Aisha Kasmir Fights To Be Seen In A White-Washed World By Making Everything About Her In SELFIE

Aisha Kasmir presents "SELFIE: Making It About Me / A Minnie Riperton Cabaret Revue" for three shows only on June 13 at 6 PM, June 22 at 3:30 PM and June 28 at 8:45 PM at NAT's black box theatre on 1312 N. Wilton Place. SELFIE is an official Hollywood Fringe Festival production.

SELFIE is about Aisha Kasmir's fight to be seen and play any part in a white-washed world. Produced and performed by Kasmir, SELFIE blows up the idea of the solo and cabaret show. Kasmir produced and plays all the parts of Minnie Riperton's music, plays her own backup dancers and singers as a trio - The Sparkelitas, and tries to sabotage her performance as the personification of her anxiety - Alisha. It's cast of 20 played by one. Directed by Kate St-Pierre, SELFIE explores the idea of the self - self-identity, self-love, self-sabotage, and self-destruction.

"I wrote and produced this show as a love note to Minnie whose music was an anchor for my voice both literally and figuratively, and to my inner child who stopped playing when everyone told her to sit down and shut up," says Kasmir.

Minnie Riperton's funk, soul, folk and rock eclecticism is the foundation on which SELFIE is built. The late singer ("Lovin' You," "Memory Lane," "Les Fleurs.") passed away from breast cancer in 1979 at only 32 years old. However, her music still lives on and has been experiencing a mini-revival: called out as an influence of R&B singers like Ari Lennox and Kadhja Bonet, and featured in the 2019 Jordan Peele film "Us," and Ike Holter play "Lottery Day." Riperton's music gets an electronic update through Kasmir's hands, reproducing 10 of her iconic songs. SELFIE also features an ode to Riperton - an original epic poem about the last five years of the singer's life, called "The Minniead."

Ticket prices are $15 and can be purchased on the Hollywood Fringe Festival website at https://tinyurl.com/selfiecabaret or before the show. Run time is 60 minutes with no intermission. Show dates are June 13 at 6 PM, June 22 at 3:30 PM and June 28 at 8:45 PM at NAT's black box theatre on 1312 N. Wilton Place.