There were times last year when Brandie Blaze felt like little more than an ember. She isn’t alone — the doldrums of 2020’s never-ending quarantine nearly snuffed out the sparks of many musicians, all left uninspired and uneasy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s an arduous period that most of them would likely prefer to forget forever, like a bad vocal take or a sparsely-attended show.
But Brandie Blaze isn’t afraid to hop on the mic and dissect that depression in detail.
The Boston rapper yesterday (October 19) released a new song and video titled “They Calling Me Blaze,” a simultaneous gut-punch and pep talk. “I’m out here unmedicated / Wanted to kill myself / Thank God I hesitated,” she raps, speaking her truth without a single tremble.
“During this pandemic, I went through a serious mental health crisis,” Blaze writes on Facebook. “I didn’t want to perform anymore. I would cry before sets because I was forcing myself to do it. I delayed my 3rd album by a year. My pen was dry. I had to focus on getting myself together. I dropped the ball on a lot of shit. But I’m back and I’m ready… Here’s to a new era.”
Check out “They Calling Me Blaze” below.