Nomi Ruiz
Nomi Ruiz is an American singer, songwriter, actress, essayist and producer who is also known for her work as Jessica 6.
Nomi Ruiz | |
|---|---|
 Jessica 6 at MICHALSKY StyleNite | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Brooklyn, New York |
| Genres | R&B, hip hop, house, dance-punk, nu-disco |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actress, essayist, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Park Side Records, DFA Records, Midnight Sun Sound, Manimal Vinyl |
| Website | www |
Early life
Nomi Ruiz was born in 1986 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Her parents are of Puerto Rican descent.
Career
Lost In Lust
In 2005 Ruiz released her debut album "Lost in Lust" on her own independent label Park Side Records. The album is a song-oriented downbeat electronic album steeped in the grittier ends of early-'90s hip-hop and R&B production.[1][2] After its release she toured with CocoRosie, Debbie Harry and Antony & The Johnsons as part of their "Turning" project and Turning (film).[3]
Hercules & Love Affair
In 2008 Ruiz appeared on the nu-disco band Hercules and Love Affair's self-titled album released on James Murphy's label DFA Records. She was featured on the single "You Belong" and appeared in the music
video. Slant Magazine placed "You Belong" at #9 on the Top 25 Singles of 2008 and the song was used in the pilot episode of the TV show How to Make It in America.
Ruiz also featured on and co-wrote "Hercules Theme" which Pitchfork Media placed at #21 on The 100 Best Tracks of 2008.[4]
The band made its live debut on May 17, 2008, at the Studio B venue in Brooklyn, New York, before going on a European and North American tour, where Ruiz sang her contributions as well as those of Anohni[5] making her the first latinx transgender woman to perform on prestigious stages and festivals such as Switzerland’s Montreax Jazz Festival, England’s Glastonbury, Lovebox, O2 Arena, New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom and many more.
The Guardian described Ruiz as "boasting the spookily effortless air of a future pop icon."[6] In 2009 Ruiz quit the band and formed the group Jessica 6.
Jessica 6
In 2009 Ruiz formed the group Jessica 6 with Andrew Raposo (of Automato) and Morgan Wiley. The band met in late 2007 after they helped put together the Hercules and Love Affair live show.[7] Jessica 6 released their debut single "Fun Girl" on May 21, 2009, on the label Midnight Sun Sound.[8] In 2011 they released See The Light an album that combined dance with her natural R&B/soul stylings released by Peacefrog Records.
On January 7, 2011 Jessica 6 released its second single White Horse[9][10] The song's music video directed by Marco Ovando premiered on February 28, 2011 on Perez Hilton's website. The video received over 2 million hits on YouTube and received positive reviews from music critics. In a review for The Guardian, Michael Cragg felt that the song creates a "fresh take on 70s disco and filtered house with a dash of funk. But while Hercules & Love Affair sound like they now lack a distinctive vocalist, Jessica 6 are elevated by Ruiz's smoky, melancholic voice." Likewise, Robin Murray of Clash noticed a "definite pop touch, but that doesn’t discredit some fantastic production." The album's critical acclaim further solidified her status as a history making global artist, at the Greek MAD Video Music Awards on 14 June 2011, Berlin’s Tempodrom, London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, Tate Modern and making an appearance at Chile’s Vina del Mar Festival where she appeared with Academy Award nominated actress Daniela Vega.
The song "White Horse" was also used in the provocative Thierry Mugler spring '12 menswear campaign film titled "Brother's Of Arcadia". Ruiz was also featured in the film seen in provocative S&M posturings.[9]
Their third single "Prisoner Of Love" featured Anohni who also appeared in the song's video also directed by Marco Ovando and styled by Nicola Formichetti.
In 2012 after a 2 month North American tour with American synthpop band Holy Ghost!, the trio disbanded and Ruiz continued her work in electro-pop and dance under the same name. She released a sophomore Jessica 6 LP titled "The Capricorn" which was called “seductive, dark, smart, and as catchy as Miss Jackson’s greatest hits”[11] by i-D Magazine.
In 2018 she released "The ELIOT Sessions" which received rave reviews[12] in Billboard Magazine and landed Ruiz an artist profile[13] in Harper's Bazaar.
