Creative Channel
Image by Rayana
BY: MARIA MANUELA
When musician and artist Kianah Jay needs inspiration, she asks for it. “I ask the sky or elements, things that I see, or people that I see; I ask in a spiritual way. I ask to be moved, and to be in relation with whatever energies there are to be caught. I always talk about being a channel; I have to open up the antenna and sometimes the signal is pretty dry. There may be something wrong with my receiver, then I need to sleep well or drink water.”
Kianah is a Black and Indigenous musician who performs under the name TwoLips. She is also a multi-disciplinary artist, and a choreographer. She starts her mornings with yoga and meditation, or an aerial ballet on the silks she has hanging from the ceiling in a friend’s industrial studio.
I ask the sky or elements, things that I see, or people that I see; I ask in a spiritual way. I ask to be moved, and to be in relation with whatever energies there are to be caught.
Born and raised near Tesuque by a mother who loved music, Kianah has always had a deep connection to song. “Music was always a really big part of life. My mom always had music for any occasion. If I woke up and Santana or Shade was on, I knew it was time to clean the house. I’ve always been singing, and I’ve always been a music oriented being.”
Image by Jess Joy
Throughout the pandemic, Kianah has been living in New Mexico and creating often. “It’s been nice to just focus on making, but I do really miss sharing. I consider myself more of a live musician and performer than anything; and I am having to re-evaluate the place I create from and the environment I imagine my music being heard in.”
She’s done a few virtual performances, and she doesn’t love it. “On stage I can go and be TwoLips and I don’t have stage fright in my alternate persona. It feels really private doing those live streams in my own spaces, it’s much more personal. You’re also not receiving the same, I can’t see their body language or see how the music makes them move. And that’s very painful.”
Music was always a really big part of life. My mom always had music for any occasion. If I woke up and Santana or Shade was on, I knew it was time to clean the house. I’ve always been singing, and I’ve always been a music oriented being.
TwoLips music is a celebration of femme freedom and individuality. Her first music video, which debuted in December 2018 for her song Slow Sex, is a kaleidoscope of bright colors and beautiful womxn, representing the identities which exist in this world. The song is a call for female pleasure, and Kianah says the music video was a joy to make.
She filmed in a pal’s backyard and collaborated with friend Rachel Hunter on the choreography. “These women in it just had so much steeze. Each person really showed up and that was important to me to work with an all-female team because I have never experienced that before. I wanted to do this video and make something these women and I would have for the rest of our lives to remember together.”
TwoLips performed at an all-star event at the LA Phil honoring the queen herself, Yoko Ono in spring 2019. She also opened for LP at Meow Wolf last year, a performance she’s really proud of. “LP is probably one of the biggest queer artists today. She was a songwriter for a long time, and she’s receiving well earned praise in recent years. She’s written for people like Rihanna and Christina Aguilera.”
In the past month, Kianah has taken the stage performing at Black Voices Albuquerque events. She says the waves of protests and showing of support for the movement in Albuquerque have made her feel seen.
“With the death of George Floyd, I was in New Mexico away from my Black community in LA, and I was really wondering what sort of support that I might be able to look for in this community. When I think about moving back, or I think of having kids here, I think about what kind of advocacy they would have from their community.
Growing up here Black I didn't see a lot of examples of Blackness and didn’t think there were a lot of us here or that anybody would care. With the protests and the Juneteenth events and Black Voices Albuquerque it really opened my eyes.
I think everybody is wondering what is different this time; and this difference is that everybody came. It’s not even radical, necessarily, to do that anymore, which is where we need to be. So, when I think about being from here it makes me really proud that in less than a week there was so much support for Black Lives Matter.
It brought me to tears again and again. It’s beautiful and we all have to keep doing it.”
Her advice for readers who want to support the movement: “Donate directly to Black Voices Albuquerque on Venmo. The biggest impact that exists right now is economic inequality. Anybody who is in a position to help and wants to do so on the local level, protesting is important, but even 5 to 10 dollars makes a huge difference. Personally, seek out sources of information through BIPOC sources, the biggest thing is exposing oneself to these voices and these experts.”
Growing up here Black I didn't see a lot of examples of Blackness and didn’t think there were a lot of us here or that anybody would care.
TwoLips 6-song EP titled Psycho Waves is being mixed right now and is set to release sometime this fall. She has a show at Richard Levy Gallery in downtown Albuquerque opening October 30th. Keep an eye on all she has brewing via her Instagram @twolipsmusic.
Image by Anniekane
**This is a series highlighting black business owners in New Mexico. While were are not able to feature every black woman , we will have a permanent ongoing list of black women-owned businesses on the site.**
Please support the following:
Ayanna Freeman—Leela’s Body Cocktails, Albuquerque
Monique Stefania Carr—Spellbound Syrups, Albuquerque
Janelle Langford—Obsidiopolis, Santa Fe
Ayla Bystrom Williams—Honeymoon Brewery, Santa Fe
Queneesha Meyers—Q’s Cakes, Albuquerque
Shunnae tktk—Flower Loop, Albuquerque
Ebony Isis Booth—Burque Noir, Albuquerque
Chloe Nixon, singer Albuquerque
Asia and Kia—Elle Naturalle, Albuquerque
Dionne Christian—Revolution Bakery, Santa Fe
Iyawo Tintawi Kaigziabiher, 13 Months Imports, Ile Ife, Santa Fe
Neema Pickett, Young Women Rising, Santa Fe
Nikesha Breeze, Artist and Sculptor, Santa Fe
Mi’Jan Celie Biaz, Oral Historian, Santa Fe
Lakiesha Cotton, Activist, Santa Fe
La Gina Glass, Prana Blessings, Santa Fe
Lara Rabkin, Bark Paper Interior Design, Santa Fe
Zippy Guerin—Santa Fe Found, Santa Fe
Sunshine Muse, NM Birth Equity, Santa Fe
About the Author: Maria Manuela is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she was born and raised. She focuses on highlighting artists, designers and creative locals in her work which has been featured in publications like New Mexico Magazine, Good Mood, and THE Magazine. She curates and authors the arts section of UNUM, highlighting women who work in creative professions. She is also in the process of writing a short story collection of magical realism folk stories based in the Southwest.