I am... Sasha Flute

Lizzo is perhaps best known as an unabashedly body-positive singer and rapper, whose third studio album Cuz I Love You is out in April—but she’s also a classically trained flautist and the proud owner of Sasha Flute, an instrument with its very own Instagram page and over fifty-seven thousand followers. Lizzo began playing flute at the tender age of ten and even attended University of Houston on a flute scholarship; now, she whips her flute out regularly as a comedy prop on social media and also on tour, at festivals like Lollapalooza and Voodoo, on Ellen, and in an Anchorman parody performance, during which she “battled” Will Ferrell in character as Ron Burgundy (and arguably, won). Last November, Lizzo felt compelled to post a video on social media in direct response to haters claiming it was all a gimmick, accompanied by a defiant caption: “PSA for the weirdos that think I have the TIME to fabricate a flute back-story, RENT a flute to tour with and PRETEND to play. I’m a full time artist ... Enjoy this F natural.” The flute is traditionally a delicate instrument, but Lizzo’s fiery energy and hiphop beats infuses it with new lifeblood.

BY ANYA JAREMKO-GREENWOLDPHOTO BY SYDNEY GAWLIK