Borough Gypsy
In 2013 Ruiz completed a two month residency at the Clocktower Gallery in downtown New York City where she completed a mixtape project titled "Borough Gypsy" which the gallery described as "a lo-fi cassette tape trip down memory lane using the grit of 90’s Hip Hop combined with Soul and acoustic folk elements."[14] The mixtape debuted at the Clocktower Galleries' studio space which was "transformed into a world where visitors step into the mind of the borough gypsy and get to see and sift through the urban tale as they listen to the album unfold. Visitors are granted full access to diaries, sketchbooks, photo albums and song writing journals which document the album's progress as well as the emotional progression which inspired its content. Also on display are hand-made items used for stage shows, items from Nomi’s childhood, and some of her first ever recorded demos which are only available in reel-to-reel and cassette tape format."[14]
She released the mixtape to the public via Soundcloud and followed it up in 2016 with "Borough Gypsy" vol. 2 "NOMI vs DILLA" where she wrote and sang over instrumentals produced by J Dilla. It premiered in The Source accompanied by visuals directed by long time collaborator Gabriel Magdaleno.
Essays
As an essayist, Ruiz has been outspoken about discrimination in the music industry and has published intimate essays and poems on feminism, sex, romance and gender identity in books by Emely Nue of Pussy Riot, Jezebel, The Fader and more.
On March 9, 2017, Jezebel published Ruiz's essay titled "The Lingering Trauma of Searching for Love as a Trans Youth"[15] where she addresses how shame can lead to abusive relationships stating "What a fragile device, to be frail in the eyes of the preying."[15]
On June 12, 2018, INTO Magazine published Ruiz's essay titled "The Storm Inside: Loving Trans Women in a Toxic World"[16] Here Ruiz touches on how masculine ideology effects men who are transamorous and how that leads to complications when finding love, "shame is the most common form of child abuse, and the most common tool used to shape and mold young boys on their journey to becoming men."[16]
On September 7, 2018, Talkhouse asked Ruiz to contribute a piece for their Gig Economy column. They published her essay on "Identity, Equality and Fighting for a Livable Wage".[17] Here Ruiz touched on her struggles in the music industry as well as her time with Hercules & Love Affair, "I think back over all the obstacles I’ve overcome and still face, count all my blessings and successes, and realize that nothing will ever amount to my biggest win yet: living my truth."[17]
Acting & Television
In 2018, Nomi made her acting debut on Kurt Sutter's Sons of Anarchy spin-off Mayans M.C. on FX and is set to star in the upcoming Muay Thai boxing feature film drama "Haymaker". She also appeared on Viceland's Slutever TV Series where she discussed the stigma trans women face when embracing and openly discussing sex and sexuality.
Musical Collaborations
| Song | Album | Artist | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| "You'll Never Know" | The Enlightened Family: A Collection Of Lost Songs | The Enlightened Family | 2005 |
| "You Belong" | Hercules & Love Affair | Hercules & Love Affair | 2008 |
| "Hercules Theme" | |||
| "I'm Telling You" | You Belong | Hercules & Love Affair | 2008 |
| "I'm Deranged" | We Were So Turned On: A Tribute To David Bowie | Jessica 6 | 2010 |
| "Desire" | Desire EP | Eli Escobar | 2011 |
| "Sway" | House Of Beni | Beni | 2011 |
| "Let's Celebrate" | Blast From The Past | The Ones | 2012 |
| "Broken Toy" | Enemy EP | NR& (Keinemusik) | 2013 |
| "Enemy" | |||
| "Money Talks" | Money Talks | Thodoris Triantafillou & CJ Jeff | 2013 |
| "A Different Corner" | A Different Corner EP | Mansta | 2015 |
| "The Man Inside You" | Trilogy (Chapter 1) | Thodoris Triantafillou | 2015 |
| "Fist" | Love Is Gone/Fist EP | Olga Kouklaki | 2015 |
| "Love Is Gone" | |||
| "Can't Stop Dancing" | Happiness | Eli Escobar | 2016 |
| "Phreeky" | |||
| "In The Dark" | |||
| "4 Luv" | |||
| "Taste Like" | Spoken For EP | NR& (Keinemusik) | 2016 |
| "Spoken For" | |||
| "Chemical Love" | Animal Feelings | Animal Feelings | 2016 |
