Throwback Thursday: “Perfectionists” by Invincible featuring Helixx C.

Posted on July 09, 2015

“Perfectionists” from Invincible’s Last Warning mixtape

Live performance of “Perfectionists” by the Anomolies at the 2008 Allied Media Conference (jump to 6:02, here)

This song (which thanks to a well known plagiarizer was recently featured in Time, Gawker, Entertainment Weekly, Colorlines, Complex, and many other publications) is one of Invincible’s earliest recordings, written and performed in collaboration with Helixx C, and produced by Supa Dav West.

“Perfectionists” was created in 1999, and performed heavily since by the Anomolies crew – a gender-justice hip-hop collective, which in addition to Invincible and Helixx includes Pri the Honeydark, Big Tara, and DJ Kuttin Kandi. After passing on a deal to put the single out as a 12” with Rawkus records, Invincible then leaked the single as part of the Lyricist Lounge’s Underground Airplay mixtape, and eventually self-released it as part of their mixtape: Last Warning.

Since the song has resurfaced and gone viral, there has been outdated misinformation spread about the crew. Kuttin Kandi posted this to clarify any misconceptions:

Anomolies originally started off as an “all female Hip Hop” collective back in 1995 with over 26 members. In the last few years, we have evolved to be inclusive to being a gender justice collective. So, we don’t appreciate the assumptions and the misgendering of any of our crew members. We came together to create a safe space for ourselves within Hip Hop so that we can be all that we are and do what we love without having to worry about ridicule, judgement and overall oppression that many of us so often receive within many patriarchal-dominated Hip Hop spaces.

Here’s how the anchor members of the Anomolies remain active today:

Invincible co-founded Emergence Media and continues to stay active in social justice movement building in Detroit. They are also a member of Complex Movements who are touring their multimedia installation performance work and releasing new music this year. (Invincible now goes by the pronouns they/them and identifies as gender non-conforming).

Pri the Honeydark is currently a photographer, carpenter and set designer. She is owner of Playhouse Pin-Up Photography, Honeydark Studios and founder of The Female Producers Association. Pri is planning a music release within the coming year.

Big Tara is an international teaching artist, fitness specialist and freelance writer. She is founder of Urban Warrior Chic and is engaged in many projects with her two other crews MAWU and Heartbreakerz. Big Tara has new music, international events and video projects in the works for Summer 2015.

Helixx C Armageddon has been a media industry professional for more than 12 years and is working on releasing an album in 2016.

DJ Kuttin Kandi is a writer, pop-culture and political critical-thinking essayist and contributes to several blogs and anthologies. She currently works within student affairs in higher education specializing in programming and provides various lectures on diversity, gender and sexuality, race, disability justice, Hip Hop, Feminism and beyond.