MNEK Creates a New Musical Language
MNEK was an artist I was hearing a lot about when I got into Gay pop music. He was dropping a new album around the same time as Troye Sivan and Olly Alexander kept talking up MNEK's new album in press interviews as well. I then learned that MNEK started off as a songwriter and that his first songwriting credit was on All Fire Up by The Saturdays which is my favorite song by them. He also co-wrote Hold Tight, which was my favorite song off Madonna's 2015 album Rebel Heart. These credentials mixed with praises from artists I had recently become obsessed with made it seem like MNEK was gonna be a no brainer for me.
The first song I ended up hearing by him was Girlfriend on the Out Now playlist but honestly I was not too taken with it initially. It was fine but it didn't encourage me to seek out more of his solo work which surprised me since I thought I would love him. That said, I always like to say that it only takes one song to click with me for an artist and then I am on their bandwagon. For me the MNEK song that clicked upon first listen was Colors. I first heard Colors on a playlist called Queerbops by openly gay singer Vardaan Arora. The song's melody and production were too catchy to resist and I had found my entry into the world of MNKE.
So with that I began binging through his work and I found I quite liked him after all. He had a solid footing in 90s RnB and Hip Hop, but with a strong dose of 70s soul which I appreciate. What was really interesting about his music to me though was how he took the bravado of hip hop and completely flipped it on its head. Some of Hip Hop (especially Gangsta Rap) is notorious for not only its misogyny, but it's rampant homophobia too. This is something that always bothered me about rap. It seemed like a lot of rappers got a free pass for using derogatory slurs aimed at gay people that we didn't accept from our rock bands or pop stars. Eminem is a perfect example of someone who has used homophobic language and slurs throughout his whole career and up until recently nobody seemed to mind, especially after he did a performance with Elton John, which somehow negated his homophobic lyrics to most of the music press.
Correct is a perfect example of how MNEK is completely re-contexualizing hip hop bravado in a queer positive way. The song and music video are a vehicle for MNEK to show what a great singer songwriter he is where he even takes credit for the song's catchy beat in a cute way. Yet the biggest message of the song is one of empowerment for both MNEK and his audience. The best lyric which gets repeated to the point of a lifestyle mantra is "Stay Fabulous Honey." Again much like Sanctify by Years & years this is a moment of acceptance for LGBTQ people that is incredibly empowering but still fun and cheeky. This has always been a strength of the LGBTQ community, where we can stand up to the face of bigotry with strength that comes from our humor and ownership of our femininity.
MNEK also champions intersectional diversity in the song Colors where he celebrates a life filled with people from all different races and backgrounds. The music video was just as fun and colorful as the song itself. Then there is Crazy Life where MNEK laments how people everyday are rejected and ridiculed for just trying to live their truth. The songs explores the idea that many people have to leave behind their friends and family in order to become the person they were always meant to be. In a lot of ways the messages of self acceptance and self love that permeate MNEK's music is maybe even more moving than most of his peers as he not only has to fight off homophobia, but racism as well which makes his music, image and message all the more incredible.
MNEK also does a good job exploring hook up culture and toxic masculinity within the gay community. Girlfriend, which I came to appreciate more once the music video dropped, discusses the idea of men who are gay but don't want to admit it. So they end up having a girlfriend for years but are secretly hooking up with men on the side. In Girlfriend MNEK plays the role of "the other woman" but he genuinely feels sorry for the girlfriend and while he knows he played a part he has been real from the start and it's the man who can't come to grips with his homosexuality that is the center of this conflict. This man needs accept himself for who he is because the longer he lives this lie the more pain it will inflect on all parties involved. Phone on the other hand is a cute song which comments on how in the age of social media and texting relationships don't have a clear ending like they used to and sometimes these relationships drag on a lot longer than they should.
MNEK may have taken a hot minute to click for me but once he did I was all in. I not only liked his music but I also appreciated how his perspective as an openly gay black man differed for my own experiences as a white gay man. I could relate to a lot of what he was singing and yet he was getting me to think about things that affect him as a black person that don't affect me. I would soon discover more artists of different races within the LGBTQ music community who would help open my eyes to the struggles of those around the world who are not only gay but not white either.
Needless to say MNEK had impressed the hell out of me once I dove into his music and luckily he was coming to D.C. within 2 months of me discovering him. My 3rd gay pop show was just around the corner and it would blow my mind like the first 2 had. More on that next.
