20 DECEMBER 22-28, 2022 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | quire Ixchel. We don’t really know what she is. Is she a curator? Is she AI? Is it a human? What’s going on in this futuristic reality? We’re in the year 2099; she came across this collection of music, a cache of stolen fi les, and she’s presenting this music to the world for the fi rst time, and so she comes in as a narrator throughout the project and helps to tell the story,” Molina explains. “When I created this collection of music, I didn’t really have a solid conception in mind. But it all kind of comes down to just the present reality — social conditions, the vibe in the streets, the vibe in our lives, juggling between real life and digital life, you know? I was just really trying to come from a place of raw consciousness. And the story does present this futuristic trip through my consciousness, and that’s just what happened to come, in terms of just trying to document reality as it is right now.” He confronts the political with a spo- ken-word piece, “Own This City,” which was inspired by his collaborations with the nonprofi t organization Warm Cookies of the Revolution. “There was this whole se- ries called Own This City, and the prompt was like, ‘What does it mean to own a city?’ Because truly, as citizens, the shit is ours. And we’ve lost a lot of public space over the last decade or two, nationally and defi nitely within the city. We’ve lost a lot of public space. It’s been privatized, it’s been corpora- tized. And through gentrifi cation, we’ve lost a lot of spaces that used to have the heart and soul of the city, you know?” Molina says. “And so [the song pays] homage to that, but also says it’s still ours. This dichotomy between ‘old Denver’ and ‘new Denver’ — I kind of wanted to just dissolve that and be like, it’s something in between and it’s something beyond. Because we still have the power to make the ship what we want it to be. What would it mean to own this city?” By the end of the album, you will feel rejuvenated and refreshed — and will likely want to stay for another listen. But you may be worried when Madame Esquire Ixchel says that this is Molina’s fi nal album. “I am always going to make music, and I’m always going to be an MC,” Molina clarifi es. “Hip- hop got into my heart as a teen and kept me alive and moving through many lives. It’s not always going to be for spectacle or public consumption.” Even so, the public turnout for Dreams Life and Times has been gratifying, he says, shar- ing a moment that emphasized the message of the immersive experience. It was the evening of the Parade of Lights, and two very different groups came in. One consisted of college-age kids, who wanted to turn up the music and were taking TikTok and Instagram videos. The other group was made up of younger teenagers, who were happy with mellowing out to the music and playing with the Picas- soTiles. “To me, all of that’s relevant,” Molina says. “However you experienced this, if it affi rms you, then good. That’s what it’s for.” Dreams Life and Times Immersive Album Experience, 1 to 7 p.m. daily through Decem- ber 31, Understudy, 890C 14th Street, free. Winter Solstice Talk with Molina Speaks, 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 27. Music continued from page 19 Call Elaine Lustig, PhD licensed psychotherapist & Board Certified PTSD Clinician at 303-369-7770 Needing Your Emotional Support Animal W/ You? For eligible people who need their emotional support animal to accompany them at/or away from home, I am available to provide the documentation and counseling. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
