Nü Metal Upstart CINNAMON BABE Shares New Single “Bad Dog” + Music Video

June 19, 2023

Debut EP ‘Fatherless’ – Out August 25th

Pre-Save HERE

After taking the heavy music world by storm last year on the strength of singles like “Rock N Roll Is Black” and “Loose”, CINNAMON BABE is back with new music!

The solo project of model/actress Stormi Maya, CB returned with her first new track in over half a year with last month’s “Typecast” release. Proving her impact on the scene, “Typecast” was quickly added to streaming playlists like “New Blood” and “Heavy Queens” along with making her debut on SiriusXM as part of last week’s Octane Test Drive.

Today, CINNAMON BABE has dropped the second single off her upcoming debut EP – fans can check out the official music video for “Bad Dog” via the link below.

Speaking about the new song, Stormi Mays shares:

“The reason I made 'Bad Dog' is because I feel like, as women, we are expected to be well behaved, docile, and compliant in order to be accepted in society. Society does not seem to like women who are very loud and vocalize the things they have an issue with, especially as a black woman. I feel constantly silenced by society and when I speak up, I am called bitter or that I have a chip on my shoulder. I am constantly told by men to just be quiet and show my tits and look pretty. And I am constantly called a bitch for putting my foot down and setting boundaries. So, another way of calling me a bitch is by saying ‘Bad Dog’, i.e. I am a bad bitch. The world likes women that are well behaved, and I feel like because I express myself, don’t take shit, and use my sexuality to my advantage - I am the opposite of that.”

Watch the Music Video for "Bad Dog"

Commenting on her other recent single, “Typecast”, Maya states:

“I have felt 'Typecast' in real life. I started stripping/nude modeling/fetish work at a young age and I branded myself heavily in that light. At the time, it was offered to me and helped me make money and escape my foster care reality. I never knew that it would silence me for years to come.

"As I dove deeper into branding myself as a sex icon, it became more difficult to speak on issues that affected me and the world around me. I have always been vocal about race, gender, and sexuality issues, but that part of who I am has almost always been ignored. My voice has ignored for most of my life.”

CINNAMON BABE’s debut EP, ‘Fatherless’, will be released on August 25, 2023. Stay tuned for more details!

Pre-Save 'Fatherless' HERE!

"CINNAMON BABE is letting everyone know where she stands

at the crossroads of rock and race."

— Loudwire

"On the incendiary single 'Rock And Roll Is Black' —

Influenced by Rage Against The Machine’s 'Take The Power Back',

she rails against the gatekeeping of metal from its black originators."

— Metal Hammer

"For Stormi, CINNAMON BABE is a labor of love, an expression of anguish and strength born out of a difficult upbringing and a devotion to alternative music." - Metal Sucks

"That anyone questions the black roots of rock in this day and age

is frankly flabbergasting but, again, it probably shouldn’t be.

Hopefully, the likes of Maya can educate a few people." — Idobi Radio

CINNAMON BABE Premieres "Loose" Music Video via Dread Central (Exclusive)

October 28, 2022

One of the most outspoken and controversial newcomers in heavy music, CINNAMON BABE isn't backing down from detractors with their latest single, "Loose". The LA-based nu-metal band helmed by model/actress Stormi Maya has partnered with Dread Central to premiere the horror-inspired music video for the track. The "Loose" video was directed byAlison-Eve Hammersley; a 2019 Lena Waithe AT&T Hello Lab mentee, with directing credits for short films like Fragile.com and You'll Only Have Each Other.

Watch the "Loose" video below

Speaking on the topics of misogyny and sex work, and how they influenced "Loose",Stormi comments:

“Sex work is what I turned to for survival when I was a teenager leaving foster care and dealing with homelessness. I was going back and forth from minimum wage jobs, but it was never enough to pay bills, especially in New York City. I first got into stripping at 18, and I stuck with it for a couple years. I also was a dominatrix, sugar baby, and nude model. In those years, I dealt with a lot of mistreatment, harassment, and abuse from the same men that wanted me for my sexuality. Within the strip club, a lot of the same men that were there paying for my service were the same men that were looking down on me."

