Corona Daily 288: The Mysterious Myss Keta

She has been described as the mysterious Queen of Milan’s nightlife. An Italian rapper, playing electronic music, with a punk attitude and platinum hair; she is known simply as Myss Keta. Nothing more is known about her. Not her age, real name, or biography. All sorts of urban legends exist – that she grew up in Columbia, used drugs, travelled with Sophia Loren in Courmayeur, and was Salvador Dali’s lover. In her interviews, Myss Keta doesn’t deny any of the rumours though all of them sound patently fictitious.

How does the rapper’s identity remain disguised? Because nobody has ever seen her uncovered face. In 2013, the persona of Myss Keta took birth in Milan, with the release of her song: Milano, Sushi & Coca. She wore a mask during the performance. After the first few concerts, her group decided to stick with the disguise. In the last ten years, she has never left her house without covering her face with a mask or a veil.

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She says she feels freer and powerful performing with her face covered. In fact, wearing a veil or a burqa which she does for a few numbers, she finds her spirit completely liberated. Everyone these days wants to show their face, on social media, in video calls. Selfies. Selfies. Selfies. The world is obsessed with self-face-displaying. Myss Keta’s approach is exactly the opposite. Call it a protest if you like. An anti-selfie performer.

She says she didn’t invent this idea. The Greek theatre was the inspiration. In ancient times, many characters in Greek plays wore face coverings. That immediately allowed them to immerse into the character. And the audience found it easier to attach themselves to the characters rather than the performers.

I don’t think there is anything great about Myss Keta’s music or performances. But I liked her thought about faceless performances. I wonder if stage fright is reduced if a performer’s face is fully covered. It is possible for a writer to use a pseudonym and remain unknown for years. Myss Keta deserves admiration for keeping her identity hidden for so long.

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Myss Keta’s house is a museum of masks. Surgical. Cloth. Vinyl. Silk. Metal. Designer masks.

Milan was the hardest hit Italian city when the pandemic began. People were dying in hundreds every day. Masks were in shortage. Myss Keta provided her needy friends with as many masks as she could.

The pandemic has altered her life in two ways. One good and one not so good.

Constant use of sunglasses and a mask was her identity. Milan’s clubbing community knew her as such. In the clubs where she performed, some of her loyal fans wore masks. But otherwise, on the roads, she was recognizable instantly. That is the reason she needed to be very careful when leaving the house. She didn’t wish to show her face, neither did she want people to recognize and accost her.

For the first time, she can now walk freely around Milan. There are hundreds of girls wearing sunglasses and masks. She is just one among the crowd now. That is the positive impact of the coronavirus.

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On the other hand, the universality of masks has crushed her singular identity. She doesn’t think the audience would appreciate her performances any more.

The mysterious Diva of the Milan nightlife is currently busy drawing plans to create a new identity for herself.

Ravi