Nomi Ruiz is an American singer, songwriter, actress, essayist, DJ and producer, who is also known for her work as Jessica 6.

Early life

Nomi Ruiz was born in 1986 in the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

assigned male at birth Sex assignment (sometimes known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex at or before birth. A relative, midwife, nurse or physician inspects the external genitalia when the baby is delivered and, in more than 99.95% of birt ...

. Her parents are of Puerto Rican descent.

Career

''Lost in Lust''

In 2005, Ruiz released her debut album ''Lost in Lust'' on her own independent label Park Side Records. The album is a song-oriented downbeat electronic album steeped in the grittier ends of early-1990s hip-hop and R&B production. After its release, she toured with

CocoRosie CocoRosie is an American musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Sierra Rose "Rosie" and Bianca Leilani "Coco" Casady. The group's music has been described as folktronica, freak folk and "New Weird America", and incorporates elements of pop, blu ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

and

Antony & The Johnsons Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to r ...

as part of their "Turning" project and ''

Turning Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates. Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...

''.

Hercules and Love Affair

In 2008, Ruiz appeared on the nu-disco band

Hercules and Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, dis ...

's self-titled debut album released on James Murphy's label

DFA Records DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and ...

. She was featured on the single " You Belong" and appeared in the music video. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' placed "You Belong" at number nine on its "Top 25 Singles of 2008" list and the song was used in the pilot episode of the TV show ''

How to Make It in America ''How to Make It in America'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on HBO from February 14, 2010, to November 20, 2011. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein (Bryan Greenberg) and his friend Cam Calderon (Victor Rasuk) as t ...

''. Ruiz also featured on and co-wrote "Hercules Theme", which ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' placed at number 21 on its list of "The 100 Best Tracks of 2008". The band made its live debut on May 17, 2008, at the Studio B venue in

, New York, before going on a European and North American tour, where Ruiz sang her contributions as well as those of Anohni, making her the first

latinx ''Latinx'' is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral suffix replaces the ending of ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' that are typical o ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

woman to perform on prestigious stages and festivals such as Switzerland's Montreax Jazz Festival, England's

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

, Lovebox,

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

, New York's

Hammerstein Ballroom The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,500 people for theat ...

and many more. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described Ruiz as "boasting the spookily effortless air of a future pop icon." In 2009 Ruiz quit the band and formed the group Jessica 6.

Jessica 6

In 2009 Ruiz formed the group Jessica 6 with Andrew Raposo (of Automato) and Morgan Wiley. The band met in late 2007 after they helped put together the

live show. Jessica 6 released their debut single "Fun Girl" on May 21, 2009, on the label Midnight Sun Sound. In 2011 they released See The Light an album that combined dance with her natural R&B/soul stylings released by

Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records is a British independent record label based in London, England. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music, as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González, Nouvelle ...

On January 7, 2011 Jessica 6 released its second single

White Horse A white horse is born predominantly white and stays white throughout its life. A white horse has mostly pink skin under its hair coat, and may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant ...

The song's music video directed by Marco Ovando premiered on February 28, 2011, on

Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...

's website. The video received over two million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and received positive reviews from music critics. In a review for ''

'', Michael Cragg felt that the song creates a "fresh take on 70s

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and filtered

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

with a dash of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

. But while

Hercules & Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, d ...

sound like they now lack a distinctive vocalist, Jessica 6 are elevated by Ruiz's smoky, melancholic voice." Likewise, Robin Murray of '' Clash'' noticed a "definite pop touch, but that doesn't discredit some fantastic production." The album's critical acclaim further solidified her status as a history making global artist, at the Greek

MAD Video Music Awards The MAD Video Music Awards is a Greek award show presented by the MAD TV. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, voted by the viewers of Mad television. Winners receive an authentic Mad designed award with the graphics of that ...

on June 14, 2011, Berlin's

Tempodrom The Tempodrom (also referred to as Neues Tempodrom) is a multi-purpose event venue in Berlin. Founded by Irene Moessinger, it opened in 1980 next to the Berlin Wall on the west side of Potsdamer Platz, housed in a large circus tent. After severa ...

, London's prestigious

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

and making an appearance at Chile's

Vina del Mar Vina may refer to: People * Émilie Vina (born 1982), French cross-country skier * Ionuț Vînă (born 1995), Romanian footballer * Vina Bovy (1900–1983), Belgian operatic soprano * Vina Mazumdar (1927–2013), Indian academic and feminist ...

Festival where she appeared with Chilean actress

Daniela Vega Daniela Vega Hernández (born June 3, 1989) is a Chilean actress and mezzo-soprano singer. She is best known for her critically acclaimed performance in the Academy Award-winning film ''A Fantastic Woman'' (2017). At the 90th Academy Awards in ...

. The song "White Horse" was also used in

Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...