Maya adds, "It’s hard to accept that the men I make feel good with my images and company are the same men that turn on me and call me out by name when they don’t get their way. I stand with sex workers no matter their gender. I hope they legalize sex work so it can be protected and girls can rely on law enforcement for protection instead of pimps. I wish we lived in a world where adults having consensual sex and being sexual wasn’t so taboo. My biggest inspiration for the song was ‘Whore’ by In This Moment. That song empowered me so much. Because it’s true – they love me for everything they hate me for."

"Loose" was engineered and produced by Esjay Jones & J.R. Bareis (Love & Death, Spoken), mixed by Joe Rickard, and mastered by Niels Nielsen (Ghost, Starset, In Flames).

Press Reactions to "Rock 'N' Roll Is Black"...

"Cinnamon Babe is letting everyone know where she stands at the crossroads of rock and race." -Loudwire

"On the incendiary single Rock And Roll Is Black — Influenced by Rage Against The Machine’s Take The Power Back, she rails against the gatekeeping of metal from its black originators." - Metal Hammer

"For Stormi, Cinnamon Babe is a labor of love, an expression of anguish and strength born out of a difficult upbringing and a devotion to alternative music." - Metal Sucks

"That anyone questions the black roots of rock in this day and age is frankly flabbergasting but, again, it probably shouldn’t be. Hopefully, the likes of Maya can educate a few people." - Idobi Radio

CINNAMON BABE Drops Music Video for Impactful New Single "Rock 'N' Roll Is Black"

July 13, 2022

CINNAMON BABE Releases Music Video for

"Rock 'N' Roll Is Black"

Viral Hit with 700k+ Views on TikTok This Week

LISTEN TO "Rock 'N' Roll Is Black" HERE!

CINNAMON BABE is back with the third single off their upcoming debut album. The nu-metal solo project of actress, model, and social media hustler Stormi Maya, Cinnamon Babe released "Rock 'N' Roll Is Black" on Friday - and now fans can check out the music video for the track below.

Already addressing issues like mental health on the song "Pure O" and sexual power dynamics with "Messiah", "Rock 'N' Roll Is Black" touches on one of the most 'saying the quiet part out loud' topics in entertainment culture - the typecasting of where black people do and do not feel embraced. From the fetishizing of black culture to the concept of what activities do and don't fit with the black experience, the song points back to Rock n' Roll's roots to explain why no explanation should be needed.

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that both the topic and song are already being met with such an emphatic and contrasting range of opinions. A brief TikTok clip of the music video was posted on Monday by Maya and has already amassed over 700k views and more than nine thousand comments.

Commenting on the story behind "Rock 'N' Roll Is Black", Maya shares:

“As POC/Black people in this space, I feel we have to constantly prove our position - we have to explain that we are not "whitewashed" nor traitors to our culture. Many times in our own community, we are seen as outcasts if we listen to anything outside of Hip-Hop and R&B. We are outcasts in our own communities if we dress punk, wear dark makeup and black nail polish, listen to metal or watch anime. Anything not stereotypically black makes us seem like "weirdos" or "outcasts''.

As an ALT POC, not only do we face discrimination in our community, but the majority in those spaces (white people) also gatekeep us or test our validity. Alt POC feel like they belong nowhere sometimes. The funny thing is Black people are gatekept out of the very genre they created - ROCK.

I made the song "ROCK 'N' ROLL IS BLACK" in response to all the people who seem to have forgotten the founders of this genre of music - AFRICAN AMERICANS like Ike Turner, Bo Diddley, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry. And before you say, 'Ok black people may have made Rock N Roll, but metal is white blah blah - I credit the invention of metal to Jimi Hendrix and Blues.

The point I am making is that, as a black woman, rock music is my culture just as much as hip-hop is. Rock is for me, and I am tired of people telling me I do not belong in this space because of my skin color. This song isn't saying that only black folks can make rock; it's not saying anything hateful towards anyone. It's expressing that this is Black culture, we belong in this space too, and we are the true voices of the unheard and oppressed, so if anyone needs to express themselves the most, it's us.

