Bunny Michael

Melisa Rincón (born 1982/1983)[1] known professionally as Bunny Michael, is an American interdisciplinary visual artist, musician, and rapper.

Bunny Michael
Birth nameMelisa Rincón
Born1982/1983 (age 37–38)
OriginDallas, Texas, U.S.
GenresRap
Occupation(s)Visual artist, musician, rapper

Early life and education

Bunny Michael was raised in Dallas, Texas.[2] They are the middle of three children born to a second-generation Mexican American father and a Samoan mother. They were raised in an affluent suburb. Michael attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. They realized they were queer at the age of fifteen and stated that coming out to their family was a difficult process. Michael briefly moved in with their first girlfriend's family. They have since reconciled with their family. Michael graduated from Marymount Manhattan College.[3]

Career

Michael is a visual artist, musician, and rapper[2] whose work often examines the relationship between the masculine and feminine, the body and the soul, and the self and higher self.[4] After graduating from college, they shared their music through Myspace. Michael was the vocalist performing by the name Bunny Rabbit with producer Black Cracker. It is described by HuffPost as an "eponymous experimental rap collaboration." Bunny Rabbit toured with CocoRosie and gained praise from New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones who stated in 2007, "I am fond of the deeply odd, occasionally obscene art rap of Bunny Rabbit."[3]

Michael garnered a large fan base through Myspace which allowed them to book their own U.S. tour.[3]

Michael was working as a waiter in 2017.[3] In 2018, Michael went on tour in Europe with Fever Ray.[5]

They are known for their "Me and My Higher Self" memes on Instagram which started when Michael was undergoing a major spiritual transformation of their own.[2] This project is aimed at increasing self-love,[6] and much like Michael's music and visual art,[7] also explores the multiplicities within the self.[2] Remezcla reports that Michael is a "queer multimedia artist...[who] utilizes music, art videos, and memes as their mediums to explore themes of self love and acceptance, spirituality, and sexuality in a time when our 'deepest truths are being revealed'."[8]

Michael is the host of “Broadly Hotline,” a web series on Broadly.[1]

Michael is currently working on starting a podcast centered around self-care, personal growth, and other millennial-related topics.[1]

Michael appeared in two seasons of the HBO series High Maintenance.

Influences

Two years into their music career, Michael was influenced by the book A New Earth. They are a student of A Course in Miracles.[3]

Personal life

Michael moved to New York City one week before the September 11 attacks in 2001.[9] Michael is non-binary and now lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn with fiancée, Khara Gilvey and a cat named Pepper.[1]

See also

References
  1. Oswaks, Molly (2018-08-15). "Bunny Michael Is a Rapper and Meme Maker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  2. Saxelby, Ruth (December 20, 2016). "Meet Bunny Michael, The Artist Whose Tragicomic Memes Say What Everyone Is Feeling". The FADER. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  3. Frank, Priscilla (2018-02-01). "The Selfie-Help Guru Healing Millennials On Instagram". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  4. "Posture Magazine champions underrepresented creators and entrepreneurs". Posture Media. 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  5. Bulut, Selim (2018-03-16). "Bunny Michael is the meme-making, psychedelic rapper touring with Fever Ray". Dazed. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  6. Dommu, Rose (2017-07-29). "Bunny Michael's 'Self/Higher Self' Memes Spread a Message of Self-Love". Out. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  7. Baritaux, Zio (2017-12-21). "these memes are the queer, uplifting answer to evil kermit". i-D. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  8. Alejandra, Itzel (2018-01-09). "Bunny Michael's Spiritual Memes Will Help You Find Your Higher Self". Remezcla. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  9. "Interview with Bunny Michael". Mask Magazine. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
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