You might recognize TK Wonder from Urban Bush Babes, the wildly popular style/beauty blog run by her twin sister—or from her ad campaigns with Other Stories and Gap. But what you might not know is that this stunning fashion icon is also a rapper and a songwriter. In fact, when we first saw her "Van Gogh" video (a weird-in-the-best-way song that's been stuck in our heads for weeks), our minds were blown. Not only for the insanely awesome style, but for the straight-up bold confidence that jumped off of our screen and enveloped us completely.
So, filled with excitement about her work, we decided to interview TK about her music, style, and inspiration. Read on for what she told us.
On her name:
“TK is an abbreviation of my name, Takenya. When I first started to rap, I had the ability to rap very fast, so a close friend dubbed me ‘Wonder’ and Stevie Wonder was one of my favorite artists growing up—still is—so I thought it would be fitting to combine the two.”
On the fashion in the video:
“I am a tomboy at heart and love the idea of mixing femininity and masculinity. I worked with stylist Karolina Brock, who is originally from Sweden. She pulled from some great designers and introduced me to this incredible line out of the UK, called KTZ. [Their collection] fuses both worlds so effortlessly. I think in mainstream music, Rihanna, for example, and her stylists have represented the epitome of this kind of style. Rihanna does this so beautifully. I find something very sexy about wearing a masculine piece and adding your own feminine touch. So when Karolina pulled quite a bit of looks from the KTZ men’s collection, for the male dancer in video, I was like Oh no, this men’s line is fantastic, I want to wear some of it! It would have been very easy to bare a ton of skin for this video because in modern society equates that with ‘being sexy.’ I wanted to show that being sexy as a woman is also about being powerful and assertive in your movements, actions, and words–rather than simply using and baring your body.”
On what the song means:
“Van Gogh is about the beauty of being confident in yourself no matter your size, religion, race, or sexual orientation. Refusing to let the negativity from others who project their insecurities upon you affect the positive way in which you think about yourself. Everyone has a beauty that makes them unique and some people understand it and some don't. You don't have to make everyone understand it and just like some pieces of art, some work from Van Gogh, some people see the beauty in it or and some don't. As long as you recognize the beauty of the confidence you posses, that's what truly matters.”