SHAVONE. has presence. Not just the online type of presence so many chase these days, but real, tangible presence. She's warm and engaging in the way you want your friends to be, yet commanding and articulate in the way you'd expect from someone with her track record as a creative Renaissance woman. Everywhere she's been, she became a star, leaving a path of meaningful progress, inspired innovation and lasting relationships in her wake. That's presence.

SHAVONE.'s story started in a familiar way, as a child wild about music. But her path took a turn toward tech, where she blazed trails and broke molds, launching her career at Google before creating her own role at Twitter as the first Head of Global Music and Culture. She went on to become Instagram's Head of Global Music and Youth Culture, developed and refined her own personal fashion style Elle dubbed "Instagram Cozy Queen" and was a shoo-in on Forbes' coveted "30 Under 30" list earlier this year.

Most important, she's become an ardent advocate for women of color, especially in the tech and creative spaces, traveling the country to inspire and advise. Recently, she's appeared at BET Experience and—fitting as SHAVONE. has spent the majority of her career in the Bay Area—at the San Francisco Women's Summit. When she was at Twitter, she created BlackBirds, a resource group for African-American employees. Forever ahead of the curve, SHAVONE. knew what to do to support and empower her colleagues before anyone else.

"I joke around with my friends and mentees about like being black in tech before it was cool to be black in tech," says SHAVONE. "When it wasn't like, 'Yes, we need you here to check a box,' when it was, 'What are you doing here?'"

But now SHAVONE., the artist, has her sights set on new creative horizons. After leaving Instagram earlier this year, she shifted her focus to developing both her own artistry and an artistic community around her. In March she dropped the empowering single "4C" with a striking video, showcasing the beauty of inclusivity.

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She's also launching Magic In Her Melanin, her very own creative collective and in-house agency to serve as creative HQ for all her art and music projects. With music, fashion and tech overlapping more than ever before, it's hard to imagine someone better positioned to lead the way for creatives into whatever is coming next, which is exactly what she's doing.

SHAVONE. let us into her world for a conversation with Recording Academy, discussing the twist and turns of her inspirational, one-of-a-kind career and how her transition from tech change agent to authentic artist came "right on time." Jump into a portion of our conversation with her below, and follow her on social so you aren't left behind.

[this conversation has been edited down from the original for length]

I read that your family's also very musical—how did you spend your childhood and how did you get into tech?

As a younger person, I think my parents quickly figured out I'd need an outlet. I had a lot of energy, a lot of sh*t to say, and needed some sort outlet and, early on, I was already very intrigued by music.

My grandfather is from Trinidad, and so I've always been attracted to the Caribbean West Indies. And my grandfather's son, my uncle Terry, he's classically trained in classical and jazz across pretty much any woodwind instrument… He'd pick up the sax, he'd pick up the clarinet, he put down the sax, picked up the flute. This guy was just jamming out. He'd have a piccolo, so that already piqued my interest.

My brother JJ started off playing the flute. He switched over to sax because he thought that was a more masculine instrument, whatever JJ. [Laughs.] But I got attracted then, took piano lessons early on… I ended up shifting over to flute just because it was something that was familiar to me. My uncle told me "You're a bull in a china factory. When you play the flute, handling this instruments very delicate. It's very difficult. Are you sure you want to do this? This is going to take a lot of time a lot of hard work." I was like, "I'm sure I want to do this. Now that you said all that, I definitely want to do it! You know it's a challenge. Let's do it." So in second and third grade, I started on the recorder. That's what you start on.

Oh yeah, I remember. I think every young adult of a certain age had to play the recorder in grade school.

And I was like, "this is cute but like I'm trying to upgrade to that really shiny, blinged out thing that you have, Uncle Terry." So I started taking lessons. Then like upgraded to a beginner flute, and then kept playing.

I was in band in elementary school and middle school. Then I started playing competitively in high school, I was flute section leader in band and in marching band wind symphony. I basically went crazy with it.

But, in between me doing flute, writing had always been a huge piece of my self-expression, and I wrote a lot of poetry in middle school and elementary school, and then my brothers started rapping. And my dad, seeing that they were interested, he had a friend who had a studio space in San Diego and Downtown so he helped pay for their studio time, just to kind of more so support again positive outlet for them.

So then, I seen them rapping and I was like, "That's tight." I'm definitely really into music and rap so I'm like, "maybe I could do that was like my poetry?" So I started rapping. I didn't start seriously rapping until about end of middle school, going into high school, that's when I actually was like good enough to actually be heard publicly. So I kind of mixed it together but I always kept my flute musicianship separate, because flute is all about structure.

