Dyme Ellis is a 27-year-old musician and poet based in New Haven, Conn. They combine those skills to become Indigaux, a “queer hyper-punk producer and rap artist” who creates music about revolution, the queer experience, and sometimes, needing to be petty.
“I think revolution is more community and less ego, but also it's human. It's so important to remind ourselves that we are human and give that shadow self some attention – the part of you that you might be ashamed of, that gets jealous… It's also healthy to acknowledge these are human feelings,” they said.
Dyme is also a community organizer. In their personal time, they draw and write. They’ve just added dance lessons into the mix. Between these creative endeavors, they work a few part-time jobs.
Save for a few tweaks; this is what they want their career to look like.
“We should all be working jobs that feel fulfilling,” they said. They aren’t talking about a fulfilling career in a traditional sense: “It's not like working the same job for 30 years, but [rather] that job morphing with you through your intention… Just the idea that my passions are feeding me and are helping put a roof over my head.”
As a young member of the potential U.S. workforce, Dyme isn’t alone in wanting a work life outside of a steady nine-to-five. Only 40 percent of young workers in the U.S. say they plan to stay where they are for three years or more – 20 points fewer than any other generation.
That doesn’t mean the young generation doesn’t care about the work they’re doing—three-quarters of Gen-Z workers are engaged at their jobs, and a similar percentage are likely to contribute more than is asked of them.
The same goes for Dyme. They consistently learn, grow, and change. But whatever the project is, they’re engaged in it. They grew up in Connecticut for most of their lives and said they work to support their community.
“I'm proud to be from New Haven… I love Connecticut. It's so beautiful… This is home, and I want to be able to contribute to home.”
After getting their footing as an artist and performer, they founded Punq Noir in 2022, an arts initiative to support other artists and creatives in New Haven, especially those who are underrepresented on the scene now.
“I created Punk Noir to be a reflection of or celebration of Black punk art, Black punk history, queer punk history,” Dyme said. “I really try to focus on people whose identities intersect with my own. So that means I tend to highlight Black, Indigenous people of color, artists, especially those who are queer, especially those who are punk.”
Punq Noire started as an arts and community festival outside Artspace New Haven, where Dyme was working at the time. The event had vendors, live performances, and the eventual mosh pit in the skatepark around the corner.
“With bands playing and people just going in, the femmes’ hair flying – It was cool,” they recounted. “I was proud of myself and knew that other people were proud that the community had something.”
Now, Punq Noir has grown into a series of cultural and creative events that take place throughout the year in the city – open mics, live music, and even a spring discussion series on anime. According to Dyme, the space is for anyone punk. But how do you know if that’s you?
“Punk is someone who's radical in ideology and who wants a better world. We all connect over just wanting a better tomorrow – through creative means, revolutionary means.”
They see that better tomorrow in Connecticut – in New Haven. And they say they want to be a part of it.
“I see a creative revolution blooming in New Haven. Like, it's been happening for years,” they explained. “I tried to move out of state – I sublet in Atlanta, I sublet in Brooklyn. At the end of the day, I can feel the rumbling happening here.”
According to Dyme, creating events, providing space for other artists, and making their own art is an homage to other queer and Black artists in the revolutionary scene who came before them. They want to continue that work for however long it feeds their passion.
“I've been carrying this torch without even knowing it. And I feel like, through Punq Noir, I'm passing that torch again like, 'Hey, this fire exists. This is our history. Let's celebrate it. Let's acknowledge it, let's add to it,'" they said. “I love how history affirms the future, because I'm the future.”
Not only does Dyme foresee a fluid future for themselves—no 30-year-long loyalty to one company—but they also see a free and fluid future for their community.
