It’s a sorrowful, haunting track never losing its sense of motion and tenderness. Mykki’s singing voice is on display for the first time ever in the song too.
“I wrote this song about the relationship between my ex boyfriend and his father that has had bouts of mental illness. When the person you love is going through a situation that you can't alter in any way, or help or be active in trying to correct it not only hurts them but it hurts you,” Mykki says.
“I didn't always have the best relationship with my father like so many people, it's ebbed and it's flowed with love and frustration at times. I think the core meaning of this song is compassion in the face of helplessness.
“It's sad I know, it's extremely sad, but the song is an expression of what it is to feel helpless when you truly just want to be loving, be compassionate and the realisation that sometimes as painful as it is just ‘being’ present is all you can do for those that you love.”
'Family Ties' arrives alongside a black and white music video featuring Michael Stipe, with a focus on compassionate, nurturing relationships like fatherhood and brotherhood in difficult times.
This new music follows last year’s ‘Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep’, a mini-album born from the end of Mykki’s first serious relationship, and Mykki’s debut album ‘Mykki’ was released in 2016.
‘Family Ties’ is, in Mykki’s words, “the first song where I sonically found my voice and I mean that in a very literal way. It's the first song in my entire career where I am singing, I sing, I don't rap.”
“My whole entire career so far has been about so many things- all of these pioneering moments culturally but creatively I'm still finding my footing in many ways. . . I tried to break into hip hop and broke hip hop open when the world wasn't ready and that journey has been well chronicled, but oftentimes I've simply just wanted the room to explore and not have every choice I've made be some political or ideological signpost.”
‘Family Ties’ is out now. Mykki’s album ‘Stay Close To Music’ is out 9 September.