Now I'm working to break down all the structure that I've built up in my mind around flute. Because I'm now learning Ableton to basically make my set fully electronic and be able to improv DIY style in the moment. It's not structured, it's just feeling versus structure. So I'm tearing these walls down to bring the two worlds together now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Excited to announce I’ll be speaking at the <a href="https://twitter.com/Forbes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Forbes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Under30Summit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Under30Summit</a> in Detroit this fall, alongside a group of extraordinary minds. Register here and pull up on us in the D:  <a href="https://t.co/UkRVjhC3Eq">https://t.co/UkRVjhC3Eq</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZyXFOPTlCZ">pic.twitter.com/ZyXFOPTlCZ</a></p>&mdash; SHAVONE. ®  (@Shavone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shavone/status/1121110822409752576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
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You held prominent roles at Twitter and Instagram... You're a self-proclaimed Data Queen. How did you end up getting into these hugely prominent roles in the tech world?

I interned at Google my junior year of college, and I had interned at BET. I did a talent relations PR internship there, and I also did a bunch of internships in public service. I interned on the Hill. I interned at the DOJ. I was actually kind of thinking more of a governmental route. Just because I'm a huge supporter of public service and community and civic engagement. I had to wear these stockings and these clothes and I've got to worry about my hair.

Pencil skirts?

Yeah. I interned there two of the years the Republicans took over the House. I was like, "you know what, this is getting kind of crazy."

But, I went to Google anyways, interned there at the Googleplex in Mountain View. I interned on the Global Communications and Public Affairs team, and I worked on Google Play when it started. I worked on the launch of Google Plus, which was very interesting at the time. I worked on Google Apps for education, that's how I got exposed to traditional tech world, but in a non-traditional way. I got to work on consumery topics, and I interned on their PR team but it was consumer PR. So I got a chance to scratch all my itches, but also still be in the epicenter of tech.

And I think at that time I just realized just how central tech was going to be to music and the industry. Even with Google Play and I saw all arrows pointing in that direction.

I knew, tech was the marriage of all these different, eclectic things that were stimulating for me. That's how I got into tech.

It's crazy, because right after college I had a job offer from MTV that, that was a real job, but I turned it down to go intern at Twitter. Because it was paid, number one, and it's like they're a startup but they're going IPO at some point, I just felt it was a good opportunity that I can try to mold. I'd have to work hard as hell, but maybe...

I think the numbers would support your decision.

So that's how I kind of got over there. I started out on the PR team covering everything. Fashion, music, culture, politics. Pretty much any cultural zeitgeist moments.

"I still need to learn. As a woman in music, you have to protect yourself with knowledge and knowing." -SHAVONE.

As a woman of color working in tech, how did you navigate that kind of stereotypically homogenous environment? 

Yeah, it's tough. It's still tough, honestly, it's still hard. I joke around with my friends and mentees about being black in tech before it was cool to be black in tech. When it wasn't like "Yes, we need you here to check a box," when it was "What are you doing here?"

And it was hard. I definitely believe in God and like, higher powers in the universe and I feel like the universe has always showed up to show support through people around me and mentors when I need them the most. I don't have a ton of mentors, but I feel like people move into the right place at the right time for me.

When I went to Twitter, there's a gentleman, whose name is Scott T, shout out to you. He was at Facebook, he left Facebook, and he's doing some other amazing work now. But he was a huge mentor of mine at Twitter... Scott is African, and there were not many faces of color there, but he was there when I needed him.

I also had allies, and people who I had actually met at Google. Because all the people from the tech company they go, "I'm with this company, I was at that company, I was at that company." So I had a lot of familiar faces. Having that support system really did help me stay grounded and confident about who I was and my skill sets. Because it's easy to go into those places and shrink. Number one you kind of just want to be invisible to avoid confrontation. And then the other piece is figuring out how to tap into your skill sets and who you are in a way that doesn't compromise what you stand for.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/Shavone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Shavone</a> is dropping  at the &quot;She Is&quot; Panel Discussion. See the full <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BETX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BETX</a> House of Fashion and Beauty events by downloading the BETX &#39;19 App . <a href="https://t.co/6yoDlEoDg8">pic.twitter.com/6yoDlEoDg8</a></p>&mdash; BET (@BET) <a href="https://twitter.com/BET/status/1140625800254971905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So as a person of color, having a role that's culture oriented, it's like, "okay, that's great. But how are you enlightening without like self-exploitation?" And enlightening in a way that's going to somehow help increase access, hopefully, and leave the door open for more... Beyond just bringing the company money, how are you kind of shifting what's normalized and normalizing your blackness and your diversity in the space. And this is a lot to carry around for anybody in a workspace.

