Tierra Whack

Tierra Whack

Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images

News

Tierra Whack Talks Creative Process, Netflix Recommendations And Checkers’ Fries

Facebook Twitter Email
Hot off her first GRAMMY nomination and the release of the boldly innovative 'Whack World,' the Philly-based artist dishes on her music and life
Dan Weiss
GRAMMYs
Feb 26, 2019 - 5:17 pm

If you were to ask a bored music fan to describe exactly what kind of artist they’d like to see emerge to shake up the status quo, chances are high that Tierra Whack would be nearly made-to-order. She sings, she raps, she jokes incessantly, she laments the loss of a friend and a pet, she sings an expletive-laden country tune. The 23-year-old Philadelphian had released less than 40 minutes of music under her own name when she was nominated for her first GRAMMY (for Best Music Video) last year. And perhaps it’s just as well that she sidestepped the genre categories in her first GRAMMY go-round. In fact, the nominated video was for “Mumbo Jumbo,” an infectious melody sung in pure mushmouth with no actual words. Imagine Pearl Jam’s “Yellow Ledbetter” recast as Soundcloud-era R&B — well, you can’t really, can you?

She followed it up with Whack World, a 15-minute audiovisual tour de force that gives Lemonade look standard-issue. Comprising 15 one-minute songs by a virtually unknown artist (with a bright and colorful video for each one that splits the difference between Hype Williams and Dr. Seuss), the unprecedented project topped Noisey’s best-of-2018 list and made both Pitchfork’s and Robert Christgau’s top tens. Most other publications found room for the one-of-a-kind release somewhere on their year-end as well. It’s safe to say that there’s no obvious predecessor to Ms. Whack in any genre, and she’s just getting started. We spoke to her via phone about her instantaneous success and her first experience attending the GRAMMY Awards ceremony.

Congratulations on your nomination! “Mumbo Jumbo” was the first video you’ve ever made, right?

Thank you so much. Put out to the public, yeah.

That’s amazing to be recognized right off the bat —

For the very first one, right? Yeah!

And then you unleashed Whack World, which is like almost nothing that came before it. Do you consider it to be an “album?”

Nah. Uhh… I don’t really like to give it a title. Just a collection of songs? A bunch of different ideas that I just put all into one pot.

What was the biggest challenge for you in putting it together?

It wasn’t really a challenge, actually! It was just fun, because I have so many different sounds and flows.

Is it harder to write one-minute songs or three-minute ones?

One-minute songs are easy as hell!

It wasn’t a pain to get everything down to that exact 60 seconds?

No, not at all. I just got used to the time, I would get a feeling almost, like, ‘it’s about to be over, time to wrap it up.’

Did everything make it on there or do you have a lot of one-minute outtakes lying around?

I have a bunch here, it was about a total of 60 songs.

You didn’t want to go for a full hour of very short tracks?

An hour’s just…too much for the first thing that people are gonna know me for.

Were there also videos you shot that you didn’t use?

Not for Whack World, no. I knew I had the 15 songs, so I shot 15 videos.

So the visuals were entirely figured out after the music was done? Or did you write any of the songs with the video in mind?

I can never finish a song without having a visual in mind. That’s the way I finish anything almost, I have to see it in my head. I’m a visual person. Because you’re creating a story, you have to bring it all together.

I was curious because you just dropped the song “Only Child,” and it’s your first big release with no visual attached. Was it important for you to make sure people focus on the words and music this time?

Yeah, definitely. Let me see if I could just grab their ears.

Was it weird to figure out how to do Whack World live?

It doesn’t even feel… it’s funny because my DJ Zach [Whack, or just Zach! when he performs solo] mentioned that, but it’s never weird. Sometimes we would do the songs twice.

Was there a conscious attempt to show off as many different sides of you as you could? “F*** Off” is one of my favorites and I’ve been curious about your relationship to country music.

I just surprise myself every day. Each day I record I’m always doing something different that I’ve never done. So I feel like I’m a new artist every time I go to the studio. And I have so much to offer so why make it all one thing? But I definitely hold Dolly Parton down. A lot has been going on for me and I’m always doing interviews, press, and everything, so stuff might not hit me at the moment but later, I remember it. I hear something and then it might stick at a random time.

Do you put your ideas down into an app?

Yeah, I’ll use Notes or my Voice Memo app a lot, or I’ll just text or call my manager like what do you think about my crazy idea. He’ll remember anything I bring up, even if it’s like a year from now.

What was the last idea you put down in your Notes app?

Ummm… [checking] Do I wanna give that up? Let me see… oh right, somebody already did it before, but growing up, one of my favorite movies was Bubble Boy, and I’ve always wanted to perform in a bubble.

Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips performs in a bubble. And I think he just got married in one, too!

That’s fire! That’s so fire.

So you’ll have to top that.

Yeah, it’s not like, original, but it’s something I just want to do and put my own twist on it.

For all the colorful visuals and playful language on Whack World, you display some real sadness on “Four Wings” and “Pet Cemetery.”

There’s sadness on almost every song.

Was that a conscious thing you wanted to contrast with all the bright and perky videos?

That’s just who I am, that’s how I am. I may seem all happy and la-la-la but I’ve been through some real s***, you know? I’m half and half. But I think everybody is that way.

You sing in many different voices on Whack World. Are there any you’d like to bring back and do more with?

There’s no telling.

What about remixing a one-minute song into a two-minute song?

Nah, I don’t like that at all. Why are we making a Men in Black 8? Why are we making Final Destination 30? It’s classic, leave it alone. I don’t want to see another Chucky. Some things you just have to leave it there. Let it be.

So there won’t be a Whack World II then?

Not that I know of.

You’ve gotten to spend quality time with André 3000, Lauryn Hill, Meek Mill… whose reaction to Whack World was your favorite?

I’ve never thought about that! It’s funny because these celebrities, we don’t actually talk about music, we just talk about regular, personal real-life stuff. When you just put those names up, I’m like ‘Wow, I can’t think of anything musical we talked about.’ But it’s like, if it’s something you do, like…my friend works at Checkers but she hates Checkers’ food. She’s been working there for like two years and she’s like, I hate it.

They have really good fries, though.

Exactly! I argue with her all the time, like, “Please bring me fries!” She’s like, “No, I hate it!”

And if you ask nicely, they’ll mix the banana shake with the chocolate shake.

That’s crazy, that sounds really good.



View this post on Instagram


A post shared by Tierra Whack (@tierrawhack) on

So what was it like for you to attend the GRAMMYs for the first time?

It was really, really, really chill. I was eating pizza outside because they wouldn’t let me bring it in. It just felt like I went to a graduation or something.

How did you choose that colorful outfit that you wore to the event?

I went to a store in Philly and I saw the coat, I thought it was so fire. So I bought it, found the designer [Nancy Beringer], she’s from Philly and I thought that was cool, she DM’d me and we were talking and I said I was gonna wear that coat to the GRAMMYs so she said, “Oh, I’ll make you a dress to go with it!”

And where are you off to now?

Right now, I’m about to get up, go eat some Cheerios and probably listen to some beats or something. I was watching TV, this new show The Umbrella Academy is so good.

I just finished Russian Doll so maybe I’ll start that.

Wait, Russian Doll is good? I’ve seen the trailer but I was like… I’m not sure. I just got done The Umbrella Academy like an hour ago, but I hate when something is good and it only has one season. You get so addicted; I’m gonna store that in my files and wait ‘til the second season.

Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: H.E.R. On Being Born Into Music & Why R&B Is "At The Core Of Everything"

Felly

Felly

Photo: Christian Diaz

News

Felly Talks "Heartstrings," Vulnerability On New Album & Learning From Icons

Facebook Twitter Email
"I think it's all just getting closer to your true self and your true soul, which I think has a godly element to it," the young L.A.-based rapper/singer-songwriter recently said of his musical journey
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 29, 2019 - 2:59 pm

24-year-old Connecticut-born, Los Angeles-based artist Felly is on a roll. Since his first mixtape in 2014, he's released at least one major project a year, culminating in his debut studio album, 2018's Surf Trap. He's gathered a growing fan base along the way, with his laid-back demeanor and experimental approach to surf-rock-drenched, at-times-jazzy, hip-hop.

Today, he dropped a buzzy new single, "Heartstrings," electrified by the otherworldly guitar riffs of 10-time GRAMMY-winner Carlos Santana. The music video was directed by Felly himself—his directorial debut—and shot by Christian Diaz, primarily in the serene desert of Joshua Tree, Calif.  

Ahead of the shimmering new track, the Recording Academy caught up with Felly over the phone to learn more about the magical collaboration with Santana, getting closer to his true self, being human and more.

So you're about to drop your new song "Heartstrings" featuring none other than Carlos Santana. What are you most excited for about sharing this new song?

I'm just ready to put out new music to the people because I have been making all this amazing stuff, and have been listening to it over and over. And my friends have been hearing it, but everybody [else] still references my old stuff. So I want to let people know it's a new day.

I'm just happy to reinvent myself again, and to be an artist and be in this world where I'm able to do something like that. It's kind of a purifying feeling, and it's just fun.

You explore a lot of different sounds across your already-extensive music catalog. How you would summarize your musical journey and evolution through the different projects?

I think it's all just getting closer to your true self and your true soul, which I think has a godly element to it. The closer you can get to being your truest, purest form of yourself, it's a beautiful thing for the world to see, but also for you to feel.

I've released a lot of projects where I've sort of been on that search. People admire that because they can relate to that feeling of searching themselves, and trying to discover themselves. To know that somebody else is going through that same journey is nice. It's comforting, it's inspiring and it helps us to relate to each other. With this release, I just feel like I have gotten a lot closer; with how I've been living my life, and things that I've cut out of my life, and things that I have added into my life.

I'm honing in on myself, so each project kind of shows that. When I listen back to all the projects, I'll be able to identify certain areas where maybe I'm out of pocket, or confused with myself, or who I want to be. But that's all part of it, and is the current state of it, too. Everything grows.

Going back to "Heartstrings," I'm curious how you connected with Carlos for the song, and what it was like working with him in the studio.

We had been looking for someone to get on that record because we thought it's a super strong record, and I previously hadn't really been collaborative with anybody else. Just out of not being in a position to, not really knowing people, not really having the credibility yet. So getting to the point where people actually want to get in with you, and work with you, that's largely because music's better. It was sort of getting to that time.

So we were searching for someone that could complement the record. And I felt like, unless it came organically, it would sound like a ploy or whatever. And you see a bunch of these ploys that people do to get noticed by a Spotify playlist, by curators, or just kind of to get press. Those all feel very stunt-y to me. I don't want to be one of those artists that just does stunts, because I feel like those are here today and gone tomorrow.

But yeah, when the Carlos thing happened, it was completely organic. He had heard the record through someone at my label sending it to his camp, saying, "Hey, this is Felly's new record, what do you guys think of it?" He loved it and wanted to be a part of it. And he didn't care if I'm not as big as him or any of that stuff. He connected with the actual music; the soul and the personality of the record.

So meeting him and feeling that, and just seeing that come to fruition, reminded me that, you know, real sh*t is still alive. True personal connection, soul connection is still alive. You could get persuaded differently being in L.A., or being in this industry, that it has to be some fake ploy, and you have to do sh*t like buy followers, plays or features.

The idea of buying a feature from a rapper kind of irked me, because I know my fans know me as someone who's real, genuine and upfront. Something from Carlos Santana that came genuinely, and he just so happens to be probably the coolest musician on this earth, and the best person I could imagine getting a feature from. It's sort of like God showing me that I'm right to feel how I felt, and blessing me for having patience and stuff.

What was your biggest takeaway from seeing him at work and collaborating with him?

I think I aged like 60 years of knowledge in just that one session. Honestly. They pretty much gave me the torch, and kind of said, "Hey, you're next up. And in this journey, you're the guy who's going to carry the torch for us." This is surreal, but it was really the type of sh*t that they said to me. And that, combined with different rock star knowledge and them treating me like I'm going to be a rock star, was really cool.

They just treated me as an equal, which is really awesome to see. Santana sees soul value in people and he's just super connected to spirituality, and kind of taught me about those types of things. That if you put energy, compassion and clear intention into your work, it will have that connection.

He did this gesture where he said, "It's like this." And he looked up at the sky, held his hands out, brought it back into his heart, and then extended his hands out to the people in the room. And he kind of took energy from the sky and gave it to the people in the room. And I was like, "Yes, that's exactly what it's like."

And so he taught me about having your mind step out of the way, and to approach things as if you've never heard them, or never done this before, because that's when things can get stale and mundane, or you can kind of let your ego run its way. But if you do the things that he is talking about, you'll create something fresh and new, and people will resonate with that. When we made the record, I think he kind of recognized that, and that's why he wanted to be a part of it.

Felly & Carlos Santana

Felly & Carlos Santana | Photo: Christian Diaz

If I'm not mistaken, this song is going to be the lead single for your upcoming album. I was curious to know what you're going for with this next project as a whole?

Yeah. It's sort of an album about coming home to oneself, you know, feeling oneself in all the true colors and just getting closer to them, cutting out the bullsh*t. It's a very raw project that soul is the carrying factor through it. Soul, emotion and just truth. And it's not trying to be flashy by any means. You'll get some of the flashiness on these singles, maybe. But it's something that can make you feel human again. It's called Mariposa, which means butterfly in Spanish, and is about becoming one's true self, taking a new form.

A butterfly goes through many stages before it can actually branch out and fly, be the beautiful creature that it is. It's metaphoric of the time I'm going through. And I kind of felt I've gone through the cocoon, been in the dark and been in forms that I wasn't sure if I would make it to feel like a true form of myself. Luckily, I do feel that way.

What did it feel like for you working on this project versus the last one? Did it feel sort of cathartic to write these songs?

I wrote half of it when I got back from tour, where I was super depressed and depleted. I had given all my energy to the world and didn't feel any satisfaction from it, and was in a very dark place. And so you have that side of the album. But the past few months I've been working on it, I've been adding the element of, you know, light and love.

And so it has a healthy balance of dark and light, which I think life and the spiritual journey is reminiscent of, especially the metaphor of a butterfly. It kind of has to be in the dark for awhile before it can fly. And so I've been adding those elements of love, and just good energy, light, and just been sort of feeling it more in the past couple of months. I'm still etching away at how I want to make it happen.  It was very hard to write some of these songs at first. It's very vulnerable. But then as it got more under my skin, it got really fun.



View this post on Instagram


faith // rage

A post shared by felly (@felly) on

Zooming out a little bit, what made you want to go into music?

