"My life/ Ain't been too easy/ Hell or high water baby just don't leave me," sings the 27-year-old Atlanta rapper Zé Taylor on his new single "NARCISSIST." Dropping on Valentine's Day with an accompanying smoke-filled music video, the toxic love track explores themes of jealousy and vengeance, with Taylor's buttery vocals playfully warning, "So ima go to jail if I catch you cheating."
The young DIY rapper, who has stated previously in an interview with Noiseythat his top priorities are "closing the gap between the gay and straight world" and "inspiring LGBT youth," chose, in this new project, to tackle the anxiety he has faced in past relationships.
Taylor found inspiration for this song from an Ivan Ruru quote: “To the black boy in love with another black boy, be patient with yourself. Be patient with him. They don't teach this kind of love." He explains that processing the quote, and the truth contained within it, challenged him to "think about attachment styles and how queer men are often more prone to becoming anxious or fearful in love, and in turn develop a negative model of self." Taylor adds that "coping with [his] own anxiety while coming to this realization helped write this song."
Checkout PAPER's premiere of Zé Taylor's "NARCISSIST" below.
Photo by John Adams III