Especially somebody that hasn't been in the workforce for that long.

Yeah, it was like my first job.

What was the impetus for you to make the transition from tech to music? And how did you find a way to professionally integrate all of your passions?

Yeah, I'd say it was a long time coming. When I left Twitter, I still felt like there was a little bit more to learn. I kept kind of stepping along in the background of music, making music when I could in the Bay Area. I recorded when I could, I wrote, I always kept writing. I have so many songs written, and kept recording where I could. And I was always around music, so I never felt so starved because I was always behind the scenes. I was working in the music industry.

Part of me, it was torturing, right? When you feel like you have your story, or a voice that you want to create. Then another part of it was so amazing because I got to be around my people. I was around you guys, I was around my people, I got to talk about cool things, tell cool stories. I was learning still.

You have got to say, "enough is enough." How much is enough? When is your thirst going to be quenched? When do you step up into your own purpose? And for me, it came down to me, figuring out that it's either now or never. And thinking a lot about trajectory for me long-term. I set out to do certain things in tech, and I felt like I gave it my all. A lot of me being motivated to have one foot in, one foot out as more of a multi-hyphenate creative was, I noticed that, even from within you can only do so much to increase access. Because you work for the company, no matter what, you got to stick to their agenda, their roles, their bottom line. If they say something's not important, you can't come back and say "Yes it is and forget you, here's what I'm going to do." You can't.

You're working as a full-time musician now, and you're launching a creative collective and in-house agency. I'd love to learn a little bit about that and any other initiatives that you're spearheading.

Yeah, so for Magic In Her Melanin, it's been a long time coming. I got Magic in Her Melanin trademarked a of couple years ago. It was sort of another one of those projects after work that I was like this needs to be done. Again, with just seeing the gaps up front, and like going out in the Tenderloin, working at Twitter in San Francisco, walking outside and seeing, feeling the gaps. Working with the Boys and Girls Club and literally feeling the gaps. I was able to take notes, go home and figure out, how can I be accountable outside of my tech job, right? What can I do outside of showing up like, "Hey kids, here's where you can be. All right, bye."

Well it's so easy to stay cloistered in your little comfy bubble.

Yeah, it's so easy. I mean it's normalized. It's like not actually frowned upon if you do do that, actually the opposite, right? So that allowed me to really notice the gaps and I couldn't just sit by, and I've been indexing the gaps, basically.

Magic is a result of me indexing the gaps and figuring out, "How do I show up in a way that's really valuable and true to me? And how can I make myself a resource for other people?" And I found that a lot of my network, even a lot of my friends and colleagues, contemporaries, even mentees, mentors are all these people of color who were amazingly creative who work in these different functions and tech, and music too. Just because my role was culture and youth and these new topics, I got exposed to people who covered similar realms at Spotify or Beats or Apple or wherever.

Magic is basically a collective, and it's literally a network of all the people I know who have a passion to give back in some way but will never have the time to start their own org. I basically want to leverage those relationships to do good out in the world, to create more access for underrepresented voices in the corporate space.

There's a gentleman named Quil Lemons who is a photographer. He's super young, Gen-Z photographer who does partnerships and is making a living off of just partnering and having value. Whether you're Pharrell, or whether you're me or you guys and you want to work for the company, you should be able to do both. You should be able to choose what you want to do, there should be accessibility. 

Then with Magic, I also have basically kind of made it, I guess what I Am Other is to Pharrell, or what Saint Heron is to Solange, it's sort of my in-house creative suite.

So my friends who are passionate about like the music and the art I'm creating, and incubating the videos that you see, the visuals, and sort of everything SHAVONE. does as a creative, I want to continue incubating with that group. And keep reading with other people, but really keeping Magic as the nucleus of everything I put out into the world.

Earlier we were talking about your video for "4C," which you said you recorded late last year in Brooklyn. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you recorded it at a salon owned by a woman who works with Solange?

