serpentwithfeet digs for the roots

I spent the first 18 years of my life in a city that nurtured my creativity and taught me to be demanding. I could write a lot about the city of crab feasts. But I decided to make a lil' list or whatever. Here it is.

WHEN I THINK OF BALTIMORE I THINK OF :

 - skateland on fridays and endless refills of sprite remix.  

 - turning any dull moment into rapture simply by banging out the infamous Baltimore club beat on my chest… or  table… or refrigerator.

 - skipping school with the homies to get chicken boxes. when textbooks grew uninspired and couldn’t offer travel, we found flight in overly-seasoned wings and greasy ass fries. 

 - dance recitals masquerading as fashion shows. 

 - the prestigious blue on my tongue & lips after sipping a Huggie at the family reunion. 

 - the dragons i’ve been blessed to unleash.

 - me pitifully deepening my voice when i say “back door” on the bus because niggas with soft voices weren’t in vogue yet.

 - school trips to The Great Blacks in Wax Museum and the half-horror half-pride that accompanied me. 

 - teachers & principals who refused to teach the star spangled banner but made sure we knew all 3 verses to "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

 - the temporary safety that silence provided

 - the young entrepreneurs that kept all of us boys fly ... AKA ‘girls that braided hair’

$20 for straight-back cornrows 

$25 for zig zags

$50 for a full head of two-strand twists 

 - a Nextel chirping on somebody’s hip

 - 3-part harmony

 - collard greens flirting with the mac & cheese

 - obnoxious laughter

 - unanswered questions

-serpentwithfeet

Music is at its most rewarding when it can help you cling onto life’s fleeting moments and savor them in the same way you’d take your sweet time eating a meal that you don’t want to end. And, in doing so, it also brings you closer — pleasurably, reluctantly, or otherwise — to the people and spaces you shared those moments with. L.A-based, Baltimore-raised singer serpentwithfeet could give a masterclass on how to freeze time in this way. His music, which has R&B, opera, and gospel in its DNA lends itself to diving into the subtleties. And when paired with production that takes you on winding trips filled with tension, mysticism, and despair, those moments are given such rich texture that you get lost in them. 

In earlier music, like his 2016-released debut EP blisters, it felt as if the singer born Josiah Wise was reckoning with loss — maybe romantic or familial, maybe loss of his former self in some ways — and dealing with the anger conjoined with that loss. The Haxan Cloak’s production extended these feelings of mourning with ominous soundscapes that were so busy that they could induce instant anxiety. In music videos around that time, serpentwithfeet presented himself with more of an eerie flare: a huge bull ring piercing, black lipstick, and a chilling stare. In the years since, the music and videos he’s released have gotten much more delicate. There’s no shortage of acute detail and thoughtfulness in his writing and song-structure, but his delivery isn’t as heavy-handed. Projects like his debut album soil and his most recent in DEACON, feel like they’re guiding Black people — and more specifically, Black gay men — on how to be present in their love and in their lives. How to get lost in the small moments and how to advocate for yourself when things aren’t going your way. 

During a recent phone conversation while he finished getting his car detailed in LA, I spoke with serpenwithfeet about his growth over the years and how he’s spending more time thinking about his foundation. He even wrote a note about his favorite memories of growing up in Baltimore City. 

I love the idea of you writing out sort of a love letter to Baltimore. And I was just wondering, has home been on your mind more lately? Or is it just something that you want to get out?

I don't know if home has been in my mind more or less than it ever has been. I think I'm always considering how things began or what my origins are. I like to think that I spend a lot of time reflecting. And I think within my work, because the name of the game is always challenging myself. I'm always trying to challenge myself and be anew. And I think I’m just trying to understand, what has my art been? What is in my character arc? What things have I learned as a young person that I want to keep with me? What things do I want to discard?

So I think creatively, I learned so much in Baltimore. And my imagination was nurtured in Baltimore. Obviously this is where I was born and raised. The first 18 years of my life was in Baltimore City proper. It's important for me that I understand what the beginning was for me. I was given a lot of space. A lot of space to be imaginative, a lot of space to be creative. So I think for that reason, I'm just always looking for new ways to say thank you.

What are some of the challenges you have found placed in front of you as far as wanting to grow or becoming new? Do you think of it in that way where it's like, okay, this is the thing I'm trying to conquer right now? Or is it not that linear for you?

I don't know if there's anything that I'm trying to conquer. I don't know if I would use that language. But I would say that I'm challenging myself. I'm always trying to be a better writer, a better storyteller. Always trying to be more clear and really get to the essence of what I'm trying to say. I think being more direct. As much as I love the ornate and I love the fluff — I think that's beautiful and I think it has a space right now — I don't know if that's as important to me. Even I think about songwriting with visual storytelling. So I think that's been a fun exercise just daily. If I'm telling a story to a friend, I want to get to the punch line, like let's get to the thing. Let's begin at the punchline. So I don't know if there's anything I'm trying to conquer right now, but I think being more direct is really important to me.

Would you say that's something that you can feel yourself getting clearer in when you're having conversations with people? Is that something you can feel that you're getting stronger at? 

Yeah. And I think to be clear and to be less abstract. I think I've been more intentional about using my voice and using it boldly. And ask for what I want. Stating what my needs are and what my expectations are. And if it's clear then it's fun, but it's important for me to state it. And I don't know that I've always felt comfortable expressing what I need or expressing what makes me uncomfortable. And now I'm not interested in babysitting anybody anymore. I feel like I used to always be afraid. I used to be afraid to speak very directly and very honestly. And now I don't have the bandwidth to do otherwise. I don't have the bandwidth to neglect myself. And I just think I'm just learning. I think for a long time I felt not completely in my body. I feel way more in my body now. In the past year, past couple years, I've just felt that way. And so I'm just leaning into that. That's where I am now.

