#26: Micro-Interview w/ Shaylah Dela Cruz
By Bilal Mohamed
Bilal Mohamed catches up with his childhood friend and favorite artist, Shaylah Dela Cruz over a FaceTime call filled with reflections, revelations, and many things he didn’t know he needed to hear.
The Q&A below is only a small portion of the conversation that took place… Enjoy.
What’s a Brooklyn morning look like for Shay?
Wake Up
Go to a deli. They have to have the flavored creamer I like. I go to different delis a lot. Most delis be having the half & half and I’m not with that.
Go for a walk
Smoke a cig
Talk to my best friend, and if not, then it’s just me and my music
Then I start my day
I always gotta start with a walk
Why did you shave your hair?
I always wanted to shave my hair. I have been going through my hair phases since last March. I wanted to grow my virgin hair and dye it, and this phase feels like the final boss. Hair color just carries so much energy. Every color I’ve dyed matches a chakra. Green is like, “Love Shay phase”. Platinum blonde gives me life. Its like divine energy. Dark hair/natural represents discipline, being grounded, focused.
Last time I saw you was in San Diego at the La Fayette and you said “This place is just filled with a bunch of NPCs” (laughs). What did you mean by that?
(Laughs) I actually forgot I even said that now that you bring it up. Well, I was outside and I seen a different norm that’s not mine. I always go home (San Diego), and people be like, “Shay on some other sh*t.” And I’m just like “Yeah I been on some other shit, it nothin’ new.” But beyond that, the NPC thing is bigger than just San Diego. It’s really anytime I step out of New York. People live in their bubbles, the conversations you can have are so limited, people really be wearing the same thing for the past 10 years, it’s just how it is.
What’s your current theme? / Any recent epiphanies?
All the time. But right now I’d say…
Surrender, Sacrifice, and Fortitude.
Surrender - You have to surrender to change.
Sacrifice - Give up whatever isn’t working for you anymore. What was useful then isn’t useful now.
Fortitude - You need to fortify your mind. Stay hungry, capable, and confident.
Top 5… anything
God
Rihanna
Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
The Beach
Romance
If you cooking for somebody tonight what you gon’ make?
Oooo, I would make some butter chicken. I haven’t made it in a while, but a few years ago I made some for my best friends and it straight up tasted like you could of got that sh*t from an Indian Restaurant. I still have the recipe down in my memory, I’d love to make that again.
2023 Resolutions you accomplished?
A goal for me was to develop more self-respect, and I’d say I did that. Of course, you’re never going to be perfect, but I have learned to give myself a lot more grace. To achieve any level of self-respect, you have to give yourself more grace.
I really like that word. (Grace)
It’s a good word.
Last book you read?
Letting Go: The Path of Surrender by David Hawkins
It talks about letting go of feelings as they come because once you start attaching yourself to things, you resist the flow of the universe.
You know, that reminds me of a quote from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke.
(Bilal picks up the book from his bookshelf to read from the only bookmarked page in the text.)
[“You have had many great sadnesses which have now passed by. And you say that their passing was also hard and upsetting for you. But I ask you to consider whether these great unhappinesses did not rather pass through you. Whether much within you has not changed, whether somewhere in some part of your being, you were not transformed while you were unhappy?”-Rainer Maria Rilke]
That’s right. And that is why I am trying not to compartmentalize anything anymore, just let it leave me otherwise it’ll stay and rot.
How/Why are you still a romantic?
Love is an experience, and if I’m going to love I want it to be romantic… I want it to be surreal. But romance isn’t always good, some people don’t know how to let in love and balance that energy. So that is something I am learning — how to let that energy in.
What is the purpose of your life?
My life’s purpose is God’s purpose, and I am still learning.
Current Grocery List?
Kimchi
Bread
Avocados
Eggs
Spinach
Very simple. Right now I’m so busy I like to just be in and out of the kitchen. I don’t have time to cook like that anymore.
How do you think the average person perceives you?
It’s so funny because it’s a thought that passes through my head, and then immediately leaves me. The average person, I can tell, perceives me a few times before they even approach me. Some people will even just tell me straight up how they perceive me.
Why do people even feel the need to express that?
I really couldn’t tell you. If they don’t do it verbally, they will still do it either through gestures, body language, or energy. I am mostly receptive to energy when meeting people. I can gauge those with good energy and good intentions and often we become friends. I think what it is, is that people perceive me as a real person, and once they deal with whatever projections they are struggling with then they can deal with me.
But what is it about you?
You know I wrote about this recently. I realize I am something of a walking field of projections. I’m able to show people their deepest desires and/or insecurities, but what they do with that is beyond me.
What would you say is something wrong with our generation?
We are not patient enough. We lack patience in life, blessings, results, love, ourselves, and each other.
Well, that just made me sad.
I know right?
Is there anything our generation has gotten right?
We open up the conversation more. We make sure to break generational curses and talk about things that hurt. The generation before us wasn’t doing that at all.
But what are we supposed to do with all that pain?
I always tell people, that whenever you feel things are about to hit the fan, you need to pull the people you trust in and talk about it.
How do you view your natural talent as a visual artist? Is it something you tend to overlook or something you use every day?
I think I am the only person who understands my greatness. I don’t let the ideas of other people and what they think I should be doing get anywhere near my focal points. I don’t overlook myself, I have just learned to be patient with my path. All I do is envision and work on my future. I show people my artistic side but I also have many other sides I work on. When I’m not making art, I am working on a different part of myself. And as a woman in this world, especially, I have to be a lot of things to survive.
Any relationship advice?
Just be friends.
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