I don't know. I think it was in my DNA, in my soul and my upbringing in Connecticut. And you know, losing my father and, because of those combinations, of not really having anyone around me. My mom was dating and my older brothers were out doing their own things, so I had like a lot of alone time and thoughtful time. So that led to, "Okay, how can I make something light of this situation? How can I create something?" And so creation, to me, became the base of my life, and sort of how I can transcend a dark moment.

When you were younger, did you have an artist or someone that you looked up to, like, "Okay, like maybe I can be like them; if they can do it, I can too," or something like that?

Yeah, I really liked to listen to Atmosphere. I mean I had many artists, even local artists, and people that I looked up to. I really liked Rhymesayers, an independent record label in Minnesota [that Atmosphere and other indie rappers are on]. And I thought that was so cool that they were able to like be successful, and do their own things, as just kind of random dudes, white dudes who were just like me. That definitely inspired me.

If you don't have people around like that to kind of pat you on the a** to keep going, and to encourage you that you can do these things, a lot of people quit and lose hope in it. So that support, whether you find it, or it comes to you, it's super important to keep it going.

What is your favorite part about life as an artist? And what do you think is the hardest part?

My favorite part about life as an artist is being on my own schedule and being able to do whatever I want. And not that I take advantage of that, but just that I can feel like my time is mine, and kind of create infinite possibilities out of that. That's an amazing freedom.

The least favorite is—I mean, I think everything comes with a balance, so if something's sh*tty in one way, it's going to be good in another. But I think with that freedom comes a lot of responsibility, or overthinking, or stuff that you can just get caught up in, like comparison. I don't really like flying. That's kind of it.

I like your attitude because it's true. Sometimes something can seem really overwhelming, but then you do it and its like, "Man, I did that!"

Yeah, definitely. I mean, my attitude, it's definitely not always like this. Everyone thinks I'm like a super happy, bright dude, but not all the times for sure. I'm human, just like everyone else.

We just talked about it a bit, but I wanted to look more at your influences. Who were your favorite artists when you were a teen?

I really liked a lot of independent hip-hop and a lot of indie music. I'm the youngest of five, I have three older brothers and a sister. So they pushed a lot of different genres on to me. That was a good opportunity because I'd get old-school Lil Wayne from my stepbrother, and then I would get Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, harder rock, Rage Against The Machine, from my other brother. And then my sister would show me acoustic music and stuff like that.

So everyone was sort of fighting for "What is Chris going to dig?" But I also had a fusion of everybody else's stuff. It was a lot of Bob Marley. The first record I ever recorded on was at a Universal theme park. You could pay 15 bucks or whatever to record and mine was "Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley. I still wish I could find that record. I was like eight and that was my first time in the booth.

Carlos Santana On Woodstock & The Power Of Music: "These People Wanted The Same Things We Want Today"

Ashanti

Ashanti

Photo: Recording Academy

News

Watch: Ashanti Talks "Getting Back To R&B Roots" On New EP | Up Close & Personal

Facebook Twitter Email
The GRAMMY-winning songstress also talks about going independent, staying humble, her Y2K "Foolish" era and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 10, 2019 - 4:58 pm

GRAMMY-winning R&B songstress Ashanti was just 21 when she released her debut, No. 1 hit single "Foolish" in 2002, and she's been unforgettable ever since. The sultry, can't-help-but-sing-along bop served as the lead single for her powerful self-titled debut studio album, which earned the emerging star a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 45th GRAMMY Awards.

Fast forward to 2014, when Ashanti released her fifth studio album, Braveheart, her first release on her own label, Written Entertainment, which she launched in 2011. Now, 18 years since she first rocked our worlds with her fire feature on Ja Rule's "Always On Time," Ashanti is still ready to serve up more.

Ashanti Talks Getting Back To R&B Roots On New EP

For the latest episode of the Recording Academy's Up Close & Personal video series, we sat down with the stylish New Yorker to learn more about her next project, what that first rush of success felt like for her, going independent and more. You can watch a portion of the conversation above and read the full interview below. You can also visit on our YouTube page for a longer version of the video, as well as for other recent episodes.

Read: JAMESDAVIS On Their Latest Album 'MASTERPEACE,' Music Industry Advice & More | Up Close & Personal

So you recently dropped "Pretty Little Thing" featuring Afro B, along with the music video with so many fierce looks. Can you tell us a bit about that song and maybe your favorite look from the video?

Thank you! My new single, "Pretty Little Thing," that I did with Afro B was such an awesome experience. I shot the video in the Keys in Miami and it was so cool because the reason that I did the song was I just dropped a collab swimsuit line with PrettyLittleThing, and it just made so much sense. You know, how music goes with fashion, and I said, "Hey, we need a new record. Let's put it in the campaign." So we shot a video, we shot a commercial and the synergy was just amazing. It all came out so organic and the vibe of the song matched the line. It's Afrobeats and the vibe of the swimsuit line is very exotic and global, and very island-y. Everything had an amazing synergy, so I was really excited.

One of my favorite looks from the video; [pauses] there was a really cute looks! I like my look with the horse and the braids and the one with the zebra/snake print chaps. My sister actually designed the collection, and we had the bathing suit and we were sitting on Jeeps with the same print.



View this post on Instagram


When ever it comes to you... link in bio

A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti) on

Earlier in the summer you released another upbeat jam, "The Road," with Machel Montano. Where was that video shot? Was it as fun as it looked?

It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. I actually went out to do Machel Monday and Carnival in Trinidad, which was my first time, and it was life-changing. I had so much fun, I don't think I've ever partied like that in all my years. [Laughs.] It was an amazing, amazing experience and I just found a new found respect for soca music.

I had a show in Trinidad a few years ago and we did a remix to one of the biggest [soca] records, which was one of Machel's, "Like Ah Boss." We went back and forth on Instagram and he's like, "Much respect. Thank you for showing so much love. We need to do something together." Fast forward, that turned into a FaceTime call and then a studio session. And then we recorded this awesome record and then we performed it for Carnival and Machel Monday. We actually shot the video with Director X in Trinidad while Carnival was going on. So those were real moments, that wasn't scripted. The beach part, yes, but the stuff on the road was all organic. It was really cool.

I know a lot of your fans are hoping this new music points to a new album. Can you tell us anything about what's happening on your next project?

I'm very excited to be releasing more music. I think just for me, I'm at a point where I want to try different things. I love Afrobeats, I love reggae music, I love soca music. And as an artist, you want to fulfill your creative energy, you know? But I'm definitely getting back to my R&B roots. [Laughs.]

I'm very, very excited about the new EP, I'm working on it with Metro Boomin. We have some amazing records I'm very, very excited about it. Some amazing other producers and some writers and I'm just really excited about the new sound. You know, there are a couple of things that I'm talking about that I've never talked about before. And some people are going to be like, "Oh my gosh, did she say that?" I'm excited about it.

Recently there's also been some talk about a The Inc. Reunion tour maybe happening in the future. Would that be something that like you'd want to be a part of?

I know that there's been some talks about it. I'm not really sure what's going on right now, but we'll see. [Laughs.]

In 2011, you started Written Entertainment and went independent, which is super cool. I'm curious what that transition meant to you? 

