Changing the World though Music: Jendog Lonewolf
Jendog Lonewolf is a Two-Spirit, hip-hop emcee who has produced poetry and beautiful collages since she was young. She delivers messages of love, social justice, and life through her politically conscious music.
Growing up in a Brooklyn neighborhood, Jendog was always surrounded by music and art. At home, her parents played all genres of music, from classical to rock and roll; at school, she was encouraged to create poetry embellished with stickers, which sparked her love of creating visual collages. To this day, she still makes rhyme books filled with stickers to tell her stories.
Jendog Lonewolf featured on the Offstage Tunes Live show
As hip-hop music grew more popular, Jendog started to rap. “It was a natural progression to go from poetry to rapping,” she says. Jendog adds that she wants to embrace the term “emcee” instead of rapper. “Emceeing is more factual and more about the lyrics and the content. It’s not commercial; we’re not trying to sell you something…It’s just telling stories.”
Her music isn’t just for herself. She often explores topics that focus on social justice issues, and writes rhymes to reflect the current time and the struggles we experience as a society.
“What makes it easier or harder to create is stress – mental stress, emotional stress. And it works both ways, like sometimes the stress can be a great catalyst and sometimes it’s a real hindrance.”
Stressed or not, Jendog will continue to express her messages through her music. “Like Nina Simone once said, ‘It’s an artist’s job to reflect the times,’” Jendog adds.
“So as long as there are times, there’s always gonna be material.”
Interview conducted and written by Louise Lau. Connect with her on social media @offstagetunes
The interview was from episode #4 of the Offstage Tunes Live – The Brunch Series.