Black Folks Don’t Swim? is a soulful Black music machine from space that must be pronounced with the upswing inflection common to any great question pondered by minds of the time. Led by a core ensemble of BlaQueers, their music floats through a myriad of liberating sonic traditions including Blue note jazz, polyrhythmic future funk, Shout! and the Neo Soul of Rhythm and Blues.

Based within the DC Metro area, their soulful arrangements resonate in venues where artistic expression lives and breathes and they collectively continue to expand their magnetic energy locally globally. Black Folks Don’t Swim? is not a statement, rather an intentional prompt to examine the thought processes and conditioning of popular beliefs and the power structures that be.

We caught up with their singer Kailasa to learn more about the band and their upcoming Slut Island performance.

This interview was conducted over Zoom and was condensed and edited for clarity.

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: Tell us a bit about who you are, what you do, and maybe a bit about like the music/creative scene that you're involved in with where you're from.

Kailasa for Black Folk Don't Swim?: My name is Kailasa. I grew up in DC, and I pretty much grew up in all art scenes. I would say mostly theatre, the umbrella of theatre and performing. I went to a performance arts high school, Duke Ellington, and got to know different theatre branches, which led me to want to perform more.

I've been in a band for the past three years. For a while, I had a vision of jamming or having a band that was mostly femme or queer led. That manifestation came in 2017. Having this band has been everything that I would want for it to be. I'm also learning that I don't necessarily fit in a genre. The band itself is like that space music. It's sound effects and soul.

Also Cool: That's so beautiful. I always find it so interesting when people have different mediums that come together into one.

I know you wanted to talk about your relationship with creativity. I'm really interested in how creativity has been in your life in different forms throughout your life. Where are you at with it now, with the band and also yourself personally?

Kailasa: When I was younger, creating came from my mom. Her influence came from the music she brought in and whatever she exposed us to, including plays and productions. So we really got to see behind the scenes of how everything is put together. That brought out my wanting to arrange and create things.

It really started with like Barbie dolls. I had a bookcase of Barbie dolls and layouts, and I'd arrange them all in scenes. It's funny because now I'm starting to explore set design. When I feed my curiosities, I get to see how they blossom in other forms.

AC: Do you feel like your creativity comes from one world that you're expanding on? Or do you feel like your different mediums are like pretty separate from each other?

Kailasa: Everything blends. I feel like I haven't really had a big debut project or anything like that. And if I did, it would be just be everything. Poetry, song, sounds...

Even in set design, I get inspired. Like when I did this set design project over the summer, I also wanted to be a director and the costume person. When it's a project that somebody is inviting me to do, and it's more specific for them, then, you know, I have to channel their vision.

AC: That's so fun that you're just like inspired by everything you do, and you want to do more. Is your job creative, or do you keep your creative work and like your "work" separate? How do you keep yourself from burning out or feeling uninspired?

Kailasa: Hmm. I like to practice yoga, and really whatever calls to me at that moment. But if I have a specific goal, I know that I have to research something and get it under my belt. But for the most part, if I'm feeling uninspired or low, I'll do something I like, or I'll go somewhere I've never been before. I went to a vineyard a couple of weeks ago with some friends, which was a refresher.

I’ve been a mom for about nine years now and this has altered the way I move about in the world. I’ve made up my mind to pursue what makes me happiest and go where spirit guides me - in part due to observing my mother’s choices and taking a different path. My mother sacrificed her dreams and creativity thinking that would make her children’s lives better. Unfortunately that caused an imbalance in her and led to disease.

Making a way for my creative expression to sustain me has been so deeply rewarding and so worth it. I love that my daughter is able to see me invest in all sides myself.

AC: I was going to ask you where do you get your inspiration? Both from like music and then otherwise.

Kailasa: Inspiration for music comes from life experiences and relationships. One day I'll develop some abstract conceptual lyrics or something, but right now, it's just facts.

I might jazz it up a little bit or, you know, it'll be about pleasure or having a good time. Enjoying yourself, encouraging yourself, whatever. But it really comes from real-life experiences.

AC: Are there any artists or albums that you listen to constantly or always go back to?

Kailasa: Stevie Wonder is always somebody that I can connect my heart and mind to. I also like discovering new art. Well, new to me. Becca Stevens and Mitski are some examples.

AC: What is your performance like with your band? What do your performances usually look like and, and feel like to you? How has that changed since quarantine?

Kailasa: Our bass player came up with a good description of how our performance is. Sometimes it feels like a wild car ride with all the windows down. We'll all be falling out of the car, and our drummer will pull us back in.

AC: What can we expect from your upcoming performance?

Kailasa: It's a pre-recorded session in this house called the House of Secrets. We have two backup singers, which we've never had before. It's an older house in DC used mostly to gather artists, DJs, and musicians, and they have a jam room upstairs.

AC: What, what is, what does personal success mean to you right now?

Kailasa: It means being content. Sometimes it's simply like getting up out of the bathwater. And then acknowledging that, you know, I feel good. Defining success for yourself is it a big thing. Loving yourself is is successful.

AC: What do you have planned with the band?

Kailasa: We're focusing on mixing our music and getting it published. We also gotta raise some funds for the people working on our album. So we're gonna come up with some merchandise and start promoting that.

Catch Black Folks Don’t Swim?’s performance with Slut Island this Thursday.

Black Folks Don’t Swim?

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