Today we’d like to introduce you to Lexie Pitter (Majesty).
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I grew up on the north side with a Jamaican-American upbringing. I lived in Jamaica from ages two to five. When I came back to America to live with my mom, my father was sentenced to forty years in jail. My grandparents and my mother taught me the importance of hard work; at sixteen I was working three jobs. Like many immigrants, my mother was taught the importance of providing at a young age and it heavily impacted our relationship. As immigrants in America you have to work twice as hard to get by which causes many immigrant families to work harder than most, resulting to them being at work more than at home. Some even believe the only aspect of being a parent is providing, this tradition caused a disconnect on the emotional relationship between my mother and I. She had to constantly play both roles; the father and the mother; which also meant having to provide twice as much.
When I was around twelve, I began writing letters to my mother instead of physically talking to her, I would write them at night and tape them on her door before she came home from work. Writing was the only way I can emotionally express myself as a child. In the Jamaican tradition, a child is to be obedient whether the child is right or wrong or tradition says the child should be “seen and not heard.” Slowly, letters turned into poetry and in high school, I came in contact with spoken word for the first time. My first slam, I spent two weeks just writing out a list of all the things I was going through and how they impacted me on a piece of paper, not only did I win the slam, after I performed the coach of the poetry club invited me to participate in the Young Chicago Authors: Louder than A Bomb slam. The stage quickly became my second home, my safe space, the place that I could speak my truth and share my truth. In junior high as well as high school, I was cyberbullied, jumped and harassed by my schoolmates (sexually and verbally) and at home, I was too scared to talk about it. I felt like the mic was the only “one” who listened.
After a bout, I would have so many people come to me and say how much they relate to me and others even admitted to being afraid to tell their own story. That was the moment when I realized poetry, artistry, is beyond the actual artist. Before written materials, the native people sat around a circle and shared not only their stories but the stories of their community. I represent my community; I represent my country; I represent women who are afraid to tell their stories. These responsibilities that I took on as an artist leads to the birth of my self-proclaimed name; Majesty.
Please tell us about your art.
First and foremost, I identify myself as an artist, the title “poet” does not take into consideration all of my creative abilities. My work takes many forms: music, performance poetry, storytelling and recently the form of a book. I walk around with a notebook and every time I have a thought I write it down. As I get older, I realize how valuable and unique my thoughts are. Why let them waste right? I make it a routine to go back through my notebook and elaborate on each thought and after time, it eventually molds into a poem or another form of art. I am very adamant about imagery in my poems. Personally, I believe the best forms of art are made when the reader is forced to dissect the work. Each time a reader looks at my poem, I want them to learn something new. In each line, stanza there is a story within the story, it is their job to find out what story is the most important to them. As an example, in my poem “The Definition of Untidy”, I write “Prior to a child, I was a wife;” such a short sentence that can serve as the beginning as well as the result of a multitude of narratives. As a reader, they not only have to question what that line means or why it is included in such a short poem, but also the origin in which this statement applies.
Many of my poetry is influenced by poets such as E’mon Lauren and Dominique Christina, but also many musicians as well like Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Fantasia, and others. I am influenced by strong, unique voices that leave a presence even after the artist leaves the stage. When my mom used to clean, she would play all the 80’s, 90’s R & B music and I remember the feeling Whitney Houston would give me when she hit a high note or how relatable Mary J Blige lyrics would seem. All of these artists move me physically, spiritually and mentally and my ultimate goal as an artist/performer is to do the same thing. It is also important to know before I am an artist, I am a psychologist, I am currently studying psychology and sometimes I like to think of my performances as a possible therapy session. At my last show, I supplied my friends and family with mini notebooks and challenged them to write their stories, their prompt was based on the theme of hope and love and what it meant to them personally. I called them on stage one by one and to this day, I would say those were the most productive, vulnerable conversations we’ve ever had. It was such a special moment; at least five people were crying by the end of the show, but in a good way, in a healthy way. The fact is emotions influence us in many different ways, it is the primary foundation of any artist in any form. Many of us try to run from it, tuck it in a junk drawer and never go back for it; but the secret is emotions is one of the many superpowers a human holds.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
I always tell myself “My story is a shade of another person’s story, together we make a color wheel,” it’s hard because as artists sometimes we could be the most anti-social beings due to the fact that were always in our heads analyzing the outside world. However being anti-social has never brought anyone together and in the Artists community unity is important; especially with the social and political climate going on in our country. Share your writing, practice it out loud on a sidewalk, ask others their opinion; the more we include others the stronger we are. Another thing I would advise is finding confidence within your art; know that your story is valuable and deserves an ear. No artist is superior to any other artist, separately we are shades, together we are the color wheel and the world needs color! For a while, I didn’t believe my work was good enough, despite those who would disagree, ultimately I had to realize that my story was important, not only because it was my story, but because so many people need to hear those stories for themselves. Leave your cell phone in your bag and start communicating with each other. Humans are social beings so don’t let anything get in your way.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I usually try to hold off a couple shows during the year and currently I am working on a book. My early works concentrate primarily on the personal and psychological aspects of my life. Though currently, I have been concentrating on my historical roots and Caribbean culture. Before we were adults, we were children and our cultural knowledge is influenced by our heritage. Being a Jamaican-American sometimes makes me feel like I don’t belong in either culture; being an African-American living on the north-side not only makes me feel like an outsider within the inner city black community but the suburban community as well. The themes of identity, culture, tradition, and religion will be in my upcoming book predicted to be out late 2019. As I said before my responsibility as an artist is to be a storyteller just like my ancestors used to be back in their homeland. With that being said, it is more important for me to develop interpersonal relationships with my readers than to have billions of social media followers. The best way to support my work is to be involved in my work; I want my readers to become their own storytellers and to be aware of the social constructs, as well as the psychological aspects of their daily lives and others around them. I believe the gift of an artist is to create a difference within their society, this means the gift of the artist continues to give regardless of their obstacles.
Between shows and my upcoming book, you can always scroll through my website or social media platforms to see upcoming performances.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://lexielovespoetry.wixsite.com/mysite/written-words
- Phone: 3127303832
- Email: lexielovespoetry@gmail.com
- Instagram: Majesty_of_poetry
- Facebook: Lexielovespoetry is life Pitter
Image Credit:
Photographer: Leo the Leo Visuals, Body Paint :Natalie Aleman
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