What led me to go independent? I had offers from seven majors at one time and it was really hard to sit, you know, me being Libra, and be like, "Okay, what should I do? Where should I go? I don't know what to do." And at that time the labels were offering 360 deals, and I'm just not a fan of that, that's not my thing. So I made the very bold decision and scary decision to go independent.

And just as an artist, that has had success—I'm very humble—and I've had relationships to be able to make phone calls and, you know, strengthen my partnership with iTunes/Apple and things like that. So I think it's beneficial when you own your masters. It's a digital world, you know, at the touch of a button you can expose your music to millions of people.

So I think just learning to trust myself, learning to be motivated to say, "Hey, your future is in your hands and your destiny," is really important. You have to kind of be in the driver's seat and know what's going on. It's very hard being the executive and the artist.

I feel like at some points I would be in the studio and I'm like, "I want to stay in here all night. You know, I want to record for five days." And the other side of me is like, "Yeah, but who's going to pay that bill?" So you have to be like the exec and the artist and still be creative, you know? So I think it was a really great decision now and I had so many of my peers calling me like, "I should have did that when you did it and I'm doing it now."

And then when you were 21, your first single "Foolish," along with your features with Ja Rule and Fat Joe, were huge hits. What did that initial success feel like for you?

The initial success of "Foolish," "Always On Time" and "What's Love?" was just really weird for me because I didn't know. I would always ask like, "Is this good, guys? Are we doing good?" I really didn't understand it. And it's weird because I'm a humble person, and even back then I was a little naive, you know. We were making history and we were on the top of the charts and everyone around me, all the guys are like, "Yeah!" and I'm like, "Oh, so this is a good thing."

So it feels good to later understand how much it meant and how pivotal it would be in my career, even now. You know, to be there and performing these same records and getting the same exact reaction, you know, years later from younger crowds, you know? So it's really, really, really a blessing and it just goes to show you, like, when you're working hard and you're creating meaningful music, that stands the test of time.

Yes, they still hit hard.

They still rocking, baby! [Grins.]

As you've navigated the music industry, who have been your biggest mentors and role models?

I'm just a huge advocate of women empowerment. Just being a young female in this very male-dominated industry it's just so hard sometimes to garner that same respect. And still respect yourself and go in and be focused on music and not be distracted by other things going on.

My mom has been a huge inspiration to me. It's weird because I grew up watching her in a business suit, with a briefcase, going to work and it was very different from what I'm doing in my career. So I think the path is just being a very powerful, strong woman going into the workforce. And that's kind of the same mentality that I have. I have been inspired by women before me to open up the doors.



View this post on Instagram


Reacclimated

A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti) on

That's awesome. What would be your piece of advice for a young person that's trying to get into music and not really sure where to start?

I would say, it's way easier now than it was for me. You know, you can upload yourself on YouTube and end up on "Ellen" or "The Voice" or and all these other shows that are kind of catalysts. I think you have to be very determined, I think you have to be motivated, you have to have a thick skin and you have to have an incredible drive. Not everyone is going to like you. You're definitely going to get rejected before you get accepted, and as long as you're able to maintain your expectations, you should be okay.

Omar Apollo Talks Being Young, Indie & Latinx | Up Close & Personal

Flying Lotus in Pittsburgh 2019

Flying Lotus

Photo: Matthew Miramontes

News

Flying Lotus On The "Eternal Flame" Of 'Flamagra,' Making Fire With David Lynch & Learning From Solange

Facebook Twitter Email
The multi-hyphenate artist shares the magic behind his latest album, an epic 27-song journey through the flames of the City of Angels
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 19, 2019 - 10:31 am

L.A. native Steven Ellison is quite the creative polymath. The GRAMMY nominee is likely best known as his experimental electronic producer/DJ alias, Flying Lotus, but you may also be familiar with the indie films he's directed and/or scored and the record label he runs, Brainfeeder, home to other genre-defying artists including TOKiMONSTA, Daedelus and Thundercat. It's difficult to summarize exactly who he is or what kind of art he crafts, as he's constantly changing it up and wearing new hats, all rather seamlessly.

Most recently, Ellison released his sprawling 27-track sixth Flying Lotus album, Flamagra (he's also released hip-hop music under another alias, Captain Murphy). The LP, released on May 24, follows his GRAMMY-nominated 2015 project, You're Dead!, which some might recall earned a nod for Best Dance Recording at the 58th GRAMMY Awards for "Never Catch Me" featuring Kendrick Lamar. This time, the sonically rich Flamagra is themed around fire with, well, fire collabs from Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, iconic experimental director David Lynch, Solange and others.



View this post on Instagram


FLAMAGRA art by @winstonhacking

A post shared by flyinglotus (@flyinglotus) on

Catching up with Ellison over the phone between shows on his visually stunning 3D Tour, the Recording Academy talks to the wunderkind about how Flamagara came together and how "Fire Is Coming," the spooky track he worked on with Lynch, was born. Ellison also takes us back to when he first met George Clinton and how his great aunt Alice Coltrane (yes, she was married to that Coltrane!) got him started on the trailblazing musical path he's on today.

You're currently on tour right now with your 3D show, which looks really epic and fun. What's been your favorite part so far about this tour?

Well, I think my favorite part so far has been seeing Brandon Coleman on stage. It has been really special for me just because he's the main reason why I even got involved in actually playing on the keyboard and stuff like that. He's the opener. I brought him with me because he's kind of been my piano teacher. You know?

Read: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: TOKiMONSTA On Authenticity & Why 'Lune Rouge' Is "A Celebration Of Life"

He's with you on the whole tour?

Yeah. For me, ever since I started taking it seriously, I was like, okay, in five, 10 years from now I'll be able to rock with Brandon on stage. And it has been a year and now we're already at it. It's also been fun riding my bike around small towns and stuff, been really enjoying that. I brought my bike with me. Riding it around really fast in Missoula, Montana made me very happy.

What has it felt like to share your new music with people in the format of this tour?

It's nice, it's fun. It's a trip because there's always, I think, there are certain people who are like, "We want to hear the old stuff." And there's always people like, "We want to hear new stuff." So having accommodate for all that and figure out a good flow is nice and to also, you know, see the result of the hard work and all the efforts. When people know the words and they got the vibes, it feels really nice.

Flying Lotus in Pittsburgh 2019

Flying Lotus plays Pittsburg | Photo: Matthew Miramontes

Flamagra came out a few months ago now and when I first listened to it, I right away felt the journey of the album. Not only does it have a lot of tracks compared to most album nowadays, but it really does feel like a journey through all these different sounds and textures.

Yeah. I'm glad. I was hoping that would come across. All the layering and all that stuff. It's the most fun part to me.

In terms of the fire theme, can you talk about where that came from and how you developed it?

I think that the idea just came from the fact that I just felt for so long that L.A. was on fire. Everything in L.A. was burning, everything. It seems like the various points when I was seriously on the music, it was just like some fire going on, whether it was outside or internal or something. I kept coming back to specific imagery in my mind of fire and a story that I had been kind of imagining about this town that had an eternal flame. And that was kind of my vibe for a while. I was like, all right, what if where I lived, there was an eternal flame and we couldn't do anything about it?

There would be a lot of people who loved it, a lot of people who hate it. A lot of people who wish it never happened and it would attract a lot of attention. I thought about all this stuff for some reason, I vibed with it. I was just like, "Man, what if there was this fire that we couldn't put out in L.A.?" I think that's the music, in a way, you know? No matter what, the music will always survive and it's something, thankfully. It's a thing we can leave behind. No matter if I'm here or gone, music will continue. They'll be putting sh*t out after I'm dead. I hope not. When I'm dead, I don't want them to drop nothing else. That's it.

