JUNETEENTH EP RELEASE: LEE LEWIS’ HOWL
as a young Black queer artist, Lee Lewis transforms his lived experience into songs rooted in fearless storytelling. he writes with raw honesty about love, longing, sexual identity, and self-discovery. Lee released his new EP HOWL on Juneteenth + during pride month making it a love letter to his Black queer audiences across LA and NYC. learn more about Lee + HOWL <3
Lee Lewis
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Lee Lewis ✰
Q+A WITH QUEER MUSCIAN LEE LEWIS
★ dream joink rotation:
Lee: number 1, absolutely has to be Truman Capote. the stories that man would be able to tell in a hang while high. come on now.
number 2 would be Law Roach. again the tea would be hot with them at the table. imagine Law Roach gossiping with Capote. let me be a fly on that wall please. number 3 would be Little Richard. Tutti Frutti! speaks for everyone passing this blunt. and last would be Wanda Sykes. whole table would be cutting up! I’d probably be the quietest one.
★ what drove u to create HOWL?
Lee: on the surface level, it came from a truly unhealthy, chaotic, intense, magnetic on-and-off relationship. on a deeper level, it examines unhealthy patterns and experiences that i’ve had in relation to whiteness. it’s ultimately about existing in situations and relationships where I’ve allowed people to “dog me out.” on the flip side, it’s about going from being a puppy to a dog, myself. figuratively, of course ;)
★ what does self-worth sound like?
Lee: self-worth sounds like liberation. self-worth is making a project, openly and honestly, about ur real life experiences and learning from them during that creative process. it’s about letting go, moving on, and growing. that can sound like big power ballads, or a sexy suave cinematic soul song, or song inspired by church music.
★ how has queerness shaped ur writing?
Lee: queerness is a staple in my writing. it’s truly integral to everything I do creatively. i’m inspired by queer artists, like Luther Vandross and George Michael. my stories are queer. my experiences are queer, my writing is, my voice is. it’s been in me since birth, so it’s shaped my writing from the jump. it’s in my style, my community, my culture, and it’s the reason I feel as free as I do today.
★ how does cannabis impact ur life as an artist and creative?
Lee: well, these days i’m quite stressed at times due to juggling music, life, and so much more. [cannabis] helps me clear my head at times and get out of my own way as an artist. i’m a big time over-thinker and it helps me remove that hurdle a bit.
★ what song on HOWL hurt the most to make?
Lee: i’d say “White Flag” hurt the most to make. i wrote it before i went to split up with this person for the second or third time. i wrote the ending to that relationship in the song. it was a very honest moment of writing for how i felt at the time. i essentially say in the song…i surrender. i give up…i can’t do this anymore. and honestly that stage of letting go hurts a lot.
★ when did u stop censoring urself?
Lee: i think my uncensoring era came with time and age. it came after i stopped comparing my journey in queerness to other people’s. as i have gotten older, i’ve been able to finally give less of a shit about most things. i sometimes look back on myself back in 2019 and I’m like wow, i really was quite tightly wound and often hiding my real thoughts and feelings.
i think that can be an unfortunate curse for Black people. society as whole forces much of this censoring on us, so by default i found myself being censored early on. sometimes censoring was to protect myself from actual harm, and other times, just due to the fear of perception. nevertheless, i’m moving out of that phase of life and truly pushing toward liberation going forward.
★ what does it mean to be a flamer?
Lee: u know what, i think i’ve been a flamer since i was a kid haha. they used to call me Tinkerbell in elementary school, [being] a flamer is just being urself. as unapologetically as possible if u can. sometimes the flame is low, and sometimes it’s bright and big. just gotta make sure the flame is still lit in some way. otherwise u’ve lost urself and ur voice.
★ what does freedom look like for u now?
Lee: doing me, on my own terms for once. my whole life has been dictated in so many ways due to being queer, being Black, and being both. freedom is letting go of some of that trauma and putting a new voice to it. it looks like I'm telling my stories honestly. it looks like giving back to my community. it looks like being one with my cultures. it looks like giving some sort of voice to the voiceless. to the kid version of Lee Lewis.