Yeah, she blew up mainstream-wise from her doing a number of Solange's tribal inspired, like American-inspired braid looks, and Beyoncé's braid looks. She's incredible. She's a Nigerian hairstylist.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When your whole crew FIRE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4C?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4C</a> cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/Elyse__Fox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elyse__Fox</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ivieani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ivieani</a> <br><br>64 Million views! Thank you for providing a platform for WOC <a href="https://twitter.com/GIPHYIdentity?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GIPHYIdentity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GIPHY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GIPHY</a>. <a href="https://t.co/sgoLScYbBF">pic.twitter.com/sgoLScYbBF</a></p>&mdash; SHAVONE. ®  (@Shavone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shavone/status/1133058644218564616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It looks like you got together a lot of your contacts, friends and familiars and that video serves as symbol for almost everything you're trying to achieve, the diversity of people's interests, and it all coming together. What are you trying to do next in terms of your music?

Right now I'm super focused on really honing in on my sound. I'm working with new producers. I'm also getting my like show set tight and together. That's the thing I'm most excited about. I'm actually, like holding off on performances until I get it right where I want it with me adding the flute instrumentation into it, in a way that, again, is authentic to me. And even tech kind of continuing to be this huge part of who I am and what I do. And really, I kind of more so envision an electronic vibe for my set like more of a kind of EDM energy just because of my tie to software and hardware as a person. I'm a tech person still at heart. So keeping that visible in my instrumentation, I'm excited about.

But I'm also working on,I don't know if it's going to be EP or a mixtape, I'm still kind of deciding. But, I'm basically working on a project which I maybe by the summer or fall. I'm collaborating with folks also who have reached out. I played a set for GRAMMY week at Soho House with 1500 or Nothin'. They're amazing. Larrance [Dopson], and my guy Mars, they're just incredible. They did Nipsy Hussle's Victory Lap. There are pillars of L.A. and the community.

So, yeah, they're amazing. I'm excited to just take it one day at a time and really put in the work. I think a lot of my experience and my knowledge, even with PR and music, only it goes so far. It's different from the scope of an artist. You can't skip putting in the rest of the work. And I feel like a lot of my work has been foundational with being able to read and write music, being able to write music and I feel like there's a new challenge now for me with writing music for consumption versus as a hobby. Writing music as a business is different, so I'm up for the challenge.

Someone once told me, "if something scares you, you should probably do it." But in many ways as an artist, stepping out on your own, you're the most qualified to navigate tech from the artist side. Do you feel that way?

Yeah, I do. I feel like where I have a leg up, I feel like, in a conversation with, even with some of the artists that I know, friends that I know, I'm learning from them and they're learning from me.

It's sort of like this: You realize you're so good at this, or you're so good at that, like, the sort of midway point. But it has been interesting to apply what I've learned in a sort of a different dimension to my artistry and getting the word out. And I think Instagram was truly the cherry on top of my experiences, because I really got a chance to see how important community is, and community online. Not just community in terms of fandom, but community for a cause, community behind topics that matter, body positivity, mental wellness, mental health, latte art. I mean, anything you care about, it's online. Even at Twitter, all the data stuff, I feel like my whole life is sort of this moment. So I do feel good in that sense. You start to think, "Oh, did I wait too long? Should I have like left earlier?" But I feel like no, I feel like I'm right on time.

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Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Billy Idol about his latest EP,  Cage, and continuing to rock through decades of changing tastes.

Billy Idol is a true rock 'n' roll survivor who has persevered through cultural shifts and personal struggles. While some may think of Idol solely for "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," the singer's musical influences span genres and many of his tunes are less turbo-charged than his '80s hits would belie.  

Idol first made a splash in the latter half of the '70s with the British punk band Generation X. In the '80s, he went on to a solo career combining rock, pop, and punk into a distinct sound that transformed him and his musical partner, guitarist Steve Stevens, into icons. They have racked up multiple GRAMMY nominations, in addition to one gold, one double platinum, and four platinum albums thanks to hits like "Cradle Of Love," "Flesh For Fantasy," and "Eyes Without A Face." 

But, unlike many legacy artists, Idol is anything but a relic. Billy continues to produce vital Idol music by collaborating with producers and songwriters — including Miley Cyrus — who share his forward-thinking vision. He will play a five-show Vegas residency in November, and filmmaker Jonas Akerlund is working on a documentary about Idol’s life. 

His latest release is Cage, the second in a trilogy of annual four-song EPs. The title track is a classic Billy Idol banger expressing the desire to free himself from personal constraints and live a better life. Other tracks on Cage incorporate metallic riffing and funky R&B grooves. 

