i am sassa

If you’ve never heard Lizzo’s music, I really I wish I could see you when you listen for the first time. Film your reactions and send them to me. I’ll pop some popcorn. I would imagine that some people would immediately love it to pieces, some would be offended or just hate it, and some (like me) would keep listening, not really understanding why, until suddenly they realize they’re madly in love with her as a human being.

Lizzo describes her younger self as a band geek. She learned to play flute when she was in fifth grade band class, and was training with the principal flutist for the Houston ballet by the time she was in high school. She also marched in both high school and college bands before dropping out of the University of Houston due to her dad’s illness and family financial troubles. After the death of her dad, she became depressed and directionless, and even lived out of a car for a year while looking for music work. She focused on singing and rapping, feeling at times embarrassed by her “nerdy” past life as a flutist. She moved around a bit, working with several bands here and there before settling in to her sound and embracing the flute as part of her music again.

Lizzo also did a lot of personal soul-searching to learn to love herself and value herself as a solo act, rather than trying to blend in with a group of “prettier, more interesting” musicians. She talks in the interview below about how learning to really love herself and embrace her flute playing again meant she was authentically presenting herself to the world for the first time.

Because she has felt like an outsider so often in her life, Lizzo is adamant about promoting inclusivity with her music. She fully embraces the LGBTQ community, affectionately referring to her fans as “lizzbians”. Her music videos are a melting pot of diversity, featuring a full spectrum of colors, styles, and gender expressions. And Lizzo herself has become an icon of body positivity, singing and speaking out openly about body dysmorphia, self care, and learning to love herself exactly as is: black, big, and beautiful. Her songs are anthems for self-love and body acceptance, and Lizzo heals others by openly and authentically healing herself along with them. And it’s obviously resonating soundly. She has 9.3 MILLION Instagram followers, and was nominated for eight grammy awards this year, three of which she took home.

Thank you, Lizzo.