WATCH: Emanuel Xavier's Fabulous "Legendary (The E-Mix)"

Poet, activist and author Emanuel Xavier debuts the fabulous new music video for "Legendary (The E-Mix)". The track is from Legendary: The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier, the artist's new spoken word/music collaboration album you can downloaded on iTunes.

The music video is a dreamy and surreal love letter to Latino and black LGBT youth, the ballroom community and gender identity and expression.  The lyrics are on-point—"Recognizing their divinity amongst us/She that is God/Him that is goddess/Walking the runway as if it is water"—and accompanied by a fierce throwback house beat. Think "Deep in Vogue" ... with a political twist.

The music video was helmed by French director Arié Ohayon. "I worked with Arié on a previous independent film project and knew he would be the perfect visionary to capture the whole 1990's aesthetic of dance music videos," Emanuel Xavier tells R20. "The track is a tribute to the ballroom scene and, on a not-so-subtle level, it is a celebration of queer people of color and the transgender community. The opportunity to feature some great friends was definitely a special treat, especially when they're shooting overnight at a studio in Williamsburg for you."

Watch it AFTER THE JUMP ...

More Emanuel Xavier HERE.

Comments

[FREELEO]

I've loved that poem for a few years. It's nice to see it evolve.

[Derrick from Philly]

Fabulous.

Could it be possible that eventhough the "Ball Children" never achieved the personal fame/fortune of Rappers their influence in popular American culture was just as powerful? When you look at music videos over the last 30 years you can see the influence of dance & the very style from the "Ballroom" scene.

And could it be possible that I'm not tellin' any Black or Latino Gay person nothin' that they didn't already know?

Thanks, Rod & Emanuel & Arie. Now, I'll go home and watch "Paris Is Burning" for the fifty'leventh time...and sip a little something--sip through the whole movie, of course.

[FQ]

freeleo:
i have lived this for this poem too and this video is the tee! i love it!