Idol continues to reckon with his demons — they both grappled with addiction during the '80s — and the singer is open about those struggles on the record and the page. (Idol's 2014 memoir Dancing With Myself, details a 1990 motorcycle accident that nearly claimed a leg, and how becoming a father steered him to reject hard drugs. "Bitter Taste," from his last EP, The Roadside, reflects on surviving the accident.)

Although Idol and Stevens split in the late '80s — the skilled guitarist fronted Steve Stevens & The Atomic Playboys, and collaborated with Michael Jackson, Rick Ocasek, Vince Neil, and Harold Faltermeyer (on the GRAMMY-winning "Top Gun Anthem") —  their common history and shared musical bond has been undeniable. The duo reunited in 2001 for an episode of "VH1 Storytellers" and have been back in the saddle for two decades. Their union remains one of the strongest collaborations in rock 'n roll history.

While there is recognizable personnel and a distinguishable sound throughout a lot of his work, Billy Idol has always pushed himself to try different things. Idol discusses his musical journey, his desire to constantly move forward, and the strong connection that he shares with Stevens. 

Steve has said that you like to mix up a variety of styles, yet everyone assumes you're the "Rebel Yell"/"White Wedding" guy. But if they really listen to your catalog, it's vastly different.

Yeah, that's right. With someone like Steve Stevens, and then back in the day Keith Forsey producing... [Before that] Generation X actually did move around inside punk rock. We didn't stay doing just the Ramones two-minute music. We actually did a seven-minute song. [Laughs]. We did always mix things up. 

Then when I got into my solo career, that was the fun of it. With someone like Steve, I knew what he could do. I could see whatever we needed to do, we could nail it. The world was my oyster musically. 

"Cage" is a classic-sounding Billy Idol rocker, then "Running From The Ghost" is almost metal, like what the Devil's Playground album was like back in the mid-2000s. "Miss Nobody" comes out of nowhere with this pop/R&B flavor. What inspired that?

We really hadn't done anything like that since something like "Flesh For Fantasy" [which] had a bit of an R&B thing about it. Back in the early days of Billy Idol, "Hot In The City" and "Mony Mony" had girls [singing] on the backgrounds. 

We always had a bit of R&B really, so it was actually fun to revisit that. We just hadn't done anything really quite like that for a long time. That was one of the reasons to work with someone like Sam Hollander [for the song "Rita Hayworth"] on The Roadside. We knew we could go [with him] into an R&B world, and he's a great songwriter and producer. That's the fun of music really, trying out these things and seeing if you can make them stick. 

I listen to new music by veteran artists and debate that with some people. I'm sure you have those fans that want their nostalgia, and then there are some people who will embrace the newer stuff. Do you find it’s a challenge to reach people with new songs?

Obviously, what we're looking for is, how do we somehow have one foot in the past and one foot into the future? We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol. 

You want to do things that are true to you, and you don't just want to try and do things that you're seeing there in the charts today. I think that we're achieving it with things like "Running From The Ghost" and "Cage" on this new EP. I think we’re managing to do both in a way. 

**Obviously, "Running From The Ghost" is about addiction, all the stuff that you went through, and in "Cage" you’re talking about  freeing yourself from a lot of personal shackles. Was there any one moment in your life that made you really thought I have to not let this weigh me down anymore?**

I mean, things like the motorcycle accident I had, that was a bit of a wake up call way back. It was 32 years ago. But there were things like that, years ago, that gradually made me think about what I was doing with my life. I didn't want to ruin it, really. I didn't want to throw it away, and it made [me] be less cavalier. 

I had to say to myself, about the drugs and stuff, that I've been there and I've done it. There’s no point in carrying on doing it. You couldn't get any higher. You didn't want to throw your life away casually, and I was close to doing that. It took me a bit of time, but then gradually I was able to get control of myself to a certain extent [with] drugs and everything. And I think Steve's done the same thing. We're on a similar path really, which has been great because we're in the same boat in terms of lyrics and stuff. 

So a lot of things like that were wake up calls. Even having grandchildren and just watching my daughter enlarging her family and everything; it just makes you really positive about things and want to show a positive side to how you're feeling, about where you're going. We've lived with the demons so long, we've found a way to live with them. We found a way to be at peace with our demons, in a way. Maybe not completely, but certainly to where we’re enjoying what we do and excited about it.

[When writing] "Running From The Ghost" it was easy to go, what was the ghost for us? At one point, we were very drug addicted in the '80s. And Steve in particular is super sober [now]. I mean, I still vape pot and stuff. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it’s incredible. All I want to be able to do is have a couple of glasses of wine at a restaurant or something. I can do that now.

