{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F16f3b87c-4ab7-4c15-ad8f-12e9570b40b0","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"259: Fix Yo Face, Fix Yo Life \u2013 Epiphany Mattel","description":"If you don\u2019t respect yourself ain\u2019t nobody else going to respect ya either\u2026no matter how pretty yo face is or isn\u2019t. And even if your own parents don\u2019t respect who you are, then sometimes you just gotta sashay away and say, \u201cI\u2019m here to respect myself first and foremost and using that power to spread love and light.\u201d\r\nFrom praying the trans away to getting it beaten the hell out of her, Epiphany Mattel has found her path to being her, yes her, not him. Born a boy, but knowing from a very young age that she was a girl, she\u2019s fixed her face and on track to fix a few other things to be the perfect doll she\u2019s always been. This is her life uncloseted story, and don\u2019t you dare think of changing it for her\u2026LOL!\r\nShow Highlights\r\n\r\n* Her Mom\u2019s house got shot up because of this\r\n* 20/20 wasn\u2019t her hind site, it was her reality check\r\n* Her Father was this but was also in denial\r\n* Exorcism, praying it away, even mental illness didn\u2019t change the music inside and the woman within\r\n* Quote: You block your blessings\r\n\r\nAbout Epiphany\r\nEpiphany Mattel grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Her parents raised her to be confident and speak her mind, that is, until she told them that she was girl. Her mother, a devout Baptist, took the religious \u201cGod doesn\u2019t make mistakes\u201d and \u201clet\u2019s pray the demon out\u201d path, sending Epiphany to priests, psychiatrists and other medical professionals to fix the problem. Her father\u2019s approach was more physical. He sought to beat the trans out of Epiphany and would tease, taunt and shame her. At one point, he even shaved her head.\r\nOnce puberty hit, Epiphany left home and sought refuge in the hood where she learned about street code and survival. She became a dangerous beauty, a chameleon who can thrive in any circle or setting, a boss more concerned with creating her own lane rather than trying to fit into a predetermined space someone else chose to place her in. She stands strong in her truth, even if it offends others, and while she rarely starts trouble, she isn\u2019t afraid to finish it. \u201cMy message is to respect yourself first and foremost and then use that power to spread love and light,\u201d she explains.\r\nEpiphany Mattel first met drag sensation, Latrice Royale, through a mutual friend when Royale was seeking a feature rapper for her song, \u201cWeight\u201d. \u201cWe instantly clicked like we\u2019d known each other for years,\u201d Epiphany remembers. Latrice Royale would eventually take Epiphany Mattel under her wing, becoming her manager and guiding Epiphany\u2019s new rap career. \u201cShe recognized that a trans woman doing hip hop offered a different point of view from anything else out there. I can be as sexy as any cis chick in the game and as hard as any male: I\u2019m the best of both worlds.\u201d\r\nEpiphany Mattel has big dreams. She aims to create a movement in sound; something similar to Neyo, The Dream, and Kanye West where other artists might create similar songs but fans will always recognize it as an Epiphany Mattel joint. \u201cWhat I hope fans take away from my music is that they are not alone,\u201d she says. Epiphany Mattel\u2019s new single, \u201c#FIXYOFACE,\u201d is available on iTunes, Spotify and all digital formats.\r\nConnect with Epiphany\r\nFacebook\r\nInstagram\r\nTwitter\r\n#FIXYOFACE music video\r\nLatrice Royale\u2019s music video that featuring Epiphany\r\n\u00a0\r\n<a class="a2a_button_twitter" href=...","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/4b9b6c41-474a-4fd0-a374-cbb2a7aa23a4/1400x1400_uncloseted_artwork-01-573.jpg"}