“Have you seen me? Have you seen me in the magazine? “asks the fierce-as-fuck Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based gender non-conforming rapper Mister Wallace in his new single “It Girl. The song is from his debut EP, FAGGOT  which was released in February via FUTUREHOOD, a label he started with fellow Banjee Report collective member aCeb00m. Mister Wallace and director Ahmed Ibrahim shot the video – which dreams of fame, glamour, fashion shoots, fast cars and speed boats (except they’re all beautifully broken, decayed, and up on blocks) – in 10 hours with a budget of $400 and a crew of two people.

“It’s all just play. I find the social pressure of being glamorous, famous and successful in America to be unbearable. We made this video for those who still find glamor and dignity even in their worst conditions.”

“I wrote ‘It Girl’ over the course of 2014 as the Black Lives Matter movement was gaining national recognition,” Mister Wallace told FADER. “It became clear to me that before I could realize any dream of being a successful artist, I was more likely to become world famous for being gunned down by a racist cop under the protection of the law. I started to imagine how my image would be used by the media to perpetuate this horrific narrative to younger people and it sent me over the edge. ‘It Girl’ became my anthem and it kept me alive at a time when lovers and employers felt my blackness and my queerness had gone too far from what’s acceptable to mainstream society. My hope is that this song, my truth, gives you LIFE and inspires you to appreciate the lives of those who look and feel like me.”

(via Towleroad, via Fader, via John Polly)