PHOTO : YUNG YEMI
PHOTO : YUNG YEMI
artist first , but I think I ’ ve really pushed my skills in those other areas this time ,” she says . “ It ’ s nice to prove to yourself that you ’ re capable of doing something that at least you ’ re proud of .”
As for how those skills have manifested themselves in her new output , Mighty plays it close to her chest for the time being . “ I don ’ t want to get too specific with exactly where the music has gone , because I ’ d love for the songs to speak for themselves , but I think it ’ s very reflective of this year – of myself within this year , and just the year that we ’ ve experienced collectively . It ’ s been a heavy year , for sure .”
She ’ s also tight-lipped when it comes to any specific collaborators for the effort , either on the mic or behind the boards , but does note there are some familiar faces from the 13 th Floor sessions along with some first timers she ’ s pretty excited about .
She also discloses a bit about new ground she ’ s covering sonically . “ I ’ d say the biggest difference between what I did before and what I ’ m doing now is there ’ s a little more of a variety , and I ’ m trusting myself in different pockets of sound , getting more comfortable using my voice as an instrument . People might put me in the box of being a rapper , but I would say I ’ m so much more . I ’ m also a singer , I ’ m also an instrumentalist , I ’ m also a producer , a DJ … I ’ ve been pulling more from those other sides of my creativity and expanding on it .”
She also says she ’ s been focused on making “ stand-alone records .” 13 th Floor being a concept album meant its songs needed to exist in context alongside one another , and while she ’ s still incredibly proud of the collection , she knows that some of its offerings are stronger , or at least offer a more complete listening experience , than others . Essentially , she ’ s finally earned proper recognition as a rapper and writer ; now , she wants to be recognized as multi-faceted , hit-making maestro .
“ I ’ ve been doing a lot of self-discovery outside of my identity as a musician , and I don ’ t think people have seen me in the light these new records will put me in – the artist that can go in all these different pockets and have these different facets and different tentacles in everything ,” Mighty asserts .
But she knows it ’ s critical to carefully plot how to go about achieving that goal – to slowly introduce new iterations of your artistry to a captive audience instead of throwing it all out at once and overwhelming or potentially alienating them . And speaking of that audience , another big difference between now and 2019 is that there are exponentially more eyes and ears anticipating what she ’ ll do this time around . With 13 th Floor , the question was whether anyone was going to hear it ; now , it ’ s what they ’ ll think when they do , and that ’ s a position she hasn ’ t been in before .
In fact , winning the Polaris Prize has put her in a number of new positions and places ; sometimes , they ’ re ones that would be new to many female Black artists , and she recognizes the importance of her newfound ambassadorship .
“ It ’ s good for representation to be on these stages where you wouldn ’ t normally see people like me ,” she asserts . “ I take the time to make something that will connect with people , and because of that , I ’ m honoured to be that representation because I ’ m confident in the standard I ’ ve set for myself . I had Lauryn Hill and a few other [ role models ], but it ’ s 2020 now , and representation looks different now than it did in the ‘ 90s , than it did in the ‘ 70s , so that has to keep progressing and I ’ m grateful to be part of that now . I ’ m grateful for these opportunities . I will maximize the opportunities . I won ’ t compromise myself for these opportunities , either . And when you marry that high [ artistic ] standard with Blackness or femininity or being a woman or non-gender conforming or any of these things I ’ m a representation of , that ’ s great and it ’ s very important for me and for other artists like me .”
She ’ s already the first Black woman and hiphop artist to win Polaris ; but there are more firsts sure to come . “ Everything I ’ m making right now is fire ,” she says proudly . “ Everything I ’ m putting out for the next year is going to set my new standard ” – at least in terms of its quality and integrity ; thanks to the ongoing pandemic , there ’ s still no standard for how that music will be presented to or enjoyed by her growing audience .
“ When I ’ m writing , I ’ m still envisioning presenting these songs in front of people in that live show format , but in reality , now I ’ m not exactly sure how it ’ ll be consumed ,” she admits .
“ I ’ m still in a progressive mindset , so this feels like a setback , but I ’ m not convinced these [ pandemic-related ] changes will exist forever , so I ’ m navigating this for now like we ’ ll one day go back to what music looked like , what live performance looked like , and what connecting through music looked like . There ’ s nothing like performing in front of hundreds , thousands , or even just a few people .”
But when the music is good enough , it finds its own way to connect with people . 13 th Floor did just that , thrusting its creator into the national and then international spotlight and earning the distinction of the best Canadian album of the year . Mighty thinks her new material is even stronger , so who knows which places or positions it might propel her towards .
Andrew King is the former Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Musician .
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