alternative EP, releasing February 27 via Bodega Suprette, a Los Angeles indie label started by RuPaul's Drag Race producer Ellis Miah. The first track off the EP, “Lioness”, is available on iTunes now.
Call It A Night is very different from Real Talk, the album that introduced the young, white, female rapper to the Hip Hop scene last year. That first EP was DEVMO’s exploration of Hip Hop’s many different genres. In Call it a Night, she inches closer to finding herself as a person and musician. She gets even realer, exploring love, lust, friendships, conflict, human nature, social issues and societal taboos. She wrote all the songs on the EP and produced many of them, giving her more control over the emotion of the lyrics, vocals and overall sound.
“I’ve learned that I can do this. The most challenging part about being an artist is sharing my most intimate feelings with the world.”
Nothing is held back in Call It A Night, including her sexual preferences. “I am bi-sexual,” she confirms. “I have been in love with both men and women.”
She first fell in love with a girl in college, but the girl didn't love her back. “I remember needing my mother,” she remembers. “I sent her a text telling her about my situation. I couldn't hide that I got my heart broken by a girl. I wasn't ashamed. How can you be ashamed of love?”
She knows gay women in music who won't use ‘she’ or ‘her’ because they’re hoping to be more relatable to the masses. She argues that artists should be demanding acceptance and pushing for change. “I have to be honest in my music. It’s the only way to inspire improvement. Our world needs it.”
Though not exactly affirmative, the tracks on Call It A Night are meant to encourage listeners – especially women - to take charge of their lives.
“Lioness”, the EP's first release, is directed toward a business relationship that didn’t pan out. “I was super let down, fed up and frustrated, but the experience taught me how I don't need anyone to get to where I want to be. It helped me find my inner lioness," she says.
And that really sums up what Call It A Night is all about. It's DEVMO's roar.
Follow DEVMO:
http://www.devmomusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/DevMoMusic/
www.twitter.com/devmomusic
www.instagram.com/devmomusic
For more information on Call It a Night, visit http://www.ellismiahmusic.com and http://www.bodegasuperette.com