Calling B~Free a multi-hyphenate doesn’t seem to quite cover it. The singer, songwriter, producer, musician and music education coordinator for Grace Weber's Music Lab is a hyper-hyphenate. One of those titles get top billing on her just-released single, “iProduce My Own Sh*t.”
The track’s vibe is laid back, but its message isn’t. Free gives voice to female artists like her who have their work and their contributions questioned, doubted, denied and even erased. It’s a song from an artist who’s tired and won’t tolerate the situation. Even the flute solo (hell yes there’s a flute solo) midway through is delivered with ferocity, driving home the point Free makes in the lyrics that come before:
When I say I do everything
I really mean everything
It don’t get no better
I sing it, I play it, you heard it, I made it
And your fave could never
Yes I can write it and compose it and record it all in one
And insulting my intelligence
Is so negligent
To the boss that I’ve become
“I’ve always made a very specific effort throughout my journey to highlight the fact that I produce all of my own music,” Free said of the song’s inspiration. “As long as I’ve been doing this, it’s hard to rely on the strength of your work when some people automatically assume it must come from someone else.
“With the track, it’s a way of ‘shaking the table’ to remind everyone why I’m deserving of respect, and putting on for other women and femmes who find themselves in similar struggles.”
You can listen to the track using the player at the top of the page, as well as on 88Nine, all streaming platforms and B~Free’s Bandcamp page.