We can print that on GRAMMY.com if you want.

I don't want no posthumous release. Don't do that sh*t. I don't like that. Whatever I do, whatever I'm doing, whatever I'm working on, that's it. That's the story. It would just kill me if people put out a bunch of half-finished stuff that I did. I would be so mad.

And I've been a witness to it, you know? I've seen a lot. I've seen how people scrambled when [J] Dilla died. What happened with that, it was a terrible. It happened when Mac Miller died. Everybody was like, "Oh, he would have wanted this. He would have wanted this." Everyone thinks they know. Do you know? In terms of my thing, I just feel like, I got it. I got it. If my homies don't got it, then it shouldn't come out.

I feel that. So, on "Fire is Coming" with David Lynch, I'm not gonna lie, it's just freaky. It's eerie.

It's his voice. It's funny because he isn't really saying anything too crazy. It's just when you hear David Lynch, it's instantly terrifying. Almost like when you hear Rod Serling introduce the Twilight Zone or something like that. It has the same kind of feel to it.

I read that you met Lynch at a party and that spawned asking him to record that story.

The story is almost right. We met a couple times before, then I saw him at a party. He was kind of kicking off the party with that story, that same thing. I was already knee deep in fire thoughts already and then this cat did that thing. I was like, "You got to be f**king sh*tting me right now." I've been trying to get David Lynch for like 11, 12 years to do something with me, asking a friend of a friend. "Oh, yeah, he told me he loves you but he's really busy. He's on Twin Peaks, he's doing a billion things."

As soon as Twin Peaks [The Return] was over, I was like, "I'm getting on it." It was just one of those things. I made it a mission to make it happen. And he was still like, "Oh, well he's so busy." And then I heard that thing. I was like, "Look, he's got that done already. Let's just record that, that bit right there. I need that." "Okay, well we can make that happen."  I mean, it was kind of trippy to hear him do that at a party.

That's crazy.

[Lynch said] "Fire is coming." I'm like, "Oh, sh*t." It did right after that. Remember when the 405 was almost on fire and it looked like a volcano by the Getty Museum?

Oh man, yeah. That was right before I moved here, I was in San Francisco. It was on fire on both ends of California.

See? Yeah, that was one of the main catalysts right there. I had people hitting me up I didn't even talk to often, like, "Yo, you good?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Someone else's sh*t is burned down though." It was weird, after I made the album all these weird fire things started happening. The day before my f**king album came out, my grandma's house almost burned down. It's crazy. My sister was like, "Yo, can you make an album about butterflies next? Please? Something peaceful."

Since it was a theme that you'd been thinking about, were you making songs here and there? What was your creative process once you decided to make it into a cohesive album?

Well, I go through several stages of it. Kind of shooting in the dark for a little while and then I feel like, "Oh, I know where I'm going." And then it's like, life happens and then it actually shows you what the story is, you know? I try to steer it too much. It never works out. I always have to kind of step away and be like, "Okay, what are you really saying now?" Every album is like that for me. I almost predict it.

I don't even like to say what I'm working on because I know it's going to change and get manipulated until the day it comes out, or until I deliver it at least. Flamagra, in a lot of ways, was very easy to put together, but at the same time became very difficult, especially working with all the guests and stuff. That was a huge freaking headache, just on legal and getting clearances.

I finished most of the album last November and I ended up having to make changes for the guests. Put a song here, almost have to take a song off there or whatever. It ended up being a little frustrating. Now, I'm in the situation where I think—here we go with predictions. Right? But I feel like the next thing I do would be without guests. That was a lot. Plus I'm getting tired of this whole co-sign thing. I don't want to have to have all these co-signs for anyone to care about my project. I feel like that's a thing, "Who's going to be on it?" I'm on it. It's my thing. So the next one, who knows? Might just be one guest. Might be purely instrumental. I don't know.

Did all of your collaborations happen organically?

Always. Except the Lynch one because some people you got to push a little harder. But pretty much everyone else. There was always someone like, "Oh, we got to do a song together. We got to work together." I'm calling you on it right now. Is this the moment? Are we doing this? Are we going there? Especially Toro [y Moi]. He is the cat I would run into every Saturday. We'd be at the same hotel and get picked up at the same time to go to the same stage. And we'd always be like, "Oh man, we should totally do something together." For years. And I was like, "You know what? Call this man." So, I would say it's natural, organic.

That's real. When you run into someone you haven't seen in a while and they go, "We should hang out." And you're like, "Okay, but when are we hanging out?" I can only imagine with artists' schedules, there's many factors preventing you from getting in the same room together.

That's why artists like Coachella because everyone puts a face to a name. I was like, "Oh, I'm a fan of you." "I'm a fan of you too. We should totally." And then things happen.

Do you always work with people in the studio or do you ever do remote collabs?

A little bit of both actually. It all depends on who I'm dealing with. A lot of times I'll assess if they're the type of person that would be better to work with them or if they're better if they're left to their own devices. There's certain artists who you can tell just need to be in whatever your comfort zone is to make the best track possible. But then there's some people who you need to kind of inspire a little bit. For example, George Clinton, brilliant. Super together, he's an older cat, but he's still got his sh*t, knows everything. I'm like, "Man, how do you remember all these things from your history?" I don't even remember what happened yesterday.

George is super sharp but he's the kind of person who would love that bounce back vibe. When we did "Burning Down The House," I wrote that with him as a freestyle. We're sitting together, he's holding the microphone, he's saying something, I'm calling response with him and then eventually the song came to be what it became. But it was the result of us being in the same space, shouting at each other freely without thinking about if it's sh*tty or not, you know?

When did you and George Clinton first work together? It was on the Kendrick [Lamar] track, "Wesley's Theory," right?

That's how it all started.

Did you know him before that?

How that came to be was, I was vibing on Parliament for a while. On the You're Dead Tour [in 2014], I was like super on it. As soon as I came back from that tour, I was making a lot of Parliament funky-type stuff after that.

The funk was in you.

I went super deep in that. And then Kendrick hit me up to help him build a show for his tour with, on [Kanye West's] Yeezus Tour. He hit me up, I never designed a show before but I stepped into the role and helped him. And it was right before To Pimp A Butterfly began and he was still kind of getting ideas for it and whatnot, trying to figure out what it was going to be.

I started planning some of that funky sh*t and the next day he was like, "I got it." And it really was. It was one of the sparks that that made that record and he asked me after he recorded that song, he was like, "Who do you imagine on this sh*t?" I'm like, "George, of course George, that'd be amazing." And then suddenly George was in the mix and hanging out with Kendrick and stuff and I was like, that's f**king dope. And then eventually George was hanging out at the crib, telling stories about Quentin Tarantino. F**k, that's cool.

What do you think is the biggest thing you've learned from working with George Clinton?

Sh*t. So much, I don't even know. After that whole thing happened, the first thing I did, we didn't even work on music together. The first thing I had him do was be in my movie, Kuso. That was the first time me and George really worked together and he was like, "Okay, I'll do this, but I really want to make some music with you, man." I was like, "Yeah, yeah. We'll get to that." On the first day of shooting, after he got on set, he comes up to me, he's like, "Hey man, you got the script?" I was like, "Yeah, there's a copy over here." He was like, "Oh, cool. Because I don't know any of the dialogue yet." I was like, "Are you f**king kidding me? We're about to shoot this sh*t right now. You don't know the words? You don't know what the hell is happening?"

