In this bonus mini-episode, Flint-based alumni Furillostar introduces his new single, DWNLD which drops today. And as ever, a London shout-out to Mamma Star!

• Episode transcription here.
• FURILLOSTAR’s linktree can be found here.
• His full Key of Q interview can be found here.
• In The Key of Q publishes every Tuesday (‘Quesday’) and is available at inthekeyofq.com, on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Gaana, TuneIn, Overcast, PlayerFM, Deezer, Saavn and most other podcast platforms. Its social media homes are on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Series 2 of In the Key of Q drops in March 2022.

Dan

Hello, and welcome to this bonus episode of In the ey of Q, where I bring back our guest FURILLOSTAR to talk about his new single, that he's just about to release for us. Hello!

FURILLOSTAR

Hello. What's up? What's up?

Dan

Oh, very good here. How's everything there in Flint, Michigan?

FURILLOSTAR

Everything is. Everything is going pretty smooth. You know, everything's going really good.

Dan

Can you tell us what you've been up to since we last spoke? Gosh, it must have been summer of last year.

FURILLOSTAR

Yeah. Well, quarantine still was kind of it's kind of going on here. We just kind of opened back up like, I want to say, like fall last year. So besides that, you know, Ali, I got the chance to, you know, really, really stay in the studio, stay focussed in, get it, I'll get this music out.

Dan

So could you tell us a bit about this new song you've got coming out.

FURILLOSTAR

DWNLD? I'm so excited. I'm so excited for DWNLD. I feel like I haven't been this, this excited about music and releasing music in like in quite some time now. May I this song? It just feels different. Me and my sister, once again, my best friend, we kind of got together, you know, and we got in the studio, we got a studio session and we were just having a conversation. I just I just talked about how I wanted to create a record where there were no limitations, where there was nothing to be afraid of to say.

FURILLOSTAR

And we came up, we came up with this record DWNLD.

Dan

What do you feel you've had limitations before? What? What do you feel that this record is freeing you from?

FURILLOSTAR

Oh my god, you know what? I feel like being queer. You know the end and the lack of representation of Black queer artist, especially R&B. I think it just kind of put like this an analysis of. Pressure of making music a certain kind of way.

FURILLOSTAR

And then it also put on like this unannounced fear, you know, of being scared to make music a certain kind of way. And I just, I don't know, I don't know. I'll just like, fuck you. Like I told, Oh, I don't want to have that fear.

FURILLOSTAR

You know, I don't and I don't. I don't want to have that, I don't want to have that burden of. Being being scared to say what I want to say anymore, you know? Yeah, that that's really that's really what happened, you know, and I was just like, Yo, like, let's just go here unless unless you speak freely unless you have fire. And that's exactly what we did. And I love the record. I love the record.

Dan

And there is a bit of narrative at the moment that I seem to be seeing of people going off non-career. People sort of saying, “Oh, the queer Black representation thing is all sorted now because like, you got Lil Nas X. So what are you complaining about?”

FURILLOSTAR

Oh, right! Oh, that's great. Yeah. Like the first one in like umpteen years, right? You know, I think I think it's really, really silly. And I think that I appreciate and I respect Lil Nas X so much for what he has done already, like already.

FURILLOSTAR

And he hasn't even like been been in the industry too long. And he's already created so many milestones for people like us.

Dan

But other queer Black artists are available.

FURILLOSTAR

Yes, exactly. There are other queer Black artists. There are so many different types of other queer Black artists, and it's so cool because even on Twitter, like we have like our own little tribe, it's so cool to see everybody and we all support each other too.

FURILLOSTAR

I think that's really, really cool. I'm just I am happy that little Nas X is kind of said like, Hey, you know, I'm, you know, I'm Black queer. I'm here. You know what? I feel like it kind of gave everybody else the the courage to kind of be like, not really courage.

FURILLOSTAR

Let me not say courage, but it kind of gave everybody else like a little fire under our arses to kind of be like, OK. We were taking it there now we're taking it there. All right, let's do it.

FURILLOSTAR

And at least, at least that's what they kind of did for me in. Yeah, and that's that's that's what you're going to hear. You know, you're going to you're going to hear. Yeah.

Dan

Now, for instance, before you introduce your new single, I just want to check in, how's your mum doing?

FURILLOSTAR

Momma Star is doing great. As usual, she's doing a really, really good. Oh, I seen her yesterday. She cooks. So that was great.

Dan

Will you tell her another big hello from London when you?

FURILLOSTAR

I will tell her another big hello from London. She'll be so happy.

Dan

OK, go for it. It's all we're going to wrap up now. Would you like to introduce your new single for us?

FURILLOSTAR

Of course. Of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, everybody, my name is FURILLOSRTAR and this is my new single DWNLD.

Dan

Many thanks everyone for listening. The main series is on hiatus, but keep this feed alive and there'll be all sorts of bits and bobs dropping until the new season begins in March. Thanks for listening to this episode.

Dan

You can support In the Key of Q via Patreon, the link is in the show notes. Theme music is by Paul Leonidou at unstoppablemonsters.com with press and PR by Paul Smith. Help others discover a new queer musicians by writing and reviewing a review wherever you find podcasts.

Dan

Thanks to Kaj and Moray for their continued support and to you for subscribing. The show has made at Pup Media. I'm Dan Hall. Go listen to some music and I'll see you next Quesday.