I think working with people that are super talented, you just feel confident. That is a big reason why you open up and express yourself more because you feel comfortable with what's around you.

Did you watch Danny Boyle's recent Sex Pistols mini-series?

I did, yes.

You had a couple of cameos; well, an actor who portrayed you did. How did you react to it? How accurate do you think it was in portraying that particular time period?

I love Jonesy’s book, I thought his book was incredible. It's probably one of the best bio books really. It was incredible and so open. I was looking forward to that a lot.

It was as if [the show] kind of stayed with Steve [Jones’ memoir] about halfway through, and then departed from it. [John] Lydon, for instance, was never someone I ever saw acting out; he's more like that today. I never saw him do something like jump up in the room and run around going crazy. The only time I saw him ever do that was when they signed the recording deal with Virgin in front of Buckingham Palace. Whereas Sid Vicious was always acting out; he was always doing something in a horrible way or shouting at someone. I don't remember John being like that. I remember him being much more introverted.

But then I watched interviews with some of the actors about coming to grips with the parts they were playing. And they were saying, we knew punk rock happened but just didn't know any of the details. So I thought well, there you go. If ["Pistol" is]  informing a lot of people who wouldn't know anything about punk rock, maybe that's what's good about it.

Maybe down the road John Lydon will get the chance to do John's version of the Pistols story. Maybe someone will go a lot deeper into it and it won't be so surface. But maybe you needed this just to get people back in the flow.

We had punk and metal over here in the States, but it feels like England it was legitimately more dangerous. British society was much more rigid.

It never went [as] mega in America. It went big in England. It exploded when the Pistols did that interview with [TV host Bill] Grundy, that lorry truck driver put his boot through his own TV, and all the national papers had "the filth and the fury" [headlines].

We went from being unknown to being known overnight. We waited a year, Generation X. We even told them [record labels] no for nine months to a year. Every record company wanted their own punk rock group. So it went really mega in England, and it affected the whole country – the style, the fashions, everything. I mean, the Ramones were massive in England. Devo had a No. 1 song [in England] with "Satisfaction" in '77. Actually, Devo was as big as or bigger than the Pistols.

You were ahead of the pop-punk thing that happened in the late '90s, and a lot of it became tongue-in-cheek by then. It didn't have the same sense of rebelliousness as the original movement. It was more pop.

It had become a style. There was a famous book in England called Revolt Into Style — and that's what had happened, a revolt that turned into style which then they were able to duplicate in their own way. Even recently, Billie Joe [Armstrong] did his own version of "Gimme Some Truth," the Lennon song we covered way back in 1977.

When we initially were making [punk] music, it hadn't become accepted yet. It was still dangerous and turned into a style that people were used to. We were still breaking barriers.

You have a band called Generation Sex with Steve Jones and Paul Cook. I assume you all have an easier time playing Pistols and Gen X songs together now and not worrying about getting spit on like back in the '70s?

Yeah, definitely. When I got to America I told the group I was putting it together, "No one spits at the audience."

We had five years of being spat on [in the UK], and it was revolting. And they spat at you if they liked you. If they didn't like it they smashed your gear up. One night, I remember I saw blood on my T-shirt, and I think Joe Strummer got meningitis when spit went in his mouth.

You had to go through a lot to become successful, it wasn't like you just kind of got up there and did a couple of gigs. I don't think some young rock bands really get that today.

With punk going so mega in England, we definitely got a leg up. We still had a lot of work to get where we got to, and rightly so because you find out that you need to do that. A lot of groups in the old days would be together three to five years before they ever made a record, and that time is really important. In a way, what was great about punk rock for me was it was very much a learning period. I really learned a lot [about] recording music and being in a group and even writing songs.

Then when I came to America, it was a flow, really. I also really started to know what I wanted Billy Idol to be. It took me a little bit, but I kind of knew what I wanted Billy Idol to be. And even that took a while to let it marinate.

You and Miley Cyrus have developed a good working relationship in the last several years. How do you think her fans have responded to you, and your fans have responded to her?

I think they're into it. It's more the record company that she had didn't really get "Night Crawling"— it was one of the best songs on Plastic Hearts, and I don't think they understood that. They wanted to go with Dua Lipa, they wanted to go with the modern, young acts, and I don't think they realized that that song was resonating with her fans. Which is a shame really because, with Andrew Watt producing, it's a hit song.

