Gianna Gianna

TEXT VERONICA AN

VISUAL LABKHAND OLFATMANESH

“‘If I die at midnight, how do I make sure everyone I love knows it?’ This is my daily meditation,” Gianna Gianna says. 

It’s both a personal meditation and one that she shares through her music. Speaking to the artist, you immediately see her authentic self, her absolutely pure self-expression. Her music makes an indelible impression, and meeting her is an experience all its own. 

Some people seem to be born, or blessed, with an infinite capacity to love. In a sea of samess, Gianna stands out as a beacon of radical self-expression. Despite her innate star power, her life’s philosophy is one of humbleness and love. 

LA is constantly being criticized for its plastic people — here’s lookin’ at you, Hollywood — and fake friendliness. But Gianna Gianna is nothing like that. 

“I want people to feel my love… It’s all about how to communicate and finesse the language to let people know I love them,” Gianna relates. “I hope that people know I’m being myself 100 percent… it will never end. I will never stop doing this and being myself. The fact that I have the ability to express myself is amazing; I’m so privileged and lucky to be able to do this,” she says. 

Gianna’s music — her performances and lyrics — evoke ancient traditions and spirituality. She says she gravitates towards Greek mythology and the deities who represent different emotions. 

“I like to reference these ancient things to give a different perspective and show that there are so many other things out there… there needs to be more discussion on other options of things to believe in,” she attests. 

She also draws inspiration from the Hindu goddess, Kali, usually depicted with blue skin, ten arms, and her tongue outstretched. Kali is an often-misunderstood goddess of endings and beginnings, love and death. She is a fearsome mother figure, vanquisher of demons and liberator of souls. 

Performing live, Gianna often sticks out her tongue and evokes the postures of this ancient female goddess. 

According to an article in The Times of India, Kali’s outstretched tongue can be interpreted as mocking her followers because she sees through their social facade. This idea of seeing through the exterior mirrors Gianna’s approach to performance and her way of being in the world. 

“I think everyone is a god-like entity, they just might not realize it yet,” Gianna explains. 

As a performer, Gianna is completely unscripted. While she’s had structured training in ballet and the set routines of cheerleading, Gianna’s performances are all her own. They unfold in the moment. 

“I like shocking myself when I perform; it’s an adrenaline rush. I express myself unabashedly, and share an authentic piece of myself with people,” Gianna attests. 

Fan reactions are gratifying to any artist. But Gianna doesn’t want fans to just emulate her style or copy her dance moves; rather, she wants them to be true to themselves. 

“What inspires me is people being inspired by themselves,” she says. 

She describes her audience as being composed of open-minded people because “your vibe attracts your tribe.” With a statuesque figure and Amazon-like looks, Gianna reveals herself as cis-passing and hetero-passing, but nonetheless, “queer as heck.” 

As an artist who works across multiple mediums, she says it’s important to remember that your artistic self is a culmination of your works. 

“You don’t have to put it all in one piece — the collection of everything at the end is who you are,” Gianna says. 

Growing up, she expressed her strong sense of self through art, music and dance. Her family valued music — her dad introduced her to German industrial sounds and her mom got her interested in funk. Gianna and her brothers, Damien Blaise and Jesse Saint John, formed a cool musical hybrid when she was in high school – an electronic rap music band. 

“There’s so much more to music than what’s out there on the radio,” Gianna insists. 

There’s no pop cultural sappiness to Gianna’s music. She’s an authentic artist, no fake smiles on social media. 

“On Instagram you only ever post your happiest moments… if that’s all you ever see of someone how are you supposed to get to know them?” Gianna asks. 

“I feel like what’s popular now and since millennials came of age is that ‘DGAF’ culture and irony… I despise it; I hate irony and hate perpetuating that culture – that lack of organic expression,” Gianna says. 

Gianna describes her art as a reaction against just that — the don’t give a fuck — vibe. Despite her long and successful track record, Gianna stays humble about her music, which, these days, is  a mix of electronically produced sounds and live vocals with “a lot, a lot of dance.” 

“I still don’t consider music my career – it’s one of the many platforms I use to communicate my authentic self,” Gianna insists. “I swore early on that I would never depend solely on art as my income. I don’t want to make it for a third party; I make art for documentation and for myself.” 

By day, Gianna is a preschool teacher. She finds inspiration from working with kids, describing them as “the most punk — they’re just their authentic selves all the time.” 

But authenticity isn’t just for kids. Attend any Gianna performance, and you’ll see it’s impossible not to be drawn in by just how real she is. Her performances aren’t a form of stage charisma that can be turned on and off; they’re a true expression of love. 

“I see people’s baby-selves when I perform, and I just love them so much… it’s an exhibition of loving yourself enough that you can give it to others,” Gianna explains. 

She says that the culture of irony and toxic masculinity have seeped into pop culture and discourage people from showing their emotions and being their true selves. As a way to remedy this, Gianna describes giving the most love to people who appear to be posturing or hiding behind a facade. 

And, although her message of unabashed self-expression and love is for everyone, Gianna adds a few extra words of encouragement for those who identify as female: “A woman is anything she wants to be. Every person is multifaceted; it’s just a coincidence that I’m a woman,” Gianna notes. “I’m inspired by my younger self and by young, female-identifying people.” 

That self-inspiration and guidance aside, Gianna says that if called upon to give advice to other young musicians, she’d tell them to focus on themselves and their craft. “Don’t get caught up in petty opinions. Be proud of what you’re doing. It’s not your job to convince someone else that what you’re doing is cool,” Gianna insists. 

Sharing her authentic life and joyful self through performance and art is just one way to express innate creativity, she believes. From the music you create to the clothes you wear to the interactions you have with others, Gianna’s mantra is that “everything you do is a work of art.”