Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keyring. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Keyring thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Back in 2020, I ended up boarding a one-way flight to NYC with $300 in quite the trope fashion. I ended up miraculously finding a job and a place to live thanks to community support when I needed to spend time, not at my biological family’s house.

During my year living there I did digital drag shows, performed maskless at some parties that I definitely should not have been at, cried, celebrated the de-election of Trump, and more. I actually have written a short memoir about my time in Brooklyn but I’m unsure about the best time to release it. If anyone reading this bothers me about it I just might put it out, or hold onto it forever out of spite :)

I took starving-artist to a WHOLE new level and created a persona named “Residue” who would smoke cigarette butts, drink the dregs of discarded white claws, and generally just party hard. I reached new lows as it felt like the world was ending, but when SOPHIE passed in early 2021 I had a calling to leave lipsync performances in gay bars and pursue making music full time.

If I hadn’t climbed out of windows to escape weird basement parties and done IRL parkour to run for my life at one point (not an exaggeration) I would never have been able to release my debut single “That Girl” for which the video was filmed in the (in)famous heck house basement where I spent much of the worst wave of COVID. Because for those who know me, I definitely earned the title many times over lol. So yeah, moving to NYC left me fearless, willing to do whatever it takes, and “That Girl”!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As an independent pop star, I spend much of my time checking my email, planning shoots, producing music, writing lyrics, collaborating with other independent artists, trying to self-care, need I go on? lol

It’s giving another bus, another bus, plane, club, another bus… and so on but in a work from home way! For my songs, I write all of my lyrics myself (sometimes though I will collaborate with a friend on a word or two). And every single song I’ve put out in my first year of being on Spotify I’ve either fully produced myself or had a hefty production credit. I’m excited to get in the studio more at the time of writing this, as I’m finishing up my last semester of continuing education.

The mission truly is music for me. I will never forget the first time one of my followers shared how much one of my songs helped them on a hard day. I seriously sat in front of my house with my sunglasses on, tears streaming down my face in full view of my neighbors on walks. People become artists for different reasons, but for me, sound waves are the reason I have the audacity not just to live, but to thrive despite the odds.

Recently I’ve incorporated Solarpunk values into my ethos as a pop star, being that I want to envision a brighter ~real~ future in the face of climate change and various other crises that affect all of us. I feel like so much of the media I’ve noticed from this time is drowning in visions of a dystopian future. I fear that if we don’t start at least dreaming of a realistic way to address systemic injustices and climate disasters in art we won’t get the rest of humanity on board with radical change. I truly believe that music is the key to saving us because what other tool forces you to experience an emotion? (so call me keyring cause I’ve got more than one :)

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think one of my biggest frustrations with what people may not understand about me is that I tend to evolve rather fast. If we were to treat life like a video game, I blast through more than one level a day. Heeding that, I was a professional drag queen prior to the pandemic (over here on some sort of Dragula track lol RIP to all the heels I’ve broken and dollars I’ve snatched from drunk bachelorette parties). Today marks one year of having releases on streaming services as keyring and I honestly couldn’t be happier about my career change. I never want to go back!

Being a transwoman now makes this past life of mine rather complicated especially because the majority of society understands only RuPaul’s Drag Race, where it took them way too many seasons to acknowledge that black and brown transwomen have always been the backbone of the movement. (Ignorant people over here calling me a man, nice try Chad I grew my coconuts all by myself) Alongside all the parties, outfits, and songs I’ve written, I’m medically transitioning concurrently and because of that I have a little bit less time to do all the things that my cisgender peers in the industry never have to think about, BUT honestly, I think it makes me a more brilliant artist. My trauma is cash sitting in my brain because I can always transmute it into more content.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I can’t stress this enough: buying merch from your favorite independent artists, especially your friends that make music is absolutely necessary and key. (with streaming revenue at an all-time low) When you love and appreciate our art please periodically support us financially we do this work out of love for all of you. <3 Artmaking is a sometimes violent and traumatic process and it’s about time we eliminate the starving artist trope. Keep your faves feeling fed and loved!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.itskeyring.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itskeyring
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itiskeyring
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kilokikii/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/itskeyring
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/keyring

Image Credits
Anna Ivanovna Christian Salinas Kely Javette