– Fergus Johnson · June 2021
fergus johnson – A WEEK OF THEM
…for A WEEK OF THEM, it’s about diving into the world of characters and personas… departing from rap – lyrical, textual but also performing a certain persona or character… diving into the work of some of my favourite artists, especially Sampa the Great and Leikeli47… seeing how they create characters, seeing how i relate to that, working on some of my lyrics, seeing how i can dance to my own poetry/rap and seeing if i can develop a sexy, provocative, juicey persona to perform with…
…Leikeli47 being a goddess:
…learning the lyrics of this song by Sampa the Great… working on my own lyrics for a song about TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists), sex, being a queer body and feeling desirable with a trans* body… working on the persona of ‘Azula Weasel’, a rapping alter-ego…
…some lyrics-in-progress to the song:
she met me at her favourite bar
told me i could be a porn star
we got in bed and things got twisted
kissed all night lips bit ‘n blistered
she called me sir i got suspicious
put her hands all in ma business
touched ma snake felt ma stiffness
said i was delicious… for a boy
i said whaaaat?
why you gotta go break the spell
why i gotta go hurt like hell
such a shame you’re narrow minded
wish my kisses could cure blindness
you say you’re a gender critical princess
i say you’re a shallow shameful hot mess
…starting performing this little rap I’ve been diving into… exploring the personal of ‘azula weasel’…
(she is a weasel – a sly, fierce, feisty, wiry, crazy dancing creature.)
(the other major component of azula weasel’s character is borrowed from the brilliant and beautiful cartoon “avatar, the last airbender”. azula is one of the main antagonists of the series and she is a brilliant combination of ruthless psychological manipulation, sheer power and brutal shade. avatar is famous for its nuanced characters and carefully plotted arcs and azula’s rise and fall is one of the many great subplots of the series. i wanted to channel especially her silver tongue and spiky femininity for my persona.)
…creating a ritualistic space in the center of the big studio:
…creating a small ritual of getting dressed to imagine one outfit the persona could wear… being drawn to the combination of leather collar, crucifix necklace and lace bra:
…inviting friends to play and saying goodbye…
…with azzie, going through some of her approaches to character and physicality that she was exploring at Lake Studios last week... with irina, playing with ropes – tying, dancing moving, dancing and tying, laughing feeling like we were in a medieval ritual…
…and then saying goodbye to lake studios for a few months at least… knowing i will be back here soon… smiling, sun on my face, looking forwards to the rest of summer…