A queer love poem on non-traditional relationships, the single is ambient and intimate
Anjalica Solomon’s debut song was written on a weekend trip to Squamish, based off a dream about liberation in queer love. They wrote the poem when they were coming into their gender and sexuality, learning what it means to them, and reconciling with their inner longing. It’s a representation and vision of their higher self, who they envisioned wrapped in rivers of gold silk. This is the self who appears in the “Honey Queen” music video, now streaming on YouTube.
“I feel like I wrote that poem as my higher self and I really stepped up into it,” they say. “I think it is a radical and transformative act to pursue one’s pleasure and to pursue love.”
“Honey Queen” is the first track Anjalica Solomon has released as an official musician, but they have a long and storied history in local arts and culture in Vancouver as a poet, organizer, and spoken word artist. The song was produced by Oatmeal Queen, with instrumentation by Amr Corro and video by Chantal Gering, all personal friends of theirs.
Solomon says escaping to Squamish gave them a way to connect to nature and their authentic self.
“I asked one of my friends to give me a haircut. We had a ceremony together, and I was able to release a lot. I remember on that trip making the intention that the reason I wanted to shave my hair was to be like, ‘I can release things to make more room for growth and beauty to come into my life,’” they say.
The intention from that trip manifested as “Honey Queen,” as Solomon shed pre-conceived notions about relationships, heteronormativity, and gender expectations. For them, the song is about the impulse to be more free, express their love fully and “let the honey flow.”
The track is very dear to their heart, and they feel that it is an important example of media representation for non-traditional relationships. They’re proud of sharing this amount of intimacy through their music and hope to get more support to produce content in the future.
“Most of the media we consume is your classic, cliche love story: Boy meets girl, they fall in love. Every love song we have playing on the radio is a guy wooing a guy or a girl madly in love with a guy, and ‘Honey Queen’ just totally shatters that box,” they say.
As Solomon traverses this new ground, the continue to write their poetry for queer, brown people.
“I know we deserve to see this kind of power and beauty represented for ourselves,” they say. “I’m not necessarily here to give people lessons on the ins and outs of queer, brown love. This body is not a classroom for that, but I think my viewers, my audience, my supporters can all see me shining and get permission to shine themselves.”
Listen to Honey Queen on YouTube in advance of the official single release, and stay tuned to Anjalica Solomon’s social media for updates on what they’re working on, including a Fringe play on diaspora and queerness they’re working on with Gering.