| "Bumper" | You Are Safe | Keinemusik | 2017 |
| "Into You" | Into You | Nomi & Animal Feelings | 2018 |
| "Divine Love" | Soft Touches EP | Animal Feelings | 2018 |
| "Like a Ghost"[18] | Sam Sparro | 2021 |
Discography
| Title | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Lost in Lust | 2005 | Park Side Records |
| Hercules and Love Affair | 2008 | DFA Records |
| See The Light | 2011 | Peacefrog Records |
| Borough Gypsy vol. 1 | 2013 | Park Side Records |
| The Capricorn | 2015 | Park Side Records |
| Borough Gypsy vol. 2 Nomi vs Dilla | 2016 | Park Side Records |
| Lonely Love Affair | 2018 | Park Side Records |
| Still Your Girl | ||
| The ELIOT Sessions | 2018 | Park Side Records |
Music Videos
| Year | Album | Video | Director(s) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Hercules & Love Affair | "You Belong" | Kris Moyes | Video on Vimeo |
| 2009 | See the Light | "Fun Girl" | Bijoux Altamirano[19] | Video on YouTube |
| 2011 | "White Horse" | Marco Ovando[19] | Video on YouTube | |
| "Prisoner of Love" | Marco Ovando[20] | Video on YouTube | ||
| 2014 | Borough Gypsy | "Life Or C.R.E.A.M." | Gabriel Magdaleno | Video on YouTube |
| 2015 | The Capricorn | "Down Low" | Gabriel Magdaleno | Video on YouTube |
| 2015 | The Capricorn | "Can't Tear Us Apart" | Gabriel Magdaleno | Video on YouTube |
| 2016 | Animal Feelings | "Chemical Love" | Adam France | Video on YouTube |
| 2016 | Borough Gypsy 2 | "Bullet Proof" | Gabriel Magdaleno | Video on YouTube |
| "The Scent" | Video on YouTube | |||
| "The Light" | Video on YouTube | |||
| "Funky 4 Ya" | Video on YouTube | |||
| "Wilderness" | Video on YouTube | |||
| "Something More" | Video on YouTube | |||
| 2018 | The ELIOT Sessions | "The Storm Inside" | Juampi Mejias | Video on YouTube |
References
- Kellman, Andy. ((( Nomi > Overview ))) Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- Jessica 6 – Bios jessica6music.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- Nomi – Bio nomionline.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- (2008-12-15). The 100 Best Tracks of 2008 Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- Zazovsky, Maria (2009). Features – Nomi Ruiz (Hercules and Love Affair) Ponytail Magazine. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- Robinson, Peter (February 23, 2008). Groove is in the art The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- Adams, Robyn (March 11, 2010). Jessica 6 Interview: SXSW 2010 Spinner. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- Jessica 6 – Fun Girl Discogs. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- Brillson, Leila (June 23, 2011). "Nicola Formichetti's Transgendered Muse Talks X-Rated 'Brothers of Arcadia' Mugler Video". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- Cowles, Charlotte (June 23, 2011). "Exclusive First Look: Nicola Formichetti's New Muse, Nomi Ruiz, in V". New York. New York Media Holdings. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- Catarinella, Alex (July 30, 2015). "brooklyn dance-pop goddess nomi ruiz revives jessica 6". I-D. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- "Jessica 6 Debuts 'The Eliot Sessions' Album: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- Hern, Jasmin; ez (January 17, 2019). "Nomi Ruiz on Making Art That Means Something". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- "Clocktower - Residencies". clocktower.org. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- Ruiz, Nomi. "The Lingering Trauma of Searching for Love as a Trans Youth". Jezebel. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- Lyons, Joel (June 12, 2018). "The Storm Inside: Loving Trans Women In A Toxic World". A Plus. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- "Gig Economy: Nomi Ruiz". Talkhouse. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- "Like a Ghost single". Apple Music. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- Blodgett, Sam (April 8, 2011). "BrightestYoungThings: Jessica 6's Nomi". Brightest Young Things. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- Neyland, Nick (October 27, 2011). "Jessica 6: 'Prisoner of Love' f. Antony (Video)". Prefix. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
