Los Angeles has an image to most of the world that doesn’t live there or has limited exposure, mostly from television, movies and misinformation about the City of Angels, as an affluent, pristine place where wealthy, attractive people with no problems in the world live and work in the entertainment industry. But like most cities of size in America and elsewhere it has long been and is increasingly an expensive place to live with dire consequences for people who are, in fact, not moneyed meaning rising homelessness. Karima Francis chose this as the subject for her song “Shelf Life.” Struck by the stark disparity between the rich and the poor, Francis wrote a song depicting the day in the life of a homeless man and the everyday struggles that would probably seem impossible and alien to anyone who hasn’t been there or close to there or at least allowed their imaginations and hearts to expand enough to try to glimpse what it must be like to have no security and really nothing and vilified by society at large, treated largely as moral failures who deserve to be there with no need to see about addressing the causes of homelessness. Rather than let herself off the hook like most people, Francis wrote the song with a delicacy of feeling, sung with an aim to illuminate and understand on a basic human level and in doing so her hushed and warm treatment on “Shelf Life” is resonant and vivid without coming off exploitative or condescending. It is about capturing the experiences rather than imposing analysis and opinions and that makes all the difference. Listen to “Shelf Life” on Spotify and watch the official music video on YouTube.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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