I first found out about rapper and producer Sammus, ak/a Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, on the “Geek Girls” episode of Bitch Media’s podcast, Popaganda. Her name, her songs, her messages, her mission -- they all spoke directly to the little Black weirdo gaymer girl inside of me. Her stage name is an homage to Samus Aran, protagonist of the late 80’s video game, Metroid. On her songs, the Metroid samples had me flashing back to playing Super Nintendo with my childhood best friend, while, at the same time, I was getting my power ups from these bars.

Months later, I dragged my friend Laetitia (of Vagabon) with me to a venue on the Lower East Side to see Sammus perform. We stood right up front, cheesin’. I wanted to see everything. When Sammus described the meaning of her song “Perfect, Dark” -- growing up as a Black girl with the need for Black female heroes in cartoons, movies, etc. -- I nearly wept. And then again when I heard in the chorus, “Black girls wanna have a hero too/All kids tryna get a mirror view.” The song’s title comes from Perfect Dark, one of my favorite games, to which I dedicated many teenage weekends. I was having all these intersections come together for me that night and, to be honest, always do anytime I listen to Sammus. My younger self never even imagined those parts of me would connect. My current self, at that point, hadn’t realized how badly I wanted those parts of me connected.

Enongo and I became friends shortly after that show, but I still haven’t stopped feeling a little bit star struck around her. It took this interview, conducted earlier this year, for me to realize we’d never actually sat down and talked in a non-show setting.

You’re currently temporarily living in Brooklyn. How is NYC treating you? What drew you here? . . .

On June 16, Coup Sauvage and the Snips played their last show after six years as a band. But before they sadly disbanded, Katy Otto interviewed two members the disco and Motown inspired group, Kristina Sauvage and Elizabeth Sauvage, about their history, inspirations, and final full-length, Heirs to Nothing, released in February on Sister Polygon Records.

Katy Otto: I was blown away the first time I saw you all play. It was powerful, commanding and a breath of fresh air. How did you all first conceive of this band and get together? In what ways is and isn’t it informed by your relationships and history in punk traditions?

Kristina: We were all friends before the band or had worked together on other creative projects in the past. Jason had put out Elizabeth’s band Mess Up The Mess on his label, Paroxysm, and they had played in Troll Tax before Coup Sauvage. Maegan and Kristina DJed together and had co-founded the First Ladies DJ Collective years ago. Some of us had met working together on Girls Rock! DC and way before that, Ladyfest DC.

But Elizabeth gets the credit for bringing everyone together. She first reached out to Kristina, Jason and Maegan in 2011. Pretty soon after that, we knew we needed to include background singers and dancers. Crystal and then Rain Sauvage joined and that’s when we knew were on to something. Initially, what brought us together was our mutual love of 90s dance music and soul. We’re obsessed with Stax and Motown, but also Jellybean Benitez and CeCe Peniston. . . .