Bella Moon is a young and upcoming vocalist/songwriter, hailing out of Nashville TN, with roots in Cambodia. Her singing style puts a microscope on vulnerability, allowing an emotional undertone, blanketed by an ironically emphasized "chill" to her voice.
This shoot was wild, given some of the obstacles climbed over, both in a figurative and literal sense. On our own ignorant behalf, we left out around 11am to drive 45 minutes away to what seemed like the middle of nowhere (but hey, we are in the South, and shit is just spread apart like that *inserts black shrug emoji*). We were completely unaware that she was going to meet us in East Nashville, where the respective shoot would initially take place, resulting in wasted gas money, which spiked Robert's anxiety lol.
However, Bella Moon was kind and empathetic enough as to replace the gas money and even offer us some coffee for our tired lookin' asses. Once we reached our destination in East Nashville (we'll just affectionately call it "out east" moving forward), the sun was poppin, and the mood was ripe for shooting. She brought her little dog along, which I partially played the role of dogsitter towards, which wasn't all that bad. We scouted a location at this abandoned Ms. Winner's joint that basically used to be an alternative to KFC. With it's chipped paint, chained doors, and broken drive-thru menu against cracked concrete, we sought after the intriguing rooftop.
Robert, being a fucking ninja, had seen no problem in escalating the wall to reach the rooftop. I had also found no issue in climbing the drive-thru menu as a source to reach the rooftop, pulling ourselves up and having the other hand up the camera. Bella was the only one who thought she wouldn't make it up there, asking "are you strong enough?" as we assured her that we wouldn't allow her to fall. After taking the risk and having one of us boost her up while the other pulled her up, it was on and poppin for the shoot. We immediately fell in love with the industrial environment of the rooftop, including all of it's now open vents, which alluded to a deathly drop. The leverage of the height had caused for a beautiful blue backdrop of a sky, contrasting very smoothly with her transparent neon pink outerwear, allowing the harsh light to do it's job and work for the better, instead of creating harsh shadows that it would've made, had we been on the ground.
Upon shooting Bella Moon, we observed her quiet, yet energetically fun side and seemingly sweet nature. The pictures perfectly personify this statement, as shown to the left. She discussed her recent visit to Philly, where she spent time with her boyfriend. She told us about the difficulty to adjusting to a different scene, given the politics and her being taken seriously as a "female artist". Though we're in an age where this stereotype is slowly fading away, the problem with the ratio of men to women in the entertainment industry's spotlight is STILL an issue that should have more light bravely shed upon it. In a climate where almost literally everyone of our younger generations attempts to capitalize off the internet by seeking an identity in the arts, women, especially women of color, have been shaking shit up. This doesn't dismiss the fact that women are still sometimes treated with less "respect" or "seriousness" that a man would be treated with.
"It shouldn't matter what's in between your legs, so long as your integrity and work ethic/skill in what you do prevails and makes a mark in this fucked up, beautiful world."
Women such as Bella feel that their genuine "niceness" is taken advantage of by predatory men in the industry that prey upon upcoming artists that may need to expand their network to reach certain platforms. Personally speaking, we can't wait until the day that an artist is treated as just that, a fucking artist. It shouldn't matter what's in between your legs, so long as your integrity and work ethic/skill in what you do prevails and makes a mark in this fucked up, beautiful world.
At the end of the day, Bella Moon recognizes the hardships that come with today's current journey into one's dreamscape, and what it takes to acclimate one's position into that of satisfaction. She, like many other young women, refutes the naysayers and negativity that attempts to creep its way into the crevices of her psyche. She is a resilient woman who has a lot of growing to do, artistically and as a woman, and she is focusing on just that, as one should. We respect women like Bella, just like the other women featured in these visual stories, that shape their own limits and seek their own goals without allowing people to keep her down. Like Kendrick Lamar once said, "The question is will you bounce back or bounce backwards?".
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