's spring 2012 menswear campaign film titled "Brother's of Arcadia". Ruiz was also featured in the film seen in provocative S&M posturings. Their third single "Prisoner of Love" featured Anohni who also appeared in the song's video also directed by Marco Ovando and styled by

Nicola Formichetti Nicola Formichetti (; born 31 May 1977) is a fashion director and fashion editor. Born in Japan, he is most widely known as the artistic director of the Italian fashion label Diesel and for being a frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter Lad ...

. In 2012, after a two-month North American tour with American synth-pop band

Holy Ghost! Holy Ghost! is an American synthpop duo from Brooklyn, New York City. Founded in 2007, the duo consists of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel. History Millhiser and Frankel both grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City and attended Trevor D ...

, the trio disbanded and Ruiz continued her work in

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and dance under the same name. She released a second Jessica 6 album titled ''The Capricorn'', which was called “seductive, dark, smart, and as catchy as Miss Jackson's greatest hits” by

i-D Magazine ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue'' art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the for ...

. In 2018, she released ''The Eliot Sessions'' which received rave reviews in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' and landed Ruiz an artist profile in ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

''.

Borough Gypsy

In 2013 Ruiz completed a two month residency at the Clocktower Gallery in downtown New York City where she completed a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

project titled "Borough Gypsy" which the gallery described as "a lo-fi cassette tape trip down memory lane using the grit of 90's Hip Hop combined with Soul and acoustic folk elements." The mixtape debuted at the Clocktower Galleries' studio space which was "transformed into a world where visitors step into the mind of the borough gypsy and get to see and sift through the urban tale as they listen to the album unfold. Visitors are granted full access to diaries, sketchbooks, photo albums and song writing journals which document the album's progress as well as the emotional progression which inspired its content. Also on display are hand-made items used for stage shows, items from Nomi's childhood, and some of her first ever recorded demos which are only available in reel-to-reel and cassette tape format." She released the mixtape to the public via

Soundcloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

and followed it up in 2016 with "Borough Gypsy" vol. 2 "NOMI vs DILLA" where she wrote and sang over instrumentals produced by

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

. It premiered in

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

accompanied by visuals directed by long time collaborator Gabriel Magdaleno.

Essays

As an essayist, Ruiz has been outspoken about discrimination in the music industry and has published intimate essays and poems on feminism, sex, romance and gender identity in books by Emely Nue of

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...

, ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'', ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' and more. On March 9, 2017, ''Jezebel'' published Ruiz's essay titled "The Lingering Trauma of Searching for Love as a Trans Youth" where she addresses how shame can lead to abusive relationships stating "What a fragile device, to be frail in the eyes of the preying." On June 12, 2018, INTO Magazine published Ruiz's essay titled "The Storm Inside: Loving Trans Women in a Toxic World" Here Ruiz touches on how masculine ideology affects men who are transamorous and how that leads to complications when finding love, "shame is the most common form of child abuse, and the most common tool used to shape and mold young boys on their journey to becoming men." On September 7, 2018,

Talkhouse Talkhouse is a digital media outlet and online magazine created in 2013 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Musicians, actors, and filmmakers share their experiences in their respective fields in personal essays, discuss their peers’ work in editor ...

asked Ruiz to contribute a piece for their Gig Economy column. They published her essay on "Identity, Equality and Fighting for a Livable Wage". Here Ruiz touched on her struggles in the music industry as well as her time with Hercules & Love Affair, "I think back over all the obstacles I've overcome and still face, count all my blessings and successes, and realize that nothing will ever amount to my biggest win yet: living my truth."

Acting and television

In 2018, Nomi made her acting debut on

Kurt Sutter Kurt Leon Sutter (born May 5, 1960) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He worked as a producer, writer, and director on ''The Shield,'' and appeared on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the creator of ' ...

's ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'' spin-off series ''

Mayans M.C. ''Mayans M.C.'' (also known simply as ''Mayans'') is an American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, that premiered on September 4, 2018, on FX. The show takes place in the same fictional universe as '' Sons of ...

'' on FX and stars in the Muay Thai boxing feature film drama ''Haymaker''. She also appeared on

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

's ''

Slutever Slutever is a punk rock band based in Los Angeles, California, consisting of Nicole Snyder and Rachel Gagliardi, both of whom are from Philadelphia. Gagliardi is also a member of Upset. History Snyder and Gagliardi met in high school, where the ...

'' TV series where she discussed the stigma trans women face when embracing and openly discussing sex and sexuality.

Musical collaborations

Discography

Music Videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Nomi 21st-century American women singers American electronic musicians American people of Puerto Rican descent American women in electronic music American women singer-songwriters Hercules and Love Affair members Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hispanic and Latino American women singers LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT people from New York (state) LGBT singers from the United States Living people Transgender women musicians Year of birth missing (living people)