The saying goes that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but we wonder if the same can be said about that apple and tree separated by decades and generations. If we use the example of Chicago-based singer-songwriter and producer Margaret Young, then we can see how time and space means very little between kindred spirits. In her public-facing endeavours, Young goes by the name HODJE, which is in memory of her great-grandmother Nina Hodge, who was equally as creative, being a touring actress and singer. You’re starting to see where our long-winded analogy makes sense now! The artist also inherited her love of music from her father, a keyboard player, and her grandfather, who worked at the iconic Gibson. We’re already imagining how fun and musical family gatherings are at the Young household.

Putting aside the familial heritage for a moment, HODJE is crafting her own space within music history by indulging in hauntingly addictive electronic-pop soundscapes that walks to line between emotional and ethereal. You can hear this in her newest single ‘Make Me The Villian’, which has adopted some 80s synthetic vibrancy and dramatic flairs in the subtle key changes and processed violin. HODJE’s voice is beautifully thoughtful, with a warming sense of melancholy and relatability.

HODJE has been putting out music since 2017, but ‘Make Me The Villain’ is this young artist at her most well-defined and confident so far.

“The song, to me, is about accepting that sometimes standing up for ourselves might mean we are characterized as the villain in someone else’s story. The hook of the song is ‘make me the villain and set me free,’ and that’s because there is something freeing about accepting that we can’t control people’s opinions of us or what character role we are assigned to.”

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