Three years before he transitioned, James Baldwin participated in an interview with The Paris Review. In this interview, he spoke openly and honestly about several topics, including the importance of reading as it relates to writing.
“I’m still learning how to write. I don’t know what technique is. All I know is that you have to make the reader see it,” James Baldwin said.
Baldwin is one of the greatest writers to ever live. Yet, he doesn’t know how to write? In many ways, his response makes no sense. However, it also makes all the sense in the world. If any individual learns anything and identifies with the process of doing sed thing, then they’ll never truly learn how to perfect it because there’s always something to learn. It may not seem like it at first glance, but Baldwin’s words tie directly back to the topic at hand — “Black Thing” by sectiontoo.
For months, the rising singer-songwriter has openly declared his love for “Black Thing” from his most recent project, Heaven Only Knows. In fact, he’s gone as far as to say that it is the most important song he’s made thus far. Eleven weeks ago, he recorded himself explaining the importance of the song and uploaded it to Instagram.
“When I wrote ‘Black Thing,’ I was a little more sure of myself and a little more confident in who I was as a person. I was able to write a song about Blackness and what it means to me,” he explained.
As you could imagine, sectiontoo didn’t suddenly become Black when he wrote the song. It probably wasn’t the first time he had attempted to write about his Blackness either. So, why is it so hard to write about something that you live with and identify with each and every day? As Baldwin did with his writing, he took time to think about Blackness, explore what it means to him and how it could be put into a song that accurately reflects how he feels. There’s no technique to it. It’s his process and it turned into a beautiful song that honors his mother, grandmother and many others who have helped him along in his journey. Not to be forgotten, it serves as the perfect introduction to who he is as a person for new listeners.
Recently, sectiontoo took his talents to tooguud and delivered a heartfelt performance of his standout track, “Black Thing.” Check it out below and tap in with authentic stylings of sectiontoo through his tooguud interview and Heaven Only Knows EP.
