Good morning. It's Tuesday, May 12, and today's message of hope comes from the self-described "expressionist and shape-shifting siren," Okanomodé.
"I just wanted to check in with you and send some love and light to all of those out there who are struggling right now and all of those who are working tirelessly to try to keep us going," says Okanomodé, who then performs an original song.
The song is called "Finfoot," named after an aquatic bird species that lives in the rivers and lakes of western, central, and southern Africa. The piano accompaniment is a pre-recording of Okanomodé playing. The lyrics are further down, under the video.
Though Okanomodé has performed in many environments, the artist says self-recording on video like this is a first.
Here are the lyrics to the song:
little blak faerie childe, do u think u're enough the way u are?
the little girl & boy in u, are they hoping oneday they'll be a star?
unicorns & ballet shoes, sparkles & dolls with pretty eyes
machine guns & g.i. joe, star wars & frogs your alibiesi been heavy with a longing
yet i fly scarred wings & all
as the current tries to take me under
i'm a blak swan, i'm a finfoot, origami animal
i'm a storm cloud gatheringthe pagan's fire is everywhere, & the witches are burning their brooms
the kings & queens, the in-betweens are assembling the master's tomb
i hope & pray take this away, but god ain't no authority on my heart
so i'm inclined to redesign, destroy everything that's torn our love aparti been heavy with a longing
yet i fly scarred wings & all
as the current tries to take me under
i'm a blak swan, i'm a finfoot, origami animal
i'm a storm cloud gatheringi’ve been colouring by numbers
but i'm still outside the lines
maybe i am some new constellation
i'm a blak swan, i'm a finfoot, origami animal
i'm a storm cloud gatheringi been heavy with a longing
yet i fly scarred wings & all
as the current tries to take me under
i'm a princess
i'm a soldier
origami animal
i'm jesus in galilee…..
"The song will likely eventually land on my first official solo album," Okanomodé tells The Stranger. "I may even release it on a short EP soon, since I’m on lockdown with not much else to do."
On behalf of the rest of us: Yes!! Do it!
Thank you so much for your message, your song, and your vocal performance, Okanomodé. We can't wait to hear that solo album.
You can follow Okanomodé (pronounced uh-kahn-uh-mah-day) on Instagram.
Have a good Tuesday, everyone.
Practice compassion.
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Previously in this series:
