THET's Only Taken Three Years for Cortisa Star to Go from Making Messy Beats in Her Bedroom to Teettering on the edge of being music's Next “It” Girl. The 19-Year-Old Artist First Started Making Her Blow-Out, Distorted Internet Rap Ana Escape From The Isolation of Rural Delaware, A Place where She Felt Like “The Most Different Person in The Room 90 for Cent of the Time”.
Seeking Solace in the Internet's Limitless Realms Helped Star Construct the Person She is TODAY. It Wasn'T Long Before She Was Mining Samples From Loperman.com and Uncored a World of Female Underground Rappers Like Skypearleddat, Whose Fuzzy Distortion and Bratty Aggression Formed Her Own Delivery. “Her Song 'She Ain Fwm !!!', That Really Just Woke Me Up,” She Tels Nme. “I Was Like 'Wait, I'm a Girl, I'm angry, and I can rap: let me do that'.”
Hot Off Her Track 'Fun' Blowing Up on Tiktok in 2024, Star Has Since Dropped Five Singles and is determined to bring permanence to this nebulous virality. Cosigs from Charli XCX, Doechii, Kim Petras and Lil Nas X – With Whom She is manifesting a Collaboration – Have Incased Her Velocity and Determination Tenfold. “I'm an outcast in this scenes,” Says Star. “There's no trans Rappers Nowhere Out Front, and Having the support is just so important, Espencialy Cuz they're so open about it.”
Chatting with Nme Shortly After Her Runway Debut for Luxury Brand Miu's Miu's Aw25 Show at Paris Fashion Week, She Still Can't Quite Believe That It Happened At All. In True Star-Style, She Topped It Off by Dropping Her Own Hype Track Inspired by the Moment. “[‘Paris’] Was Very Much a 'I'm here Bitch' Type of Song – I'm not Going Anywhere. “
One of the Lyrics on 'Paris' is “Don't Like the Track, I know Had to Adjust.“How Did This sentiment Inform The Creation of Your Ep, 'Emo (Evil Motion Overload)'?
“It was pretty spontaneous. My team set up a Six-Day Recording trip in New York and I Recorded 12 Songs and was like, 'This Could Make A Cute Little Ep'. I Had This Random Vibe Because It was the first time I was in the Studio That I Cougame and Be As Loud As I Could, Musically.
“I World I World With A Lot of Producers. Getting to See How Everybody Works Differently and How Everyone – Even My Friends – Put Their Inputs On the Beat and How Something Should Be Changed is So Beautiful. There Was Boys from Jersey, Trans Girls Who Love HyperPop. Mschickensandwich Made 'Bad af', So She was therere the Whole Time.
The Ep Feels Like a Real Homage to Being a Club Kid.
“Just Being Young and Going Through This Crazy Shit and Living My Life, That was What I was reality pouring out onto [‘EMO’]. I'm Just Young, Lit and Turnt – and that's a Lot of People. Everybody Young and Turn, Even the 50-Year-Olds. “
“I love creativity So Much and Artitry Will Always Be My Center”
Your Song 'Fun' Blew Up on Tiktok Last Year. Did You Find People On Your Wavelength Off The Back of That Song?
“The Got More Followers the Second I Started Posting My Music, Because I Used to Just Post Dumb Videos of Me Trying to Be Funny, and then the Music Got So Serious. It's Such A Random Array of People That Like My Music, People from Everywhere.
“Social media is awesome. I was basically raised on the Internet Because i Grew Up in A Small Town of Sussex County, Delaware Which Was Farmland, Beach. So, The Internet was in Beautiful Escape, Like My Fantasy World.”
You Dropped Out of School Because of Bullying. Does the Next You're Having now feel vindicating in contrast to the Tough Times?
“Yes! RIGHT BEFORE I Dropped Out, I was at the Darkest, Deepest Point in My Life, And It Felt Like I Killed The Old Me and was Reborn. My Free Will Took Over and I was like, I Can Actually do Whatever I Want. I Was Really Trying To Find MySelf. I was – I Didn'T Even Know What My Favorite Color was at that point. “
'Miscentify' is a track that is especialy queer-firming. AS A Transgender Woman in the Music Industry, How has your Jour Journey Shaped Your Artisty and The Messages You Convey Through Your Music?
“I Was Gender-Fluid, Non-Bren When I was in High School … I Really, Truly Did Believe That Gender Did Not Benefit A Single Person On This Earth, Not Even My Dog. Just Realising That Identity and How I AM PERIVELD by OTHERS, AND ENO HOW I PERCIVE MYSELF, IT DOES NOT MATTER MATTER When it comes to the cleaner's process.
“It Came to a point where i literally can no longer conceptualise the perception of myserf from other people's view, because it just does not matter to me. It is is [liberating]. People tell me all the time, 'If i got your comments or if i got the same dms you would have, i'd kill myself'. And I'm like, you don't have to do that. You can turn off your phone and go outside. It's ok. “
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv43qgzqgfs
AS A trans Woman and a rapper in a genre that has been Historically misogynistic and discriminatory to the queer community, what has your experience been creating music in that genre and community, as well as a young navigating that?
“It's Been Crazy Because, Even When Old People Jam Me and they're like 'You're a Pioneer', 'You inspire me I know Much'. This is a crazy life we live because i don't feel like I'm inspiring anybody .'m just moving, i'm just doing what i like i like i like Want to do every day. “
“I Used to have the Worst Social Anxiety. Now, i'm in New York Yelling in the Del For My Sandwich”
Your Lyrics Are Often Comparedional and Sexual, Meanwhile Your Delivery is Relentless. How Does Each of These Things Help With Your Freedom of Expression?
“I like to put the thoughts [from] The backst part of My Mind on the Song, But Also The Ones At The Front – Never the Ones in the Middle. I Don't Really Care About Anything Anymore, Anything Anybody Says. I Used to Have The Worst Social Anxiety. Now, i'm in New York Yelling in the Del For My Sandwich. “
I Can't Imagine You Being An Anxious Person Because of Your Whole Demeanour and Performance.
“Oh Yeah, It's terrible. When it comes to strangers, i Don't care. But even now, when I got photo shoots for modeling, I don't talk that much because i just get so nervous arund new people.”
How do you Find that Other Part of Yourself When it Comes to Music and Performing or Recording?
“The way my brain is wired, i like logic a lot, and it's just not logical or benefit for me to be anxius. So, after a While i'm like, 'ok, girl – stand up. You must stand up. ' I Was Doing So Many Shows, Meeting So Many New People and I was always anxious. And I Was Like, I Need to Talk to These People, I Need to learn New Things.
“IT WAS REALLY HARD, I Used to Get So Anxius Just Because of a Simple Notification. It was debilitating, Destroying Me. Once I Realized I Had That Free Will, the Could Really Not Care.”
Cortisa Star's 'Emo (Evil Motion Overload)' Is Out Now