But at the same time, I enjoyed doing it. It came out really good and it's very Billy Idol. In fact, I think it’s more Billy Idol than Miley Cyrus. I think it shows you where Andrew Watt was. He was excited about doing a Billy Idol track. She's fun to work with. She’s a really great person and she works at her singing — I watched her rehearsing for the Super Bowl performance she gave. She rehearsed all Saturday morning, all Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning and it was that afternoon. I have to admire her fortitude. She really cares.

I remember when you went on "Viva La Bam" back in 2005 and decided to give Bam Margera’s Lamborghini a new sunroof by taking a power saw to it. Did he own that car? Was that a rental?

I think it was his car.

Did he get over it later on?

He loved it. [Laughs] He’s got a wacky sense of humor. He’s fantastic, actually. I’m really sorry to see what he's been going through just lately. He's going through a lot, and I wish him the best. He's a fantastic person, and it's a shame that he's struggling so much with his addictions. I know what it's like. It's not easy.

Musically, what is the synergy like with you guys during the past 10 years, doing Kings and Queens of the Underground and this new stuff? What is your working relationship like now in this more sober, older, mature version of you two as opposed to what it was like back in the '80s?

In lots of ways it’s not so different because we always wrote the songs together, we always talked about what we're going to do together. It was just that we were getting high at the same time.We're just not getting [that way now] but we're doing all the same things.

We're still talking about things, still [planning] things:What are we going to do next? How are we going to find new people to work with? We want to find new producers. Let's be a little bit more timely about putting stuff out.That part of our relationship is the same, you know what I mean? That never got affected. We just happened to be overloading in the '80s.

The relationship’s… matured and it's carrying on being fruitful, and I think that's pretty amazing. Really, most people don't get to this place. Usually, they hate each other by now. [Laughs] We also give each other space. We're not stopping each other doing things outside of what we’re working on together. All of that enables us to carry on working together. I love and admire him. I respect him. He's been fantastic. I mean, just standing there on stage with him is always a treat. And he’s got an immensely great sense of humor. I think that's another reason why we can hang together after all this time because we've got the sense of humor to enable us to go forward.

There's a lot of fan reaction videos online, and I noticed a lot of younger women like "Rebel Yell" because, unlike a lot of other '80s alpha male rock tunes, you're talking about satisfying your lover.

It was about my girlfriend at the time, Perri Lister. It was about how great I thought she was, how much I was in love with her, and how great women are, how powerful they are.

It was a bit of a feminist anthem in a weird way. It was all about how relationships can free you and add a lot to your life. It was a cry of love, nothing to do with the Civil War or anything like that. Perri was a big part of my life, a big part of being Billy Idol. I wanted to write about it. I'm glad that's the effect.

Is there something you hope people get out of the songs you've been doing over the last 10 years? Do you find yourself putting out a message that keeps repeating?

Well, I suppose, if anything, is that you can come to terms with your life, you can keep a hold of it. You can work your dreams into reality in a way and, look, a million years later, still be enjoying it.

The only reason I'm singing about getting out of the cage is because I kicked out of the cage years ago. I joined Generation X when I said to my parents, "I'm leaving university, and I'm joining a punk rock group." And they didn't even know what a punk rock group was. Years ago, I’d write things for myself that put me on this path, so that maybe in 2022 I could sing something like "Cage" and be owning this territory and really having a good time. This is the life I wanted.

The original UK punk movement challenged societal norms. Despite all the craziness going on throughout the world, it seems like a lot of modern rock bands are afraid to do what you guys were doing. Do you think we'll see a shift in that?

Yeah.  Art usually reacts to things, so I would think eventually there will be a massive reaction to the pop music that’s taken over — the middle of the road music, and then this kind of right wing politics. There will be a massive reaction if there's not already one. I don’t know where it will come from exactly. You never know who's gonna do [it].

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Country music's evolution is well represented in the 2023 GRAMMY nominees for Best Country Solo Performance. From crossover pop hooks to red-dirt outlaw roots, the genre's most celebrated elements are on full display — thanks to rising stars, leading ladies and country icons.

Longtime hitmaker Miranda Lambert delivered a soulful performance on the rootsy ballad "In His Arms," an arrangement as sparing as the windswept west Texas highlands where she co-wrote the song. Viral newcomer Zach Bryan dug into similar organic territory on the Oklahoma side of the Red River for "Something in the Orange," his voice accompanied with little more than an acoustic guitar.

