studio dispatch: july '25
a monthly recap with a life update and some favorites.
What it dooo! Welcome to Lowkey Superstar Studio—a digital art studio/sanctuary for all things imagined + created by yours truly, Kari Faux. Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter/journal.
If you’re a Free Sub Shawty, you can expect to receive monthly studio dispatches, recapping my month with a visual diary of the things I made, the places I went, the things I thunk, and my favorites from the month. There will also be an additional free personal essay or visual diary sprinkled here and there. If you’d like to get access to all posts and an more in depth look at the projects I’m working on, along with my life + travels as a nomadic artist, please consider becoming a Paid Sub Shawty.
Anywaaaays… now that we’ve got the housekeeping out the way. I feel like I need to catch you up to speed on what brought on this major career pivot. This pivot has led me to quit my “job” as a commercial music artist and expand my art practice into film + visual arts while intentionally starting my nomadic journey.
journal.
How did I get here? Well first, we got to go back to 2019. I had—what I would consider—the most incredible run of my career that year. From going on my first nationwide tour supporting Mick Jenkins, to releasing CRY 4 HELP and headlining my own cross-country tour with a freaking bed on stage. I spent a month in London working with Danio on what would become Lowkey Superstar, then joined Steve Lacy’s first headlining tour as the opening DJ. 2019 was one for the books! All of these highlights combined made me plan how I was going to keep the momentum going for the following year—but clearly God had other plans.
March 2020, it was like the whole world had stopped. I returned to my parent’s house in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas—after living sublet-to-sublet in Los Angeles for five years—feeling absolutely crushed. I remember crying facedown on my mama’s bed saying, “I don’t have a house, spouse, car or a kid. I have nothing to show for all this work I’ve done.” To me, at that time, those things signified “stability” and signaled to others that I was “successful”. To not have those things during a time of great uncertainty unnerved to me no end. My mama responded in her very matter of factly kind of way, “The experiences you have are priceless. The things you named, anyone can have ‘em. If you want those things, just go get ‘em.”
2021 rolled around and I did just that. After being away from Los Angeles for over a year, I knew I didn’t want to go back to paying high ass rent and no work/life balance. So, I got my dream car and I moved to a high-rise apartment in Houston. In those moments, I couldn’t have been more satisfied. I had a place to finally call my own. No parents. No roommates. Just me and my sweet, sweet solitude. The solitude I had in Houston was something I desperately needed after running myself ragged trying to keep up with creative “scenes” of Los Angeles and New York. In this solitude, I returned to all the things *I* like, love and enjoy. Things that may not be mainstream but mean a great deal to me. The solitude really centered me within myself. The solitude made me value my peace. The solitude made me realize how much I had been performing day in and day out. The solitude made me realize that maybe this music thing as a job just wasn’t for me anymore.
In 2022, I met a man. We had been one degree of separation away from each other through several mutual relationships. We instantly clicked. He felt familiar and he had a similar story. He had recently left Los Angeles and went back to his hometown, a suburb outside of Chicago, called Aurora, Illinois. Like me, he was realizing there had to be more to life than just climbing the industry ladder. We bonded over that shared sentiment. Starting out as collaborators working on the album that would become REAL B*TCHES DON’T DIE!, we quickly became friends talking on the phone for 3+ hours about everything under the sun. We were both unreserved with our feelings and made the decision to commit to each other in a matter of months. Before we knew it, he had moved into my Houston high-rise and we had a 6 month old Shih Tzu puppy. I was happier than I had ever been. Even my joy for making music had returned from making RBDD with friends and a few of my musical influences.
The following year, that feeling I re-established around making music was squashed when it came time to roll the album out. Here’s one of the many scenarios that killed shit for me:
The label I was signed to passive aggressively avoided having any productive conversations with me because I didn’t have a manager1. So just to move things along, I let them pair me with some questionable white lady who always wore sunglasses like she had a hangover from partying the night before. BIG mistake and honestly I knew better but I wanted to get my goddamn album out2. She started taking calls with the label without letting me know which resulted in her not relaying very important information to me. I aired out my frustrations to the label about not having the information and what did they do? Blame her. After they recommended her… riiiiight. There’s much more to unpack from that entire situation but by the time the album came out in May of that year, I was emotionally spent. Then to turn around and tour from August to November? I was emotionally AND physically done. Half-past tired as fuck. I had grown bored with my routine in Houston and the isolation didn’t feel like a much needed hug anymore. It felt like a cage. I had to honor how I was feeling in every area of my life. I needed something new. A change in scenery. A challenge to what I’m capable of. I just needed to go.
Fast forward to 2025, I decided I wanted to cure my feelings of stagnation with movement. Luckily, my lover is also a Gemini/Sag rising like me so he was feeling the same. We sold, donated and gave away most of our stuff then packed up what we wanted to keep and put it in storage. We moved to Toronto for four months and it has become one of my favorite cities. Being in Toronto was the reset I truly needed. If you’re into astrocartography, you get me when I say I was living near my Mars line. I was supercharged in best way but also restless in the worst way. I couldn’t rest at all so it was the opposite energy of Houston for me (which was crossing my Moon/Saturn). Toronto was the best place to start my nomadic journey and will always be a city I want to return to.
in the studio.
I released “rebound” back in April. I made this song in 2019 with Danio on that month long London trip. It had just been collecting dust in the vault so I decided to let her get some sunshine and air. If you haven’t watched the video yet, check it out!
While in Toronto, I got back into drawing and painting with oil pastels. I’ve felt called to pick back up the things that I really enjoyed in my childhood. I call these drawings “prayers” because of the meditative state I find myself in whenever I draw or paint.
I made this arrangement at an art event called Sometimes I Think Too Much (@sometimesithinktoomuch_) organized by @bunsized. Toronto has one of my favorite artistic communities I’ve had the privilege of experiencing. The event had a flower arranging station, screened short films and spoken word performances all in one night. It was truly inspiring.
I teamed up with the good people at @itsok.world to put on an incredible show for the 5 year anniversary of Lowkey Superstar. I got the opportunity to perform with some amazing musicians and a beautiful Black couple even came all the way from Washington, D.C. to catch the show. I hadn’t performed in Toronto since 2019 and a few attendees reminded me that I said I was gonna move to Toronto the last time I was there. Funny how manifestations work because Toronto definitely has my heart and this was a night I’ll never forget.
favorites.
I recently found out that the first Black woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer and have her compositions played by a major orchestra was from my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. Her name was Florence Price and learning about her life was the highlight of my month and I’m excited to do more research on her and her works. This improvised piano piece titled “Fantasie Negre” is my favorite so far.
This was one of my favorite moments of the month. I highly recommend a Theo Parrish set if you have the opportunity to experience one. The venue was sick—it was very James Turrell inspired and the drinks at the bar were hittinggg.
closing transmission.
The month of July was energizing and so was my time in Toronto. August, I will be spending quite a bit of time in Little Rock as I’m starting research for my first short film. Can’t wait to share the process with you. Let me know what parts of the process or anything else you would like to see for next month’s dispatch.
Talk soon.
I never understood labels/publishers/agents that refuse to talk directly to artist but… want to… make… money off of them???
To any artists getting into or trying to get into the industry, DO NOT TAKE LAWYER OR MANAGER RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ANYONE YOU’RE GOING INTO A DEAL/NEGOTIATIONS/BUSINESS WITH EVER.
I love you Kari. Thanks for you being you you are truly an amazing person and huge inspiration.