He's like, "I'm a doctor, right?" I'm like, "Yeah, you're a doctor." He's like, "Can I just be myself?" "Yeah, of course. That's what I thought you'd do." And we pretty much worked it out in the doing, but he had to figure out every line as he did it and do it a million times but his performance of that sh*t is so George. It's so great. I don't know what the moral of the story is. But he's that kind of a person. His personality just shines through. He can make anything happen. The sound of his voice and the vibe. He was so open-minded too.

And then when you guys were working on "Burning Down The House," how long did it take to go from freestyle to recording it?

Oh, the freestyle is the recording. We used a sh*tty microphone. Solange taught me this thing. She told me about using the SM58 or 57 to record. It's pretty much like the microphone everyone uses live on stage, the SM57. The reason why it's a good mic for shows is because you can have all the monitoring on stage and all the loudness and it doesn't feedback. So, Solange was the one to tell me, "Yo, I like to figure out a song with that because you can have the beat playing in the room. You don't need headphones. You can just listen to it loud. Record some sketches and let that be the thing." But for Solange, she was like, "The sketch ends up the song because the freestyle has this energy to it." And that was something that I've taken and it will last me the rest of my life.

Because when it comes to that vibe, by not having headphones on and sketching ideas out freely, it's so different and you don't feel inhibited because the beat is loud in the room and things are vibrating and the ideas are flowing from one to another. I'm hearing George figure things out. I'm spitting ideas back and he's looking at me. So you're getting this different type of energy that if he just had headphones on, on his own, it wouldn't be the same. There's something about it and it has a raw edge to it. There's something about doing it that way. I'll never go back to using nice microphones and headphones, just sh*tty microphones. That's all I do now. When Solange told me about it, I looked at her like, "Are you crazy? Why would you do this?" It made no goddamn sense. She was like, "Just trust me." She was right.

I love the song "Land Of Honey" on the album with her too. Here I am talking about all the collabs after you said you're over them. It's obviously a different dynamic, bringing on someone for your project and figuring out how to align your creative approaches, right? Does that sometimes pose a challenge, getting on the same page with the other person?

It has presented itself once or twice. I feel like all that being said about collaborations, I think I actually really learned how to be a producer by doing this album because I had to deal with all types of different personalities. I had to deal with different egos and stuff and how to get the best thing out of somebody, especially someone you might not know that well. It's like, I'm meeting you for the first time and I'm trying to make a dope track with you. It's not easy. How much time are you going to spend getting to know each other before you start playing music? How much back and forth are you going to get to go before you stumble on the right thing.

There's an artistry in bringing the best things out of people. That's why people love Quincy Jones and all the great producers because they're able to tap into what makes a person great and pull that out of them. Dr. Dre is the same way, being around him. It's the exact same thing. He'll take way more time though and he don't give a sh*t about if you've got things to do. You'll stay with Dre, you'll be there a little while.

Watch: Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' | For The Record

What do you think was the biggest thing you learned in that context of producing and getting the juicy bits from working with someone else?

Well, I don't know. I think everyone's different and that's a thing in itself. Just don't feel like the same shit is going to work on everybody, like everything else. Right? It's like a relationship. You can't take a vegan to the steak house. You got to think of a different place to go on that date. It's similar to dating, I guess, in a weird way. You want to make a good first impression, make them comfortable, all that stuff.

I feel that. Reading the vibe.

"Oh, you don't like this? Okay. Let me change this." Find out what works, what sticks and sometimes it doesn't work. Collaborating don't always go well. I feel like more often than not the idea of the collaboration was better than the result. It happens from time to time.

Let's go back a little bit. You grew up with a musical family; Alice Coltrane was your great aunt, right?

Yeah. It gets crazier as I get older and as I pursue my instrument more. I feel like every three years I have a light bulb, a lightning strike thing happen to me with my family's music and all that stuff. It makes more sense to me and makes me trip out even harder. Like "Whoa, what the f**k? They were? What am I doing?" And the fact that there's new John Coltrane music coming out soon is crazy.

Speaking of posthumous music.

Yeah, exactly. See? That's a tricky one but I ain't mad. 

How do you feel like your childhood or your family connections influenced your love of music or your relationship with it?

Oh, so much. Even though they didn't get the sh*t when it first came out. It's not like when my sh*t dropped they were like all about it or fully understood it. It was still like, "What the f**k is this? What are you doing? This sounds like you're hitting garbage cans over and over again." It's the classic thing you're supposed to hear as a young musician trying to find your way, even from this family of avant-garde thinkers. Eventually they came around.

But I will say, the thing that was most inspiring was seeing that it was real. That it could happen. I think that's the difference for a lot of artists, is that they don't have anyone near them in their vicinity that is a success in that field. My mom wasn't mad that I was pursuing music because she was like, "Well, we know people who it worked out for." But I'm sure it's not the same for everyone. I'm very grateful for that especially.

Where it's encouraged versus the, "Oh, you want to be a musician?" kind of attitude parents can give.

Exactly. I had a little bit of support early on and that made a huge difference, I'm sure. My aunt, she supported me 130% in anything I wanted to do. There were moments where I was like, "I want to program video games, auntie." She was like, "Okay, well here's the computer, Steve." "Really?" Then I was like, "Hey, auntie, I want to be a filmmaker." "Okay, well here's the camera." My aunt was beyond believing in me, it was crazy. She knew there was something. I was going to do something. She treated me like that at least.

When did you first start making music? What was your first instrument?

I started playing saxophone when I was 14. That's how it started. My aunt gave me the saxophone. It was like, "I have to go to middle school now and I have to take and elective." "Oh, you should be in the band and play the sax." Little bit of pressure, but no problem. I played for a while and I didn't feel like that was me, but I did enjoy it while I was doing it. I think if I was playing cooler music in middle school, high school, I would have really stuck with it. But the music was not so inspiring.

And when you were a kid, did you think you would go into music professionally? What was your dream future self when you were younger?

I never really imagined it to be like that. I never imagined I'd be on stage, that's for sure. I did imagine being Dr. Dre-ish, being the guy behind the scenes making beats and stuff. I did see that for myself when I was like 14, 15. I loved that Dre was the cool guy in the background who was making those ill melodies and dark beats and stuff. I was like, "Ooh, that's totally me." He was the first kind of, "I want to do that." And then it's a trip to be in the same room with that cat sometimes. I'm like, what?

GoldLink Talks Vision Behind 'Diaspora,' Tour With Tyler, The Creator, Musical Roots & More

Victoria Kimani

Victoria Kimani

Photo: Recording Academy

News

Victoria Kimani Talks New Album, Repping Kenya, Dream Collabs With Lauryn Hill & Rihanna | Up Close & Personal

Facebook Twitter Email
"That is the goal ultimately, to be a global artist and to show other girls in Kenya that you can do the same thing locally as well as on an international platform," the Kenyan-American artist recently told the Recording Academy
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 13, 2019 - 11:52 am

Kenyan-American singer/songwriter Victoria Kimani grew up in a very few different places, moving with her parents from Los Angeles to Tulsa, Okla., to Benin City, Nigeria and finally to Nairobi, Kenya when she was 16. She spent her first sessions in the recording studio not long after moving to Kenya, and as she found her calling in music she also began to find her voice as a young woman.

