TROPIXX

“Writing the music was a very personal experience,” Brisbane-based Fijian rapper Jesswar says of her menacing, thrilling EP. “I knew I had a lot to say and I was tired of being overlooked. I guess that’s why this project feels vicious to me.” The six tracks—each more intense than the last, with heavy beats adding snarl to her scathing flow—were born from a place of anger and frustration. She found solace and relief in recording the EP in her bedroom. “Making this project wasn\'t pretty and perfect,” she says. “It was dark, relentless, and ambitious. Waking up every day and watching how women of color are constantly overlooked in the music industry really pissed me off. I made something that was for myself and for the phenomenal Black, brown, and Indigenous women in my life. They constantly teach me to stand tall and be as loud as I want, and I look up to them. I realized what I’m doing is bigger than just myself. There needs to be room for all of us, and if I can share the wins, maybe we won\'t be overlooked.” Below, Jesswar talks through each track on *TROPIXX*. Hit Em With Bass “I just wanted a track with really heavy bass tones, something to listen to and not have to think too much. Something to bang my head to and be a bit cheeky with.” **Laylow** “I wrote ‘Laylow’ with those same emotions of being overlooked. I use music as my self-care, so whenever I’m feeling a certain way, I normally make music to try and work through it. I guess this whole EP was created at a time in my life where I was pissed off about how I was being treated in the music industry. *TROPIXX* is my retaliation.” **Medusa** “This is the song that wraps this whole project together. In the lyrics, I reference things that were around me when I was growing up, and the determination for what I thought success was at the time. ‘Coming to take what we need because there’s no one here giving it to us.’” **Saucy** “I was sick of dealing with the rap dudes in my scene at the time. It was their misogyny and ego that inspired this song. When I say ‘lil bitch’ or ‘bitch,’ I’m referring to these dudes. I experienced some rough treatment from not just male artists, but industry bros too. This song is a ‘fuck you’ to them. I love seeing all the women screaming the hook: ‘Tell ’em, lil mama, tell ’em.’” **Venom** “‘Venom’ for me is like my own war cry, my own inspiration to get up every day and keep going, keep pushing no matter what. I found hope in writing this song. Through the anger and the pain there is calmness, but it’s also okay to feel these emotions. Pulling out that fight in me to get back up was the inspiration behind this song.” **XXL** “I wrote ‘XXL’ in lockdown. I didn\'t have plans for this to be a song, just a video I was going to put on my Instagram feed. The whole idea for this was punchlines. I just wanted to go hard and put everything I was thinking into the song.”