CINNAMON BABE
Triple-threat singer out to take the nu metal power back
ACTRESS AND MODEL Stormi Maya is about to become a triple threat. As Cinnamon Babe, Stormi is shaking off the pressure to write poppy, viral songs that she’s felt in the past and returning to her love of metal. “A lot of my life is about acting and selling an image,” she explains. “I needed something that speaks for the person inside of me.”
The result is a slew of tracks like Pure O that take inspiration from nu metal and the cultural intersection it represents, acting as a “gateway drug” to heavier music for the black community in the Bronx.
“A lot of times in our culture, rock and metal is not something we’re introduced to,” she explains. “A lot of people have told me, ‘I didn’t think this was for me,’ but they just needed someone that looked like me to deliver the message.”
On the incendiary new single Rock
And Roll Is Black, that message is clear.
Influenced by Rage Against The
Machine’s Take The Power Back, she rails against the gatekeeping of metal from its black originators. And while the intense racist backlash she’s received online made her think twice about releasing the track, she ultimately felt compelled to stay true to her original vision.
“The whole point of me making this is so I can say how the fuck I feel. If I’m the antihero, I don’t care,” she says with a laugh. But for someone who literally gives away merch to her fans, it’s evident that being a voice in the scene is something Stormi does not take lightly at all. “I’m fighting just to get through the door,” she admits. “I just want people to hear what I have to say.”