Kae Tempest and the epitome of gender euphoria
The world always has to find something to blame for its problems, to marginalise, to oppress. Most recently, it’s the transgender community who have fallen victim to that ugly wrath. But through all the darkness and disgust, Kae Tempest is shining as the beacon they need more than ever.
Tempest has always had a remarkable knack for transferring some of society’s starkest issues into art, from rap to plays to poetry. Through the years, his powerful dissemination of words has caught the eyes of the cultural echelons from classic Greek theatre to Ted Hughes, but perhaps it is in his latest studio album, Self Titled, released on July 4th, that the veneer of performance is stripped away, and we see Tempest at his most vulnerably effervescent.
When the musician came out as a transgender man earlier this year, it was a watershed moment in the journey of his life and career, for obvious reasons. Tempest has spoken openly since then about the sense of release and freedom that living as his true gender identity has given him, in poignant terms that actualise the painstaking struggles he has endured to this point.
Candidly revealing the mired and internalised homophobia and transphobia that had prevented him from becoming his true self until now, Tempest speaks a serum of truth in what is perhaps one of the starkest and most terrifying political backdrops the community has ever faced. Between Supreme Court rulings and prominent celebrity critics fuelling an unnecessary machine of vitriol, things are undeniably tough, to put it in the most basic terms.
But through all this, and in spite of it, Tempest’s artistry shines in the crux of its most prolific and profound moment. All of Self Titled reflects this beautifully, but particularly in tracks like ‘Know Yourself’ and ‘I Stand on the Line’. Make no mistake – their beauty is not found in their delicacy or palatability, but instead in their fire, brutality, and wrath. They are not pretty, per se, but their messages gleam as a beacon of hope to all those struggling through their darkest moments.
This journey of Tempest reflecting back on the state of his younger self, bottling that, and repackaging it to present a reimagined version of his true identity is a remarkable testament to his integrity, and the gender euphoria he has found within this. If ‘Know Yourself’ is the low point, “I’ve been carrying a bag of shame that’s bigger than me/ Dragging up behind me, up an endless staircase,” it laments, ‘I Stand on the Line’ is not just the resolution, but the continuation of the fight forward.
In the latter, with the question, “With all the problems that we have to contend with / Why are trans bodies always on the agenda?”, Tempest cuts straight to the heart of the issues at play. Transgender people are not the problem – the people who scapegoat, blame, and vilify them are, and there is still a societal reckoning to be had in order to resolve this.
There was no stronger message of solidarity for this than when Tempest performed the song at Glastonbury, stripping down to his bare chest to reveal his top surgery scars. In turn, the song became instantly anthemic and emblematic of the place we find ourselves in. Things may be terrifying and dangerous for the transgender community, but with beacons like Tempest standing tall, it seems there is nothing to fear.
From the outside, Tempest may represent the beacon of gender euphoria to all those inspired to follow in his footsteps as a result of his forthright proclamations of self. Of course, this is not to dismiss the years of troubles and turmoil it must have taken him to get here, but as he forges a path as a musician, poet, playwright, and fearless activist, there’s a feeling that things might just work out with him at the helm.