One thing I've always really, really appreciated about not even just your work, but your communication on social media, is that your words really place me within your feelings. I think you do really well at magnifying small moments that feel very strong, but they could also be fleeting if you don't pay attention to them in life. And that's just something I always really felt like stood out to me about your work. And I wonder if that is something that you were intentional about capturing: those fleeting moments where the emotions might stick out the strongest, but it might be hard to articulate those moments.

I don't know what to blame it on. I don't know if actually blaming it on me being a July cancer, or me being an R&B fan. I think when we long for someone or we miss someone, when we have kind thoughts of someone, we think about those small moments. We think about the way their hand touched our knee. You think about the way they laughed that time and the sun danced on their skin a certain way at four o'clock. And it was a different kind of light than the sun at noon. And you notice those nuances. Those are moments that make great songs, for me, for my taste. I think making a verse about the way somebody's eyebrows sort of rise and contort when they're talking and how you might be facing because you're watching their eyebrows. I think those make great songs. And the musicians that I love, they're so specific. And the writers in general that I love, they're so specific. And what is that saying, the genius is in the detail. So I realized when I first started making music that — I don't know if this will sound pretentious or arrogant — but I realized that when I'm thinking about men, I'm thinking about those small moments. And I often think that the culture around manhood or just maleness, whatever you want to call it, says that we shouldn't be focused on the minutia, that we should be focused on big pictures. And that the details are for women or for girls or for cis-women and they're not for men.

Right

I knew early on before I put out the EP in 2016, I wanted to focus on the specific details. And that's what a lot of the first music was about — that I noticed this small change happened. And it might seem insignificant to you, but it's huge to me. Can we talk about it? That's what dealing with the whole first EP is about, is that intersection. You think I'm being petty, but I think I'm observant. How do we navigate this? So I think now the music is different because that's the point, that music is supposed to change over time. I think that it's really important for me to be specific. So I'll just say that.

Who in your opinion is really great at those small details? The people that you listen to and it's like shit, ‘I need to make people feel the way this makes me feel, because it is that sharp.’

There's a bunch of writers and musicians. I often think about two Black queer folks who's writing I enjoy so much. And it's Jericho Brown and Dante Collins. They're both poets. And I've purchased their books and I read their books often, their poetry books. And it's so incredible and so rich and so lush. I love entering their world when they write, the world that they create with their writing. I love entering it. And as far as musicians, I think a lot about SZA, I think a lot about Frank Ocean. I think they're both so special and I think such guiding stars for our generation.

SZA’s “Good Days” is so beautifully written it’s crazy.

Yeah. It's so wonderful. And when I think about Frank Ocean, what I think about a lot is permission and how he gave many of us permission to be vulnerable, permission to be honest about who we are, permission to put our hearts, not only on our sleeves, but to put it on the table, on the plate, on the dashboard, and take your heart wherever you go. So oftentimes we are told, leave your heart at home, leave your feelings at home. I think Frank and SZA remind us, bring your feelings with you. There's plenty, which I think there's such a beautiful message, because so often we're told — and when I say we, I'm thinking about Black people, and I'm thinking about Black men and more specifically Black gay men — we're told to get over it. You being petty, sensitive, picky and whatever. And these two artists say, you're not doing too much, actually you can do more. And that for me as an artist is incredibly encouraging. But just as a feeler and as someone who has been loved and enjoys loving others, it's just great to be reminded that it's okay to own my feelings.

Maybe a year ago now, through Instagram voice messages, we were briefly talking about where you were going musically and I was curious to know what space you’re in right now with it. 

We'll see where the music goes. I'm still exploring at the moment. I can't say anything definitive. But yeah, I think what I'll say, what I've probably said a million times in this call already, is that I'm just trying to challenge myself. So that's in songwriting, that is in the sonic landscape. I plan to be brand new. I want to be brand new. So we'll see how that manifests itself over time. The plan is for me to be brand new.

You’ve performed with Björk for a string of shows this week. What is something that you experienced with her from a vantage point that you didn't necessarily get to experience just as a listener and an admirer?

It's such a large show, and there's so many moving parts and it's genius, what she's done with set design and with her orchestra and with the people who are doing electronics, and the lighting. There's just so many components which make it a truly theatrical experience. So I think just witnessing how specific she is. That's the first: how specific she is. How genius she is at marrying sound with texture, marrying sound with architecture. The way that she marries design, I'll say. And yeah, she's been such a big part of my life and my career since I started. I got my first project in 2016, and to be able to perform our song together on stage, it feels like a true gift. But again, I'm learning from her. I feel like I'm still learning while I'm on stage. I'm learning how she is playful, and the way that the set starts and the way that she weaves in and out of songs and the pacing. So like I said, I've been a fan for years, so I've watched her performances on YouTube. And so to see it up close and in person, it's a wonderful lesson.

I know you only got a couple more minutes, but what was the last film you watched that really spoke to you?

The last film? That's a good question. I can't speak on the last film because honestly, I can't think of anything at the moment. But I will say there's a web series that I've watched that I really enjoyed called For the Boys on SLAY TV. And I know a lot of the Black gays watch it, and I'm just happy to see more Black queer men, more Black gay folks, and I wouldn't even say more because that could even be condescending because we've been doing it. We've been doing it for so long, but I'm happy that we have more platforms now versus so many of the legends, and all of them are not still on Earth with us. They took a lot of risks by making films and putting out publications and poetry books. They took so many risks. So the fact that we can do it now and put it on YouTube, I think that's just such a wonderful, wonderful gift. So For the Boys has been great. I laughed a lot, and I thought it was really beautiful to see what they put together.