Anjimile's 'Giver, Taker' LP Addresses Sobriety, Faith, And Trans Identity

[Cover photo credit to Kannetha Brown]

Anjimile has released a new single, “Baby No More”, the latest from his upcoming LP Giver, Taker, out September 18th via Father/Daughter. Earlier this year, he released its lead single, “Maker” and a video for it.

In “Baby No More”, Anjimile unpacks the ways in which he failed his partner.

Anjimile shares regarding the track:

“I wrote ‘Baby No More’ about a month or two before I got sober. I was in a romantic relationship but I was not taking care of myself in any sense of the phrase, and thus, the relationship was suffering as a result. At the time I quite literally felt like I was losing my mind vis-a-vis alcoholism: ‘I can’t be your baby no more/ cause I done gone crazy’. Active alcoholism and committed romantic relationships generally do not mix well, and ‘Baby No More’ is more or less what happens when you’re not a good boyfriend. Although it’s got a very groovy and relatively light-hearted musical vibe, some of the lyrics are quite dark.”

Anjimile’s upcoming record Giver, Taker culminates after "years of study, practice, and lived experience". Inspired by faith, addiction, and Anjimile’s own transition, the album "tells a small story in each song that encompasses a larger voyage of self-discovery". Because aspects of his faith and his own trans identity can clash, he uses this album as a way to "explore these dichotomies".

Much of the recording was accomplished thanks in part to the Live Arts Boston Grant by the Boston Foundation and was produced by Gabe Goodman and bandmate/collaborator Justine Bowe.