I Want My Things!
~ FOREVER, YA GIRL ~ FOREVER RECORDINGS ~ 2020 ~
KeiyaA
I Want My Things!
KeiyaA, a Chicago based producer, singer and songwriter, soulfully addresses the reclamation of her time, energy, and space on I Want My Things! At the start of the song, she speaks with confidence;
“I want my arm with the hot iron scar, … My callus feet, and my quick language back, ... My friend plantain, pineapple-pear juice, and jewels,
I Want My Things!"
It reminds me of the poem, “Somebody Almost Walked Off Wid Alla My Stuff” by Nztoke Shange. The poet laments over the things that have almost been taken from her, without her noticing…things like, the way she sat free with her legs open sometimes, her laugh, her chewed up fingernails, her rhythms, her voice.
The kinks and quirks that often make a person, or a woman, who she is. The things that others may see and feel like needs to be ironed out, like a wrinkle.
KeiyaA carries this same energy on I Want My Things! With resounding exasperation, she makes it clear that, though the price on her individuality may seem high, it’s undoubtedly worth every penny.
As heard by: Hadiya Gaiters
1.19.2021