cover art by Adam Robert Haug

It’s her deep brown eyes, sharply slanted brow and the sternness written on her face.

Frida lookin’ at me like I fucked up.

Look into the painted or photographed eyes of Frida Kahlo, and you might know firsthand the sentiment Conchance injects into the opening line of his new song, “Frida.” In the first verse of the Omaha emcee’s new track with Downtown James Brown, Conchance imagines the dour expression fixed on the Mexican painter’s husband, Diego Rivera. The cheating husband tries his best to explain.

“It could probably be called a letter to Frida — a poetic rendition from Diego,” Conchance says. “It gets into (Rivera’s) perception of enjoying other women. Even if you love someone with all your heart, the temptation of wanting to see someone else naked is always there.”

Conchance described Rivera and Kahlo as “constantly experiencing other people,” but using the famous artists as characters in his song was less of a consuming historical investigation and more of a launchpad for discussing the philandering Conchance said he thinks is on everyone’s mind, regardless of time or place. Even if it’s “sickening” or “morally iffy,” as the rapper’s rhymes suggest, surrendering to sex is a constant. Especially in the summer heat.

“As soon as it gets hot out, people are relaxing outdoors and bumping and grinding and drinking distilled vodka,” Conchance says. “You could be with a woman who has everything you want and is willing to give you everything, and you’re still going to do whatever the fuck you want.”