Elevate Difference

Reviews by Renee Leonowicz

I Was Just Comforting Her

During my exploits as a queer culture addict, I’ve heard Gretchen Phillips’ name dropped multiple times, generally paired with admiration and approval, but I never went so far as to investigate the source of her praise.

Speak!

“Necesito gritar!” bellows Adele Nieves in response to the question she poses with her spoken word piece entitled “Why Do You Speak?”, which is the first track on the album. Through the unrestrained strength and rage smoldering behind every word, Adele provides a call to action against the overwhelming powers of erasure, invisibility, and silence that is exhaustively pushed upon women of color for centuries. Speak!, an explosive powerhouse of an album created by the [Speak!