Phem- The Future is Stoned and Phem

Have you ever wished a song was as sticky as orange Cheeto dust and reminiscent of dog summers spent skinning knees outside the local pool?

[Blinders cover art]

The first Phem song I heard was "Don't Giv Up On Me Yet" and I was instantly transported into my 16 year old self. All the anxious energy. Queer high school cheerleader. The name invoking something like a cross between Femme and Phlegm both beautiful and puck rock as fuck. The theme of the music video is decidedly young. But listening to Phem's lyrics on Blinders and reading interviews waxing on gender philosophy one could easily guess they were simultaneously 30 years old and 18 at the same time. That is the magic of Phem. Catchy hooks and bright videos that make you feel 16 again but with the lyrics of someone much wiser than their years.

"Sorry, but I don't know what I'm guilty of I'm just tryna spread my love I'm just tryna find my, find myself Blinders just to find myself" Blinders lyrics

When listening to Blinders is quickly apparent that Phem understands something that we could all stand to do more. That is to ignore social constructs, eschew rules, and focus not on the labels others so desperately stick to us. Phem's philosophy is one that champions individuality, self discovery and bloody knees (a perfect visual representation of sacrifices they make for their art). Phem reminds us that sometimes you need to stop looking outward to see yourself inside. It makes you pause. It makes you want to delete all the things in your peripheral vision. Your 9 to 5. Your childhood trauma. All the things that hold us back from living our best and most creative lives.

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Phem does not apologize for being Phem. They are committed to a sort of nostalgic pro-sexual feminism that only works when you see it in practice. Thongs pulled over sharp hip bones like it's y2k again. Midriffs and shirts declaring that "jealous girls are ugly". Crushed velvet pants. Old school fashion that matches their wisdom combined with something we rarely hear; very feminine but unapologetic rap voices. Phem's philosophies are from the future, the voice of a generation that refuses to be told what to do. In one song they will make you question what the fucking point of gender even is while simultaneously giving tribute to femme magic with a voice that reads like the Kathleen Hanna of rap music but stoned.

I think it's safe to say that Phem is here to stay and to make us all question and examine why society forces us to see things in a way that obscures our own visions, dreams and creativity.