It's been just over a decade since the moniker ‘Mykki Blanco’ was created — first as a video art project portraying a teenage female character (inspired by Lil Kim’s ‘Kimmy Blanco’ alter ego) posting vlogs and raps on social media, but it inevitably evolved into a vehicle of self-discovery in the artist’s journey of forming their personal self-identity. The first official music release under this artist name Mykki Blanco dropped in the form of an EP entitled Mykki Blanco & The Mutant Angels in 2012. In the time since, they have pushed hip-hop to some of its most untethered bounds, melding noise and experimental elements with club and trap sounds, whilst also forging a uniquely subversive path within a genre historically entangled in a problematic ideological web of misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia. And while Blanco has been widely recognized as leading the charge as a pioneering trailblazer in the so-called ‘queer rap’ sub-genre, the music of this forthcoming new chapter of their career represents such significant musical evolution toward eradicating the confines of genre categories and mashing the previous perception of the ceiling of their potential reach.

Their new mini-album Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep marks their first official release in nearly five years since their debut full-length Mykki album. This 9-track body of work also marks their debut release as part of a recently signed deal with Transgressive Records in London (supported by PIAS worldwide). The music of this new mini-album introduces a more nuanced and genre- spanning set of work, suggesting the reflective wisdom of one who has experience and maturity on their side. Ushering in a fresh era for the artist, the songs take life and love into account, but also personal stakes that are higher than they've ever been. “I couldn’t continue on that same trajectory,” they say, calling up releases of old. "I can't call myself a serious musician if you can't go on a journey bumping a Mykki Blanco record from start to finish."