Steph Wells, the mind behind the queer artist “SUMif”, has released her newest music video. Already well known in her hometown of San Francisco, SUMif is becoming more and more popular by the minute. She released her debut EP, "Pretty Cage", in early 2018. The EP was recognized and praised by people like C-Heads, NYLON, and Indie Shuffle. On August 15, she blew our minds yet again by releasing the music video to her song "Body".
The music video for “Body” encapsulates the varying identities that people have, ranging from feminine to masculine and everything in between. It depicts a stereotypical woman
and man dancing, freeing their emotions and allowing themselves to be open and happy. By the end of the music video, both people are covered in a mess of glitter, sparkles, and makeup, showing that anyone and everyone can shine and be themselves like they are.
The choreography shows that everyone has masculine and feminine energy in their souls. It simultaneously shows the difference between the two while blending them together and blurring the lines between masculine and feminine.
The point of the video was to make it known that it is okay to be masculine, feminine, both, or neither - and that is exactly what they did.
The video also opens the discussion surrounding sexuality and fluidity. It showed that gender and sexuality have the ability to be fluid, as humans are ever-changing. The song itself talked about bodies and loving and lust, but never about a particular gender. The line “what a body you got” does not describe what type of body they are talking about, nor what it looks like. The video is meant to say that sexuality and gender can be fluid, and that everyone should be happy and comfortable in their own skin - no matter what it may look like.
The music video for “Body” was a beautiful, ethereal take on sexuality and gender. It melded the identities of masculine and feminine together, showing that we all have a bit of both in us. We should all be comfortable in our own skin, dancing to the beat of our own drums and not letting anyone take us down.
Steph, when asked about what gave her the inspiration to record the music video for “Body”, said “When I got the first mix back of the song I just envisioned a weird choreographed dance for the chorus, and when I sent the song to my friend his first reaction was ‘you and I are doing a choreographed dance for the video’ and I was like... if we both are feeling this idea separately, let's do it!”
On being a queer artist and including her queerness in her singing/songwriting, Steph says
“I try to just be me - I don't necessarily think about making my songs queer, but I write about my life and often that includes my feelings (so many feelings) towards women. Like most people, I haven't been out forever, so it does feel great to be at a point where I am proud - it's very freeing to sing about whatever I want and not worry what other people might think."
And, to young, queer children going through tough times, Steph wants them to know that “Be unapologetically and authentically yourself and you will thrive!”
You can listen to Unheard Gems’ interview with SUMif here.
You can find more of SUMif on her social medias:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sumifmusic Instagram: https://instagram.com/sumifmusic Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sumifmusic Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o0KT... https://www.sumifmusic.com
Written by Zoe Steiner
Edited by Hannah Schneider