I was an ALT black kid in middle school - listening to MCR and shopping at Hot Topic. I wore cat ears to school and loved Paramore, but by the time I hit high school, I started to hide my true interest in anime and heavy rock because I was bullied so badly. I was called a freak and no one liked me. I was in Black/Hispanic neighborhoods and it wasn't accepted or cool. I want to help open the door for POC alt kids to be themselves and know this is for them too.”

CINNAMON BABE is an LA-based nu-metal outfit led by model, actress, and outright hustler Stormi Maya. The Bronx native, who grew up on bands like The Cranberries and would later find inspiration from the rebellious voice of acts like Rage Against The Machine and Linkin Park, has come a long way to make this dream a reality. As a black woman, an ally of BIPOC and the LGBTQ+ community, and most of all, a survivor, Cinnamon Babe is Maya's vehicle to tell her truth.

Stormi has dealt with struggles and stereotypes her entire life. As a young girl, she survived domestic abuse, homelessness, the foster system, and mental health issues. To the world that knows her as a successful model and upcoming actress, those stories remain a mystery. But Cinnamon Babe is an entirely different venture for the tireless worker who built a better life on the other side of her tumultuous past - it's an honest expression of the demons and inner strength that came from it.

Cinnamon Babe Online:

https://www.instagram.com/cinnamonbabemusic

https://www.youtube.com/c/CinnamonBabe

CINNAMON BABE Partners with Revolver Magazine for "Messiah" Video Premiere

June 14, 2022

CINNAMON BABE, the emerging nu-metal project of model/actress/influencer Stormi Maya, has released a music video for their new single "Messiah".

"Messiah" is available now on all streaming platforms.

Commenting on the new single, Stormi states:

“I wanted to try something different for our next single. Even though I consider myself more nu-metal/punk, I wanted to dip into the industrial/electronic rock sound. One of my biggest musical idols is Nine Inch Nails...that was my inspiration. I wanted to make something sexy, dark, and powerful. Feminine power."

She goes on to add: “While most of my music written is about my battles with mental illness, past traumas, and struggles, I took a break from that to make something sexually empowering and fun. [Messiah] is about being worshipped, adored, and in control: all the things we secretly desire. This song makes me feel like a goddess in a world where I mostly feel like a freak."

LISTEN TO "Messiah" HERE!

Cinnamon Babe Online:

https://www.instagram.com/cinnamonbabemusic

https://www.youtube.com/c/CinnamonBabe

Introducing CINNAMON BABE - Listen To The Debut Single "Pure O"

March 11, 2022

CINNAMON BABE is an emerging LA-based nu-metal outfit led by model, actress, and outright hustler Stormi Maya. The Bronx native, who grew up on bands like The Cranberries and would later find inspiration from the rebellious voice of acts like Rage Against The Machine and Linkin Park, has come a long way to make this dream a reality. As a black woman, an ally of BIPOC and the LGBTQ+ community, and most of all, a survivor, Cinnamon Babe is Maya's vehicle to tell her truth.

The band's debut single, "Pure O", is out today on all streaming platforms. The new song, in no uncertain terms, addresses Maya's struggles with mental health; specifically Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Commenting on the lyrics, she shares:

"'Pure O' is extremely personal to me. The name of the song comes from the shorthand term for 'purely obsessional'. It's a term used to describe a type of OCD where people experience intrusive thoughts, but without any external signs of compulsions. I've had Pure O my entire life - it started when I was 6 years old. I would have thoughts that I couldn’t explain and I experienced severe distress from it. I only recently found out what my condition was called. (OCD) has caused me some of the worst mental pain of my life. I wrote this song while I was having an episode."

About CINNAMON BABE:

Stormi Maya has dealt with struggles and stereotypes her entire life. As a young girl, she survived domestic abuse, homelessness, the foster system, and mental health issues. To the world that knows her as a successful model and upcoming actress, those stories remain a mystery. But Cinnamon Babe is an entirely different venture for the tireless worker who built a better life on the other side of her tumultuous past - it's an honest expression of the demons and inner strength that came from it.

The debut album from Cinnamon Babe, 'You Will Not Destroy Me', will be released later this year. The new record features the singles "Pure O", "Unwanted", and "Rock & Roll Is Black".

Cinnamon Babe Online:

https://www.instagram.com/cinnamonbabemusic

https://www.youtube.com/c/CinnamonBabe