There is a masculinity in riot grrrl music, which is probably why I don't identify with it, but also why it was so important and powerful. That is something our scene has - regardless of who is in it, it has this very powerful feminine energy, like a Nefertiti head bust or Storm from X-Men. It's a woman you see as very powerful, sassy, arrogant, and dark.

I'm the only person in my family who can't sing. My grandmother was an opera singer and all of her kids were in church five days a week - or between church and vocal lessons at Carnegie Hall. But my mom had her first studio experience recording on my album. She's used to having to fill the room, so she had to adjust to the microphone and not sing opera.

I didn't want to do an electro-class album or complex rap album. I wanted to do something that was kind of like a political statement, but also club jams. I wanted it to be dancy, but intelligent at the same time.

One time, the homie Venus[-X] read me; we were on the phone and she was like, "Girl, you keep wearing jeans and t-shirts at your shows, but the music doesn't give that." I was like, "You're right, I need to be the person that I am at school, making dance and choreography. I should think about the whole performance." That's when I put the 1 in my name and started dressing for the occasion.

There is a masculinity in riot grrrl music, which is probably why I don't identify with it, but also why it was so important and powerful. That is something our scene has - regardless of who is in it, it has this very powerful feminine energy, like a Nefertiti head bust or Storm from X-Men. It's a woman you see as very powerful, sassy, arrogant, and dark.

Having had been not so well traveled as a kid, as most teenagers aren't, I always thought, "Okay I'm going to focus my energy on rap and the rap game, because that's how I'm going to be able to pay rent and pay off my school loans." But seeing the reaction with this whole gay rap situation has made me not want to play into it at all anymore and just make whatever.

My whole background was with bands, so I always thought of "fashion" as performative. It took me a long time to bridge the gap between my music and what I was studying in school, [which was] dance and being a performer.