Last time we spoke you were on tour with Giveon and now you have your record out. How was that journey and what have you learned?
Opening for Giveon was an incredible experience, truly a dream tour. I am so grateful for the wonderful team that was with me on the road, and I loved watching Giveon’s performance every single night and seeing the audience so in sync with him and so connected to his songs. It reminded me why I love music, the power and magic of it. It taught me so much. Being on my first tour felt a little like being thrown in the deep end so you can learn how to swim. It was a crash course in performance that also completely changed the way I write and think about music. I now picture everything as a live performance, how it will connect to others in person and translate to stage. I think my next album, which I am writing right now, is completely affected by that new mindset.
How would you describe this body of work in one sentence?
This project has some songs I wrote many years ago and some songs I just finished but they were always meant to come together in a full narrative form. It’s an album about losing and finding myself again and again.
What’s the track you hold closest to you and why?
That is constantly changing. Right now, I would say “Graves” because it’s a song about women and the fight to have sovereignty and freedom over our own bodies.
Your musical training and heritage is very rich. What are some of your main influences today?
Classical music will always be the root of my relationship to songwriting since that is what I grew up training in, but these days I am influenced a lot by jazz music, Indian music, 90’s R&B/Hip-Hop, and obsessing over projects by many current artists like Labrinth, SZA, Jack Harlow, Stormzy, Teo, Aamarae, Tems, Omar Apollo and so many more…
You are using your voice to raise awareness for some very cogent issues. What do you think the role of the artist is within society and how do you think you can make a change as an individual?
I think art can be healing in so many ways, it can be personal, social, cultural, political. And people are finding new ways to create and advocate for themselves and others through art every day. I grew up in a home that was constantly bringing together arts and humanitarianism. My parents instilled in us the value of both and how they can and should work as one. I have gotten to see the work of some incredible leaders through my family, and I hope to learn from them, support them, and amplify their voices. Last summer I got to accompany the Syrian Emergency Task Force into Turkiye and Syria and witness the results of the genocide that is happening there right now. I’ve gotten to visit the music centers that Philadelphia based organization Beyond the Bars has built and see the impact they are making in my home city. I have seen the unbelievable growth and results of the 12+ organization over 10 years and met the kids and adults whose lives are completely changed because of it.
What are the next steps for you and your music?
I’ll be doing a small tour in June, playing songs from this album and the other project I released earlier this year called Songs From The Attic! And I’m already deep into my next project, which is a secret right now but will come out next year.
Tour Dates:
June 14—San Francisco, CA—Café Du Nord
June 15—Los Angeles, CA—Hotel Café
June 18—Toronto, ON—Drake Underground
June 20—New York, NY—Mercury Lounge
June 21—Washington, DC—Songbyrd DC
June 22—Philadelphia, PA—The Lounge at World Café Live
