#TheNewMuses (Remove wig carefully.)
Maybe this will become a new segment or section of the blog - where I recommend masterpieces. Michael Korte’s reimagining of the Muses from Hercules is as good a place to start as any. In this essay I will-
Lol, no seriously though, I tried thinking through my love for this piece on Twitter but I needed to expound.
I just love how this reimagines our beloved Muses in the most poignant way. For me, I always considered the muses, angels. Ethereal. Close to God. Beacons. They were goddesses that showed the way, okay?! And this piece of art (plus the very deliberate styling AND musical arrangement) places gay Black men on that throne as well. Where they belong. It makes them beautiful. Angelic. Close to God. Majestic. Beacons. And I'd like to think that it gives them their just due as the origin of some of culture's greatest and most relevant phenomena.
I already appreciated Disney for giving us the Muses. I would’ve loved to have been in the conference room when they were brainstorming the score and musical angle of Disney’s next box office smash. Was Alan Menken like, I want Southern Baptist fits on these songs?
There’s actually some great behind the scenes footage of the girls doing what they had to DO in the studio. See below and ask yourself, when will your fave? I also read that the Spice Girls were originally approached to play the Muses, but God does all things well.
So yes, Disney, thank you for giving US our flowers and clearly allowing us the creative freedom to go tf off and sing that thang like we need to! Period! And thank you, King Michael Korte for giving gay Black men theirs.
I have been a huge fan of Michael's work since #Ham4Bey in 2016. I LOVE me an ol' nasty mash up! I love when a brilliant creative takes two seemingly unrelated works/genres/songs and FUUUUUSES them together. I hope you read that like Sister Mary Clarence. And if you don't know who Sister Mary Clarence is, there's the door. Don't let it hit you in the butt on ya way out. Bless.
There's something magical about the way that he gives us nostalgia AND innovation with every piece (look up Queens sing King; #Dreamy4Drake; #Gaga4Rent, #Legends4Superstar AND #Purple4Prince just a name a few). It isn't easy to fuse two masterpieces, but Michael nails it every time! If I can get real manifest-y for a minute, I'm going to meet and him and talk to him about how he processes and creates. #MarkMyWords, and that's on period, luv.
I think Michael's work is all about homage. These magical mashups are all about singing the praises of nostalgic cult classics, legendary musicians and iconic culture. It says to the honorees, we speak your name and have processed your paperwork with the Global Bureau of Icons and you have been tf APPROVED. And with every single piece, the only words I can utter in my stan language are "YAS!" and "Periodt!" They make me grateful for art and to glad be on the right side of HONOR, okay?!
As a member of more than one marginalized group, I understand the pain of erasure and can only imagine struggling to be accepted for my identity in a largely homophobic community and culture. Black people have a history of being rejected, banished, dismissed - and in turn creating our own sub-communities and cultures, that everybody then wants a piece of.
I've written about how #they want our rhythm but none of our blues and want to reiterate that sauce LOOKS effortless. But heavy is the head that creates and carries the crown of ALL of trendy, influential culture. Ask Black people, Black women and gay Black men. ALL the pop culture phrases that are now basically mainstream (think: slay, yaaas, tea, shade, read, snatched, push, etc.) come from gay Black men. And I just love the flowers that the Muses Medley gives them. Then when the arrangement took us ALL all the way to church, it placed gay Black men in the space of performance with Black church influences - a space they are often forgotten, forbidden or both. It just mattered to see them, this way.
It was just everything. So intentional. So unapologetic. So beautiful. Michael, if you're reading this, your choices are EVERYTHING. We LOVE a conscious mastermind!
And that's the GOSPEL truuuuuuth.
