About BURNIN’ FLAME
Introduction:
Hello and welcome to About BURNIN’ FLAME.
I'll be discussing my third writing project which I dropped on the 24th of November 2023 and more exciting news. This project follows on from ART IS MY SUPERPOWER (2021).
I had a few names for this project, but I felt that BURNIN’ FLAME represented what I wanted the project to be about and I like the name a lot.
Going through some ups and downs in life my flame still burns so bright, but to also inspire people to keep going through the tough times, rise above all the things you’ve been through, showcase your beautiful flame, time to own the things that people have been horrible about and things that you enjoy and love, all these things have helped me come up with the name.
After ART IS MY SUPERPOWER I was feeling a bit more powerful in myself and felt that this was a great direction to go in.
Official and Promotional Pieces (so far)
Official:
RISE, The Cold Air Crept In, Every Cloud has a Rainbow Lining (with The Queen of Heartbreak), BURNIN’ FLAME & Set It Off
RISE:
This was the first piece I dropped for BURNIN’ FLAME back in April 2023 (this began the BURNIN’ FLAME Era) and when I was reading through the pieces I had at the time for the project, I knew RISE had to be the first piece to bring people into the BURNIN’ FLAME journey.
This piece is a monologue. I get to have firepower and other magical powers in this piece which if you know me, I’m a big Marvel fan and love the sense of having superpowers I think it is awesome.
This is a feel-good piece (which is how I’m feeling at the moment) but also to say to people that it’s okay to fall, have bad days etc. because I feel that it is important to talk about.
This piece felt like a good way to bridge ART IS MY SUPERPOWER & BURNIN’ FLAME together.
I now have music with this which is amazing.
The Cold Air Crept In:
For the second official piece, I wanted to give something a little different from RISE and I decided that I wanted to bring The Cold Air Crept In out next.
I remember sharing a short snippet of this piece on Instagram and it blew up and it was one of the most viewed videos I have ever put out which surprised me.
This is a story (fun fact before I wrote poems I used to write short stories and monologues a lot more) so I got to showcase my storytelling skills with this piece which I haven't done before in my writing projects as I said now I’m doing more of a fusion now instead of just poems.
I decided to have this piece be my second single on all streaming platforms.
I love the soundscape that the producer and I worked on it for the piece it truly transports me to another world and it creates the imagery well.
There are loads of different sounds we used in the music which I loved because when I was a kid I enjoyed going out and recording sounds and putting them together to create a soundscape. When I was discussing ideas for the sound for this with the producer he got it so quickly which was great. There's also heavy bass which gives it that epic feel.
In this piece, I talk about the coldness that I have received from people and creatively turned it into this cold figure/villain (that’s where part of the storytelling elements come in but also the acting side) because in this piece I’m on a snowy battlefield going up against the cold figure (which is why I wanted this piece to come after Unwanted Noise) as in this piece I’m feeling a bit braver to stand up for myself in this one even though there's the part where the coldness takes over my body and you can see it one way as a split continuation to Unwanted Noise.
I hope you're enjoying my second single.
Every Cloud has a Rainbow Lining (with The Queen of Heartbreak)
For the third official piece, I picked Every Cloud has a Rainbow Lining (with The Queen of Heartbreak).
This was the first time I worked with The Queen of Heartbreak and this is what we created together. Firstly I like the name so much, but this piece is so special to me.
We worked on this piece in 2021, At the time I was planning ART IS MY SUPERPOWER (but didn't add it to that project, but I’m glad that this piece is on BURNIN’ FLAME).
This piece has such beautiful and powerful language throughout.
BURNIN’ FLAME:
For the fourth official piece, I picked the title piece of the project BURNIN’ FLAME.
I knew when I worked on this piece that I wanted it to be an official piece.
This piece talks about how I’m showcasing my hidden flame now, but to also inspire people to discover their hidden flame.
Set It Off:
For the fifth official piece I picked the fun and sexy piece Set It Off.
This piece is very different for me, but I enjoyed writing this one.
This piece is all about meeting someone in a club/party and dancing with them.
A few people have asked (if we’re going to find out what happens next after Set It Off). All I’m going to say for now is I’m working on something. I hope you’re ready for what it is.
I'll be revealing one more official piece (so keep an eye out).
Promotional:
Island Whine & Kindness is Free
Island Whine:
This joyful, fun, vibrant and celebratory piece is about having a good time, dancing and not worrying about what people think.
This was a great first promotional piece for BURNIN’ FLAME as it was different to RISE and to show the project was going to be a mix.
Island Whine is a spoken-word rap piece (I like to switch it up once in a while and I know people enjoy when I do spoken-word rap) so I’ll be writing more.
Kindness is Free:
For the second promotional piece I picked Kindness is Free because I feel that more kindness is needed in the world, this is something that is so simple, but people still don’t do it enough.
I’ve had this piece for a little while, but I felt that it didn’t fit my other projects at the time but it fit BURNIN’ FLAME so well.
I'll be revealing one more promotional piece on the 28th of June as a Pride Month Special (so keep an eye out). This is a collaboration which I think goes with Pride Month so well.
Collaborations:
For the collaborations I worked with Arnie The Beta, Gandy ‘de’ Great, Kiki, Rokat, Maha & The Queen of Heartbreak (this was actually the most I’ve had on a project and I’m glad)
- I Found My Voice (with Arnie The Beta)
The first collaboration on the project is with Arnie The Beta on I Found My Voice.
In this piece I talk about how it has taken me a while to find my voice.
Working on this with Arnie was amazing, it was the first time we collaborated and I like his part a lot from the cool references, imagery and so much more.
