Bobbi Rush, "Sapphire, Bleeding Gems"
The prolific polymath — Bobbi Rush; photographed by Micah E. Wood.
Out of the deluge of strangeness and surreality of modern times shines a light of renewal, rebirth and overall refresh from one of Baltimore’s most prolific and multidisciplinary stars Bobbi Rush. Presenting the single and visual for “Sapphire, Bleeding Gems”, Bobbi reflects on the processes of growth, progression and development like the changes of being that result from our own collective chrysalis. The bleakness of our contemporary era is given a shine like the glow of a new morning’s light on the diamonds of hope that remind us of who we are, who we want to be and the praxis of how we become our new selves.
“Sapphire, Bleeding Gems” is a ceremony that incorporates everything you adored about P-funk, 90s Death Row Records, elements of that Houston fade and ultimately that Bmore beat. Bobbi Rush psychically channels the stylistic elements of the past, drawing from different eras, regions, dynasties, In a statement of transformation and sapphire-studded crown claiming. In the empty corridors of cities and desolate park spaces is an r&b anthem that sparkles with the swagger of Rush’s own direction. The writer, visual and musical pop icon casts the functions of funk, canonical South Central Los Angeles trunk-bumpers, southern nods, with a Baltimore twists that pays tribute to the glittering gifts that are bestowed upon the consciousness through conscious change. Besides the aforementioned anachronisms; Bobbi Rush’s “Sapphire” slaps like one of the most immersive Bmore jams to emerge during our times of distant life/lunar rituals.
Bobbi Rush at the intersection of nature and pop couture; press photo courtesy of Micah E Wood.
Bobbi described the song’s inception:
It was night when this song came to me. I was in a place where I just felt tired of singing about the same old heartbreak. I wanted to give it away. I wanted to sing about what’s been calling me. I wanted to sing to it. To that spirit.
Bobbi shared some thoughts on the conceptual nature of the visual:
The video for the song, in my opinion is nothing but a funeral. A laying to rest of old ways. Giving my life as a gift to be re-birthed as something far more precious.
Listen to more from Bobbi Rush via Bandcamp.