Interview: Wherestessah Talks About the Single "I'm Still Trash, Ur Still Daddy" and How Her Sex-Positive, Feminist Perspective is Reflected in Her Music
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Wherestessah is a New Jersey based sex-positive, and feminist alternative singer who provides a scathing introspective of her self-proclaimed promiscuity. Her songs are about boys and drugs and offer a specific brand of vulnerability she attributes to her habit of over sharing on the internet. We connected with Wherestessah for an exclusive interview to discuss her new single "I'm Still Trash, Ur Still Daddy", her sex-positive and feminist identity and how it is reflected in her music and much more.
After reading our Q&A with Wherestessah, follow her on social media and stay tuned because her upcoming EP, "Slut Club", which features "I'm Still Trash, Ur Still Daddy", is due to be released August 31st, 2018.
How did you get your start creating music? Do you remember your first song?
I don't remember actually starting, I've always just kind of done it. I have memories of writing songs in the back of my mom's car as young as eight. It was about being bought as a toy in the toy aisle at Target, and it was definitely a hate song about a boy who pushed me on the playground.
Tell us about your creative process when it comes to developing new songs; do you write your lyrics before you select an instrumental?
I write songs all the time and it typically starts with my lyric and melody, and then I bring it to who I'm working with to build an instrumental around it. My creative process involves a fair amount of drinking and chain smoking and hooking up because I like to give myself stories to tell. I think it's really important to always write your truth, so I keep my process as honest as possible, even when it's a little dirty. Actually especially when it's a little dirty.
Why is it important that your sex-positive, feminist perspective is reflected in your music?
I know a lot of young women, myself included, who feel that their sexuality has been stripped from them and made into something that no longer belongs to them, whether that be by societal norm or sexual assault. I feel like by enforcing sex positivity in my music, I'm reclaiming my body as my own. Feminism is absolutely a learning experience and I feel like some of those first steps into a greater understanding of ourselves as women comes with embracing our bodies and our sexuality, which are so susceptible to male opinion. By taking our sexuality back, we're reclaiming the power over our bodies. I feel that's especially important to express in music, which is a male dominated field.
Is your single "I'm Still Trash, Ur Still Daddy" reflective of what we can expect from your upcoming EP "Slut Club"?
"I'm Still Trash, Ur Still Daddy" is by far the most fun I had writing on the EP and I think it's reflective of the overall attitude of "Slut Club", but the content does get a little dark after that. I'm going to be singing about sex, yeah, but also touching on toxic relationships, physical, sexual and emotional violence against women, and the importance of consent.
Can we expect a visual for "I'm Still Trash, Ur Still Daddy"?
Right now there's no plan for a visual on "I'm Still Trash" but I am planning on visuals accompanying other songs on the EP.
How many songs are going to be on the EP and which producers did you work with on it?
There's gonna be four songs on the EP. I worked with the superbly awesome and beyond supportive Chris Rockwell, without whom I would still be staring at the lyrics in my notebook.