“May you have eyes to see that every soul’s a common ground, break each one open and there’s all this beauty to be found,” K.C. Clifford sings on “Salt,” the first song released from her self-titled seventh album.
It’s been eight years and two kids since K.C. has made a record. A lot has changed in that time period — there are the two children she’s added to her family, more medical emergencies than anyone plans for, and an entire shift in the way listeners devour music made. But the biggest remains within herself.
“It’s my unbecoming,” K.C. says. “It’s choosing to let go of the parts of myself that once saved me but no longer serve me. It’s deciding I no longer have to set myself on fire to keep everyone else warm. It’s my chance at redeeming the dream. First and foremost, this record is for me. That’s why it’s self-titled. It’s me showing up for me for the very first time. It’s me taking up space and not just being okay with it, but thriving there. It’s experiencing agency.”
K.C. Clifford is about coming into your own, and celebrating all of the pieces it takes to get there. The work there is to do, the unexpected events along the way, and finally, eventually, celebrating what’s there.
“I am more myself than I’ve ever been in all my 45 years. It’s a shedding of the things I put on to hide and mask, so desperate for belonging. I need less of that every day.”