Photo Credit: Nick Spector
Puma June, an “emerging Canadian artist you need to hear” (Exclaim!), is a Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. With an eclectic array of influences from Stevie Wonder to Billie Eilish and everything in between, her music is a unique blend of pop, funk, hip-hop, and R&B – a genre-bending sound that is both nostalgic and distinctive to the listener. With a clear political point of view, Puma June’s feminist-laced songwriting pushes unfiltered honesty and centers around regaining power in one’s life, with a particular focus on women’s/gender issues, familial trauma, and the battle of self-doubt as an artist.
“The way we talk to ourselves – create this victim complex and define ourselves by our past – is the space we create for ourselves. Then we allow people into our lives that confirm that low self-worth. It’s about shedding that bullshit, changing your mindset, and freeing yourself from places/people that make you feel like you have to dim who you are.
My favourite lyrics are from the rap section of this track. There weren’t meant to be lyrics over the jazz sample we added (it was originally an outro), but I was recording vocals for the first section at that time and the words just started coming to me. I just felt like I wanted to capture the energy of what this song means to me. To me, the line that captures the takeaway of the track best is “I’ve been sinking, shrinking, now I think my boat is ready”. It is so freeing when we stop shrinking ourselves to fit where we don’t belong.
This song has so many different sections which makes it very different. It takes you through so many different energies and genres and sides of Puma June. I indulged my every urge with this song musically/production wise and did not try to make it fit into the mold of pop/R&B/hiphop.”