- Stormy Mind (with Gandy ‘de’ Great)
The second collaboration on the project is Stormy Mind (with Gandy ‘de’ Great). This piece follows on from The Cold Air Crept In on the project.
In this piece, you see me being more vulnerable and talking about how life can be hard sometimes.
I like how Gandy talks about it as well but also has a hopeful outlook throughout but also like the imagery he uses.
I have worked with Gandy a few times now on pieces: Tempo (Switchin’ It Up) & MY HAIR IS MY CROWN Pt. 2. I’ve wanted him to be on a project for a while so I’m glad it was for this piece.
- London (with Kiki)
For the third collaboration on the project, it was London (with Kiki). We worked on this piece a few years ago, but it didn't fit any of my other projects at the time, but for BURNIN’ FLAME it made sense.
In this piece, we both speak about the highs and lows of living in London. I remember when we worked on this and at the time I didn’t have a piece about London and I’m glad we went with this as we both live in London and could write about our experience, but also what we have seen, heard etc.
I also like how we both brought our different styles to this and the way we speak about London is different but the way it all comes together makes it blend so well.
- Grow (with Rokat)
For the next collaboration it’s Grow (with Rokat).
This was the first time I worked with Rokat and I’ve been a fan of his work for a while (meeting him at Poetry LGBT online on Zoom). After hearing some of his work online, meeting him in person and seeing some of his live performances online I knew I wanted to collaborate with him at some point and we worked on Grow in 2022.
In this piece we are both talking about how we’re feeling, but also talking about change and so much more. Working on this with Rokat was great and I like what he wrote so much.
- Empowered (with Maha)
Fifth collaboration on the project was Empowered (with Maha). We worked on this piece in 2022. When I was thinking about what pieces I wanted on BURNIN’ FLAME I felt that Empowered made sense to be on the project because of what BURNIN’ FLAME is about.
In this piece it’s all about empowering people to see the greatness in themselves, to know they’re strong, take care of their mental health and so much more.
This piece feels like Maha and I are having a conversation which is so interesting and different to anything I’ve done before.
We have also collaborated on another piece called: Strangers to Friends.
- Every Cloud has a Rainbow Lining (with The Queen of Heartbreak)
Final collaboration on the project is Every Cloud has a Rainbow Lining (with The Queen of Heartbreak). I spoke about the piece above.
I hope you have enjoyed the pieces and I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone I worked with and for being on this project with me, it means so much as one thing I like to do is collaborate with people and have the project be a shared experience.
The BURNIN’ FLAME Experience (15th January 2024 - 26th April 2024)
I had so much fun doing The BURNIN’ FLAME Experience. This is the first time I did the experience early as I dropped BURNIN’ FLAME nearly two months before.
I got to perform around London promoting the project, seeing and hearing the pieces grow, talking to people about the project and more. I also got to work on artwork for some of the pieces on the project which was cool.
This was the first time I performed all the pieces from a project for an experience and also included a few pieces from Beauty Within The Cracks, ART IS MY SUPERPOWER and a few pieces that are out on my Wixsite.
BURNIN’ FLAME Special:
To Be Seen Pt. 2 (ft. Pablo Rouge)
I always like to do a few special things for my writing projects a few months after it comes out.
I’ve worked with Pablo Rouge a few times now on two pieces: Lit Lyrics & Elemental (ART IS MY SUPERPOWER), but haven't for a while so I was excited to work with him again.
For my projects so far Beauty Within The Cracks & ART IS MY SUPERPOWER, both pieces that had a part two were more upbeat pieces SWERVED Pt. 2 (ft. Candy Campbell & MitZfit) - Beauty Within The Cracks & BRINGIN’ THE SAUCE Pt. 2 (ft. S-BARS) - ART IS MY SUPERPOWER, but I’m glad Pablo wanted to be on something deeper to switch it up.
I liked what Pablo brought to the part two of this piece and it means so much that he wanted to be a part of this with me.
Progress on PROJECT 4:
I began planning this project in April 2024 and am excited to announce that I’ve started working on my next writing project.
It still in the beginning stages, but has progressed well so far and I’m pretty excited about this one already.
I’m starting to prepare what the first official piece for the project is going to be.
I’ve also been thinking about collaborations already and who I would like to be on the project (so keep an eye out I may ask if you would like to be on the project).
I’m also still thinking about the name of the project so for now it'll be known as Project Four.
A few topics and themes that will be on my fourth writing project:
•Sexuality
•Body image
•Race
•More
MORE SURPRISING NEWS JUST FOR YOU:
I'll be performing at Waltham Forest Pride and BI PRIDE in the summer (this is my first time and I’m so excited)
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I have a summer bop on the way, this is my first-ever song called Island Whine (this piece is from BURNIN’ FLAME) I spoke a bit about this above but it now has turned into a song which I’m super excited about because it’s so different from what you've heard from me so far.
End:
I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read through the project so far it means so much. This project has done so well for me that I still can't believe it.
When I started out in 2017 I was still at University at the time and went to my first open mic event in 2018 (Poetry LGBT which I still go to today such a welcoming, accepting and lovely open mic event that has made me feel seen and heard.
I didn't believe in myself back then, but, so glad I’m still on this creative journey and soon to be on my fourth writing project which is crazy because it’s not to do with how many projects I do, but just to see how much I have grown over the years and believing in myself so much more now.
I’m someone who loves to create and give out content so if you enjoy my work you'll be getting a lot from me.
The BURNIN’ FLAME Era is not over just yet (still a few things coming up for the project) but after summer I’ll be taking a little break as the BURNIN’ FLAME Era will be over then after my break I’ll start gearing up for PROJECT FOUR Era so I hope you're excited and have learnt more about the project through this.