In 2012, the R&B/Afropop singer began releasing her first singles and, in 2016, dropped her first album, Safari. After parting ways with initial label, she released the Afropolotian EP last year. Now, with the forthcoming release of her sophomore album, dance floor-ready music, killer style and an inspirational sense of self, she is ready for global takeover.

Victoria Kimani On New LP, "Swalalala," Rihanna

The "Swalalala" singer recently stopped by the Recording Academy headquarters for our latest episode of Up Close & Personal, and shared what fans can expect on her next album—more of her—and explained the empowering backstory behind "Swalalala." She also talked dream collabs, biggest musical influences and becoming an independent artist. You can watch a portion of the conversation above and read the full interview below. You can also visit on our YouTube page for a longer version of the video, as well as for other recent episodes.

So, you're working on your next album. What can fans expect?

On my next album, fans can expect a lot more of me actually being myself in the music. I think the first project I was still trying to figure out how I fit into African music because I'd come from an R&B/pop background, so I didn't really understand how I can ride the rhythms and really still fit in that same space, even if I don't speak Swahili or sing in a different dialect.

And you can kind of hear that, "This artist is good, but they're still trying to figure out their sound." But I think with this project, well I know for a fact, I've definitely figured it out. I feel a lot more comfortable in my space. So just good music. It's still very much African music, but it's also very much Victoria. It's in my lane and I think it tells my story a lot more, especially with the instrumentation that we used this time around.

My story is a bit different than like a typical person from where I come from in Kenya. I was born in Los Angeles, so L.A. still very much defined my sound and who I am right now. So I don't know, I'm looking forward to it. I think it's totally different. It's still very Afro-fusion, but it's very L.A. at the same time.

And then what are you most excited about when you finally get to share the album?

I think the most exciting part is hearing the reaction from the fans. When you release something new, as an artist, it's still a surprise. Whatever you end up coming up with can be a surprise to your fans.

And I think that's what I'm looking forward to most from releasing the project is hearing my fans reaction and what they think of me as, not a new artist, but as someone who has figured out their lane. So I think I'm just looking forward to seeing how my fans think about it.

Let's talk about one of your recent releases, "Swalalala." The music video was filmed in Kenya, right?

Yeah.

And the video and the song feel so uplifting and positive; can you tell us a bit about it?

"Swalalala," shout out to Masterkraft, he produced it for me. It was very much like a spur-of-the-moment type of record. It is uplifting. It was something I put out to kind of uplift myself. I received a bit of a backlash at a particular time, because a lot of times back home as a woman, you don't really have a voice. It's like "You're female, keep quiet, sit in this corner, don't say anything." And I had said something about a particular subject and it was taken—it went crazy on the internet back home.

And so when I released this song, it was very much like, hey, I do have this voice. I can say whatever it is that I feel like I need to say, especially through my music. And even though we're in this space where we're not supposed to have a voice, I'm still going to use it.

And so for me it was like the ultimate—I don't think I can say it on camera, but it was the ultimate like "F you" moment. For me that's kind of what that record meant to me, just I'm in my lane, I'm elevating. You shine, I'm going to be able to shine just in my own right as well. So it was very empowering for me and I hope for other people it was too.

So when I was watching some of your videos and looking through your Instagram, one of the first things I noticed was just how dope and fun your fashion sense is. I think you're starting a fashion line too, right?

Thank you. Yes. I just started a little one, a little baby project.



View this post on Instagram


What’s your favorite line from Swalalala ?

A post shared by victoriakimani (@victoriakimani) on

Do you style yourself in your music videos?

Yes, I do. Sometimes I work with other stylists, but for the most part, I style myself. If I can't go out and buy an item, I literally have things made. There's a lot of that culture back home in Africa. Inevitably, I think, a lot of people end up being designers just because it's in the culture to make your own traditional wear, to go out and get the fabric, get your measurements, take it to a tailor and make it based on the event. So when I was going to the stores and I didn't find what I wanted, I would have it made. I've done a lot of that over the years for my music videos.

And then I started making other things like boots and jackets. I wanted to see thigh-high African print boots, but there's nowhere I can buy that. So I was like, you know what? We're going to make it. We're going to take the print and we're going to put it all over the boots and we're going to try and create this urban look that still very much ties into African culture.

And that's what I did with my first line, Kimani Couture. I came up with African-inspired bubble jackets. I love bubble jackets, but I haven't seen any, that really represent my culture fully. So that's really what fashion meant to me; it started off with my music videos and then performances and now, it's like this is a great way to really show and define who I am. Yes, I'm African, but I'm still very much in an urban setting and this is the next generation.

How would you describe your style, in a few words?

Well, that's a good question. I'd describe my style as edgy. I think it really just depends on my mood. I'm a little bit moody, especially when it comes to my makeup and how I decide to express myself that way.

The other day I went to Beautycon. It was two days, and the first day I was dumbed down. I had sneakers on, I had kind of natural makeup, and then I saw all the drag queens come out and upstage all the girls that were there. So the next day I was like, I need to go several notches up. So I had the leopard gloves and the matching hat with a black lipstick and that was just my mood. I was like, I need to show them that we're peers in this game. So I need to step it up a bit more. I need to have a more bossy, commanding look.

So I guess it just depends on my mood. But overall I definitely would say it's edgy. I think it's fun and there's a tad bit of culture in there. So I'd say it's a little cultural as well.



View this post on Instagram


Day 2 #beautyconla #maybellineNY

A post shared by victoriakimani (@victoriakimani) on

And then you've also released a few collab tracks this year as well. I think the most recent was "Miracle," with Hakeem Roze.

Yes.

What's your favorite part about collaborating with different artists?

My favorite part about collaborating is, not only do you get to explore different people's sounds, like it's not just you on the song, you get to join forces with someone else in sharing creative ideas, but also you share your fan base.

I think that's really cool, because for instance, with Hakeem Roze, he's based in Toronto and I actually just came back from Toronto now and I was able to shoot the music video there and meet a whole bunch of people that are part of his team and a few of his fans.

And for me, I've never been to Toronto before. So what the collaboration meant is I'm also broadening my space, and now they've figured out who I am, and now they're listening to my music. And vice versa, and people are like, hey, who's Hakeem? So I just think collaboration really is like, it's the present, it's the future. It's where I see African music growing, is in collaboration.

And do you have your eyes on any future collaborations that you're about to make happen?

Yes, I do. I do have my eyes on some dream collaborations that I would love to—do I need to say them?

Yeah, do you want to share any of them?

Speaking into existence?

Yeah, you got to manifest them.

There are so many great artists that I'd love to work with. Oh my goodness. Just off the top of my head, I've always wanted to work with Kanye [West]. I just feel like he'll understand where we're going with this African music and how we're getting into this global space and people are starting to hear us, and how can we fuse that in with like hip-hop? I'd like to hear that. And not only that; him as a rapper, his perception, I just feel like that would be really dope.

Lauryn Hill, I don't even know how that would sound, but I would love to hear her on one of these very rhythmic type of, it's like instruments and then with her vocal range, I just feel like it would be a really dope fusion. I have a whole long list. I don't know if we have time, but like we can be here all day, literally. But yeah, I love, god I love Lauryn. I grew up listening to her album, Miseducation, but it got stolen like at least 10 times and I just kept buying the CD over and over again and it would keep getting stolen.

