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Music

Tygapaw's "How Did I Get Here" Is About the Catharsis of Overcoming Toxic Relationships

One of NYC's most prominent queer club curators steps up.
Photo by Xeno

If you live in NYC, you're probably familiar with the work of Tygapaw, real name Dion McKenzie, even if you're not initially sure of it. That's because the multi-disciplinary, Crown Heights-based artist is not only active in her own right as a solo artist, but is also the curator of two important queer club nights in the city: Fake Accent and Shottas NYC, which have hosted the liks of Rizzla, Joey LaBeija, Juliana Huxtable, and Stud1nt.

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These are nights known for their uncompromising, experimental approach to club sounds, and McKenzie's original tracks follow the same course. "How Did I Get Here," finds the artist working between R&B and Baltimore club, exploring a cathartic, emotionally distressed vibe that makes sense considering it was made following not only a breakup, but the dissolution of several friendships:

"This song is about leaving toxic relationships, the struggle to let go of those relationships, the mourning of time and energy spent investing in those relationships, and the pain and baggage it leaves you with," she explains to THUMP via email. "But through that struggle comes the realization that there is a light at the end of the tunnel with something bigger and better waiting for you."

Check out the track below, and be sure to check out the next edition of Shottas NYC at Trans-Pecos on November 7, featuring False Witness, Bearcat and Le1f along McKenzie herself.


If you live in NYC, you're probably familiar with the work of Tygapaw, real name Dion McKenzie, even if you're not initially sure of it. That's because the multi-disciplinary, Crown Heights-based artist is not only active in her own right as a solo artist, but is also the curator of two important queer club nights in the city: Fake Accent and Shottas NYC, which have hosted the liks of Rizzla, Joey LaBeija, Juliana Huxtable, and Stud1nt.

These are nights known for their uncompromising, experimental approach to club sounds, and McKenzie's original tracks follow the same course. "How Did I Get Here," finds the artist working between R&B and Baltimore club, exploring a cathartic, emotionally distressed vibe that makes sense considering it was made following not only a breakup, but the dissolution of several friendships:

"This song is about leaving toxic relationships, the struggle to let go of those relationships, the mourning of time and energy spent investing in those relationships, and the pain and baggage it leaves you with," she explains to THUMP via email. "But through that struggle comes the realization that there is a light at the end of the tunnel with something bigger and better waiting for you."

Check out the track below, and be sure to check out the next edition of Shottas NYC at Trans-Pecos on November 7, featuring False Witness, Bearcat and Le1f along McKenzie herself.

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