EQUATE Premiere: Shunaji

When I first saw Shunaji perform at a gig at Shoreditch’s Rich Mix in summer 2018 and witnessed how smoothly she blends her signature rap flow with jazzy soul, all whilst rapping in both Italian and English, I was hooked immediately and tried to follow her journey for the years to come.

Now, the London-via-Rome rapper unveils her brand new single ‘Black Girl Blues’ alongside a striking music video, exclusively premiering on EQUATE today.

Again cleverly rapping in both English and Italian while making references to film, artists, and video games, broadcasted from her ‘Black Girl Blues’ channel, the track is a vibrant and effortlessly cool offering that sheds light on Shunaji’s undeniable talent that puts her in a league of her own. The Destinie Page-directed music video sees her switching between a sophisticated career woman and a dedicated musician - our nostalgia gets real when she’s joined by a live band for a sparkling performance.

We spoke to her about Black History Month, her influences, and the creation of the music video for ‘Black Girl Blues’.

Read the full interview below…

EQ: What’s your favorite memory from your musical journey so far?

S: I really cherish the time a friend told me “Shu, your song is on Reddit ‘ListenToThis’!”. ‘ListenToThis’ is a forum dedicated to sharing new, interesting music with the rest of the world. My single ‘Dirty Girls‘ (2020) was ranked pretty high there, and reading all the comments of appreciation and dissection of my lyrics was amazing. I felt a sense of belonging: after all, I’m an internet baby, so watching people nerd out on my music online is an absolute treat!

EQ: So tell us all about your new single!

S: ‘Black Girl Blues’ is an anthem about being a Black woman in society and in the music industry. It’s an unapologetic confession that explores my journey from being a school kid (“I dream of Jeannie Cusamano and my bullies in school”, in the first verse) to confronting power and privilege in the music industry (“Comparatively the same as decades of pyramids and slaves”, in the third verse).

I wrote ‘Black Girl Blues‘ with the intention that these complicated truths would be pumped out of massive speakers for the world to hear. It’s important that we confront the society and social dynamics we are part of. My lyrics are a testimony of the hardships I’ve experienced from childhood into adulthood, and of how I bounced back into my triumphant self. I want young Black girls to feel worthy and to know that there are many others like them who are gifted, precious, and beautiful. I was inspired by the wisdom and activism of Kimberlé Crenshaw, Malcolm X, Audre Lorde, Bell Hooks, Angela Davis, Akala, Frantz Fanon, Claudia Rankine, Nina Simone, and more.

I wanted ‘Black Girl Blues’ to be the first single from my next EP and to inaugurate Black History Month (BHM). The hilarious thing is that obviously I wrote and recorded the song before BHM and, through the song, I tell stories that encompass my whole life span as a Black woman. I used this contradiction to emphasise the role of Black tokenism and how mainstream platforms often show a limited attention span for Black and broader social issues. I decided to claim space within BHM and tell this story, on my own terms, for all those who care to listen.

Sonically, ‘Black Girl Blues’ is a homage to my predecessors, role models, and inspirations who have been preserving Black heritage through contemporary music: from Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone to the Jungle Brothers, The Fugees, Biggie, and Erykah Badu and Missy Elliott and OutKast. My sound is very eclectic and that’s what I love about making music. I’m always open to experiment with sound and form, and I like to push the boundaries of genre. In ‘Black Girl Blues‘, I brought together my influences, both musically and politically, to create a track that feels true to me.

“In ‘Black Girl Blues‘, I brought together my influences, both musically and politically, to create a track that feels true to me.”

- Shunaji

EQ: I also love the music video for it - what was your creative process for the visuals and how did you get the idea for that?

S: I came up with the idea by visualising the lyrics and focusing on my rap delivery. The rap in ‘Black Girl Blues’ is very ‘performative’ and I credit that to my early consumption of all things Busta Rhymes and Queen Latifah. I really like it when rappers can be ironic and theatrical without diluting the validity of their lyrical content. In this track, I vocally express the meaning of my lyrics by playing various roles: from a talk show host (first verse) to their special guest being interviewed (second verse) to the know-it-all producer who sums up the message of the song in the final verse.

I worked with an amazing production team, including Destinie Page (Director) and Amy Reid (Director of Photography), who helped me bring the concept to life. Tiyana Henriques did a great job of putting together a wardrobe that would enable us to convey the role-playing between characters. The visuals came together nicely and the whole set (which was built in one morning!) was instrumental in creating the cosmos of ‘Black Girl Blues’.

I’m so glad you enjoyed the visuals! I want to give thanks to Help Musicians UK and PRS for Music for helping me bring this concept to life.

EQ: In your songs, you’re combining Italian with English, how important is it to you to rep your Italian side as well?

S: Italian is who I am, and so it’s very important to me that I’m able to continue expressing myself in my mother tongue. Believe it or not, I’m not a native English speaker! I believe that in many ways English lends itself to hip hop lyricism better than Italian…it’s something to do with syllables and phonetics. However, I’m keen to explore rapping in Italian more, and finding my own Italian rap flow which may also be influenced by my English vocabulary.

What I really LOVE to do is to switch from one language to the other. It’s great for times when I get writers’ block in one language but I find a rhyme or near rhyme in the other language. The linguistic fluidity helps me move forward creatively and feels super liberating!

EQ: You’ve got an EP coming out soon too, what can we expect from that - anything you can unveil yet?

S: Yes, I do! I’m excited about this project because I’ve developed so much as a songwriter and producer over the past year.

The main themes of the EP are identity, society, and discovery. All the songs express an aspect of my journey and personality: where I’ve been and where I am today. The core concept is that of “alienation” as a universal experience both unknown and relatable to others. I can’t disclose any more information!

The EP will be out early next year, but I’ll be releasing a new follow-up single to ‘Black Girl Blues‘ very soon.

Watch the visuals for ‘Black Girl Blues’ below!

Youtube/Shunaji

Stream ‘Black Girl Blues‘ HERE

Keep up with Shunaji on socials:

Instagram: @iamshunaji

Twitter: @iamshunaji