Wyclef [Jean]. Wyclef would be amazing. I feel like he's already been dabbling in so many different genres, just on his own, and then the fact that he's from Haiti, he would definitely understand the rhythm. Oh my God, top of my head, it's just hard to come up with. I mean Rihanna, hello! These are people that I can see in the creative space. I could see them fusing really great together with African music. So goals, you never know. Maybe I've spoken it into existence.

More Conversations: Burna Boy Talks 'African Giant,' Damian Marley & Angelique Kidjo Collab, Responsibility As A Global Artist

Who are some of your biggest musical influences to this day?

I've had several music influences. One of them for me was Brenda Fassie, may she rest in peace. She's from South Africa, but she was one of our first African female pop stars. You know how here you've got your legendary singers, but she, for us, was very legendary, because she spoke out, she would dress wild. She would perform wildly, especially at a time where, again, African women, you're supposed to keep quiet, you're not supposed to have an opinion, you're not supposed to dance too wild, like that type of thing. She came out and just broke that whole thing down.

And when she did her interviews, she was very unapologetic. So she empowered me a lot as an artist, as an African female to see her and the way she came up and she stuck to everything that made her original. I think for me, she's one of them.

Another one is, obviously, Beyoncé. She's just done so much for just female pop. The respect I have for her, just for her craft, the time that she takes into doing things. Even when she's at a point where she could put anything out and people would probably still appreciate it, she doesn't. She's still goes an extra mile. So that's very inspiring.

You know the term, "We all have the same amount of time in a day as Beyoncé"? I've heard this type of thing over and over again. But it's really true. This is someone who pushes themselves beyond, and she shows me, especially as a black woman, that you can. You can, you just have to work really, really hard and sometimes harder than others. And that's two, jeez, I have a whole other list, we can have a whole other interview just for that. There are so many people.

Fela Kuti. I mean, he was revolutionary. He was really, really calling out a lot of people on their stuff through his music, and empowering the people and letting them know that they had a voice. I think that is very important for African music as well. Of course, Lauryn, I said her name earlier, but I just love her so much as a storyteller. She's very powerful with her words and she can really shift a lot of people's minds for the greater good.

I love Lady Gaga. I know that's random, but I love how far she went and continues to go, not only in the aspect of her pop career, but I loved how she transitioned into jazz. I love how she's just stuck true to herself, and what I really love is how she pushes so hard for the fashion. I have so much respect for her because for so many years, every time you saw her, you saw something different.

But yeah, there's a lot more, especially the legends that came before Gaga, like you can go into Madonna and Janet [Jackson]. But just off the top of my head, these are the few that really stuck out to me.

Did you watch Lady Gaga's Met Gala carpet walk, when she has a 16-minute costume change?

I saw that. I watched the whole entire thing. This is exactly what we're—just give me life, please give me life. I'm getting chills, just thinking about that. That was iconic. Iconic Gaga.

So you moved to Kenya with your family when you were a teen, and I think it was then when you started recording music for the first time. How and when did you decide that you wanted to start make making music professionally?

I decided that I wanted to make music my profession right after we took a mission trip when I was 14, me and my parents, and we went to Nigeria for the first time. That was actually my first time going to the continent. My first introduction to the continent was Nigeria, even though we're from Kenya. We stayed there for two years and I joined the choir.

I know this is a random story to tie into, but for so many days there was no electricity in the house, but we had like three guitars in the house, and my dad and both of my elder brothers play the guitar. So sometimes when there was no lights, we'd turn the candles on, play guitar and I would sing.

And we would just keep that going. And my dad's like, wow, you really have a good voice. You can do this. And when my older brothers co-signed me too, I was like, well maybe I could, one day, actually record something. It started very organically at home and in the choir.

And after that, when we moved to Kenya finally, that was my first time in the studio. I've always written poetry at home, but I never actually went into a recording studio to actually record anything. So that was my first time and I just never stopped. I think if I wasn't encouraged by my dad, I probably wouldn't have known that I was good at all, because for me I was just naturally singing, because I knew this is how the song goes, this is the melody, like this is it.

I didn't know that I sounded good. My dad was the first one to say, "Wow, you sound nice. You should practice more, maybe you can be really good." So that's how it started.

Was there a moment when you feel like you started to find your voice musically and really feel confident about it?

Yeah, it definitely wasn't the first time. The first time was probably the most depressing song in the world. It was called "How I Feel" and was really sad. But after going to the studio, probably like on the twentieth time, I started to really feel confident.

I still didn't understand how the headphones work, and how can I hear myself when I can't really hear myself? Should I take a headphone off? I was still trying to figure out the technical side of recording or making music, because I was just singing at home. But I was understanding how to stack my vocals and how to arrange things. I didn't know that there was something called vocal production. I didn't know that I should warm up before I record. Like so many different details that I didn't know, but as I continued to record and started to learn those things, I became way more comfortable in the studio.

That's so cool. And then, I read that you're an independent artist and that you were on a label, but then you parted ways after your first album.

Yeah, well five years after that. It's a long time.

I was just curious as to why you chose to be an independent artist and what you feel are the benefits of representing yourself?

Well, I was signed for five years to another, sort of indie label in Nigeria. While I was still on the label I was doing a lot of things myself and I felt like, well I could continue to just do these things that I've already been doing while I was signed and just see how it goes. I won't say I had planned to be independent as the ultimate plan, because there are so many challenges that come with that. And who knows, I may not always be "independent." But overall, I think that how aggressive I was, even when I was on the label, has been the reason why I've been able to get the fan base, I've been able to create and release as much music and visuals as I have. So I felt like, well, let me just continue what I'm doing. It's been good so far. I'm still learning. As I go, there are so many things I still need to learn. But that's the process of growing.

The independent thing is cool, and a lot of artists have been able to be very successful from it. And then I think it's important to be in a space where you're constantly learning and picking up different keys here and there. And I think that's the space that I'm in right now, I'm still picking up things, still learning things. You never know, though. I might not be independent for too long, you know. Although that probably sounds crazy.

"That is the goal ultimately, to be a global artist and to show other girls in Kenya that you can do the same thing locally as well as on an international platform."

Afro-fusion music is really gaining popularity globally, including here in the States. To me, your music feels like such a natural fit with what I'm hearing here now. What is your biggest goal right now, as a global artist?

That's a great question. My biggest goal right now is, not only to get the music out to a bigger platform and to the rest of the world, but also to be in a space where there is musical rights. Where I live, we're still fighting for royalties. We're still fighting against so many different, little thieves in the industry that we still haven't really, all the way, created a positive ecosystem in Kenya for music to thrive. And so, for me, it's very important to leave that space and in every way really represent for my country in a global space.

I always use Lupita [Nyong'o] as an example because she really was like the first person in entertainment from Kenya to get this global appeal. And when she said that "your dreams are valid," I really took that to heart. Like, hey, this is a girl that was an actor right home in Kenya and she was doing local movies, and then she did something so iconic and now it's just up and up and you continue going higher and higher. That's an encouraging story for me. And that is the goal ultimately, to be a global artist and to show other girls in Kenya that you can do the same thing locally as well as on an international platform.

Afropop Queen Victoria Kimani Is Kenya's Best Kept Secret