Two of country's 2010s breakout stars are clearly still shining, too, as Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini both received Best Country Solo Performance GRAMMY nods. Morris channeled the determination that drove her leap-of-faith move from Texas to Nashville for the playful clap-along "Circles Around This Town," while Ballerini brought poppy hooks with a country edge on the infectiously upbeat "HEARTFIRST."

Rounding out the category is the one and only Willie Nelson, who paid tribute to his late friend Billy Joe Shaver with a cover of "Live Forever" — a fitting sentiment for the 89-year-old legend, who is approaching his eighth decade in the business. 

As the excitement builds for the 2023 GRAMMYs on Feb. 5, 2023, let's take a closer look at this year's nominees for Best Country Solo Performance.

Kelsea Ballerini — "HEARTFIRST"

In the tradition of Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini represents Nashville's sunnier side — and her single "HEARTFIRST" is a slice of bright, uptempo, confectionary country-pop for the ages.

Ballerini sings about leaning into a carefree crush with her heart on her sleeve, pushing aside her reservations and taking a risk on love at first sight. The scene plays out in a bar room and a back seat, as she sweeps nimbly through the verses and into a shimmering chorus, when the narrator decides she's ready to "wake up in your T-shirt." 

There are enough steel guitar licks to let you know you're listening to a country song, but the story and melody are universal. "HEARTFIRST" is Ballerini's third GRAMMY nod, but first in the Best Country Solo Performance category.

Zach Bryan — "Something In The Orange"

Zach Bryan blew into Music City seemingly from nowhere in 2017, when his original song "Heading South" — recorded on an iPhone — went viral. Then an active officer in the U.S. Navy, the Oklahoma native chased his muse through music during his downtime, striking a chord with country music fans on stark songs led by his acoustic guitar and affecting vocals.

After his honorable discharge in 2021, Bryan began his music career in earnest, and in 2022 released "Something in the Orange," a haunting ballad that stakes a convincing claim to the territory between Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell in both sonics and songwriting. Slashing slide guitar drives home the song's heartbreak, as Bryan pines for a lover whose tail lights have long since vanished over the horizon. 

"Something In The Orange" marks Bryan's first-ever GRAMMY nomination.

Miranda Lambert — "In His Arms"

Miranda Lambert is the rare, chart-topping contemporary country artist who does more than pay lip service to the genre's rural American roots. "In His Arms" originally surfaced on 2021's The Marfa Tapes, a casual recording Lambert made with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall in Marfa, Texas — a tiny arts enclave in the middle of the west Texas high desert.

In this proper studio version — recorded for her 2022 album, Palomino — Lambert retains the structure and organic feel of the mostly acoustic song; light percussion and soothing atmospherics keep her emotive vocals front and center. A native Texan herself, Lambert sounds fully at home on "In His Arms."

Lambert is the only Best Country Solo Performance nominee who is nominated in all four Country Field categories in 2023. To date, Miranda Lambert has won 3 GRAMMYs and received 27 nominations overall. 

Maren Morris — "Circles Around This Town"

When Maren Morris found herself uninspired and dealing with writer's block, she went back to what inspired her to move to Nashville nearly a decade ago — and out came "Circles Around This Town," the lead single from her 2022 album Humble Quest.

Written in one of her first in-person songwriting sessions since the pandemic, Morris has called "Circles Around This Town" her "most autobiographical song" to date; she even recreated her own teenage bedroom for the song's video. As she looks back to her Texas beginnings and the life she left for Nashville, Morris' voice soars over anthemic, yet easygoing production. 

Morris last won a GRAMMY for Best Country Solo Performance in 2017, when her song "My Church" earned the singer her first GRAMMY. To date, Maren Morris has won one GRAMMY and received 17 nominations overall.

Willie Nelson — "Live Forever"

Country music icon Willie Nelson is no stranger to the GRAMMYs, and this year he aims to add to his collection of 10 gramophones. He earned another three nominations for 2023 — bringing his career total to 56 — including a Best Country Solo Performance nod for "Live Forever."

Nelson's performance of "Live Forever," the lead track of the 2022 tribute album Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver, is a faithful rendition of Shaver's signature song. Still, Nelson puts his own twist on the tune, recruiting Lucinda Williams for backing vocals and echoing the melody with the inimitable tone of his nylon-string Martin guitar. 

Shaver, an outlaw country pioneer who passed in 2020 at 81 years old, never had any hits of his own during his lifetime. But plenty of his songs were still heard, thanks to stars like Elvis Presley, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. Nelson was a longtime friend and frequent collaborator of Shaver's — and now has a GRAMMY nom to show for it.

2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List