Black Sherif Is the Chosen One

July 12, 2023

Black Sherif is constantly manifesting. He is like a monk, prostrating himself to the beat and rhythm. Growing up timid within the hypermasculinity of Ghanaian culture, Sherif found a life in music. He takes deep pride in his vulnerability and allowing himself to be fragile. In his newest video “Oh Paradise”, Sherif tearfully strolls down the aisle at a lover’s funeral. The song traverses time, cutting from sentimental memory to tragic hospital scenes.

His music is tactile, futuristic, organic, deeply rooted, natural. Sherif is like a journalist, documenting what’s going on around him, a therapist, singing about every feeling that arises within him, and a healer, speaking truth to the experience of the youth in West Africa.

office sat down with Black Sherif to talk about touring, balance and healing.

Photos by Hannah Sider
Styling by Martine Ali
Interview by Jard Lerebours

SHERIF wears JACKET by DAILY PAPER, PANTS are STYLIST’S OWN, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN

Hi. Nice to meet you man.

Nice to meet you, man, Sherif.

Jard. How's your day going?

I woke up at like 11 A.M., had my breakfast and came back to chill on the sofa because I was tired recording last night. I literally just got back to the studio right now.

What's your studio setup like?

So I have my audio here and there's art work down there. I always have a mic with me whether I’m working or not working.

I have a keyboard down here and my Nintendo switch to play games on.

I know you've lived in a lot of places. Where is home for you?

Accra, bro. Yeah. I feel at home when I’m with my people, the people that I work with. I’ve programmed music into my life, I’m working every second of the day.

I’m at home when I’m working with my people. I’m free and vulnerable, in touch with everything that’s going on with me.

How did you like New York by the way?

I love it. I love New York so much. I love the restaurants, you know, I tried just two restaurants in Brooklyn. The kind of food that I expected in my head was different than what I actually ate.

If I lived here I would definitely gain weight. I love the outfits on the streets, bro. Everyone is wearing fly rings, necklaces, shirts. It’s fire. Soho is crazy.

So you’ve performed in Miami, New York City, LA, London, Accra, Lagos? What’s been your craziest experience performing so far?

I think it would be Virginia. That was when I did Pharell’s festival, Something In The Water. It's one of the best performance I've ever done.

It was crazy because I was an opener for the whole show. I got on stage a minute before they opened the doors and no one was there, then slowly I saw people move in closer to listen to what’s going on.

The opening act really sets the whole tone. You won artist of the year at the Ghana Music Awards, how influential was Ghana's music scene in establishing your sound?

In the begining when I came out, people’s ears weren’t open. They were closed off to what I was doing.

I had to find a way to be myself as an artist and a business person. It took a while to put everyone on to the sound. We did it unconsciously.

BLACK SHERIF wears JACKET by DAILY PAPER, PANTS are STYLIST’S OWN, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN

I’m at home when I’m working with my people. I’m free and vulnerable, in touch with everything that’s going on with me.

Right. The sound is organic.

It happens through everything from video shoots to the content we put out. We try to make everything organic.

Do you have a favorite beat that you've been on?

I think Joker is my favorite producer. My favorite beat was on my last album, “Prey Da Youngsta”. That was the last song we recorded. I was in the U.K., I heard the beat and asked him to keep it for me.

I got back from London to Accra like four weeks before I dropped my album. I recorded the song that night. It was the perfect beat, the beat just made me feel so jiggy.

So, I've noticed that in your music you switch a lot between English, Twi and Pidgin. What are your favorite bars and lyrics of your own?

The lyrics off my song 45, 'Fortified, my nigga this shit divine.'

You're very vulnerable in your music. How has making music helped you process things in your life?

I know a lot of men that really identify with hypermasculinity. I respect them but I want to live. I want to experience, feel everything. I want to be vulnerable and feel fragile sometimes.

I just know who I am and I write every emotion that comes to me. I don’t try to be aggressive or anything like that. I grew up very timid and had to learn how to survive in a society like mine. I found my life in music. I want to be corny sometimes, I want to talk about how I feel. The only place where that’s acceptable is in art.

When did you first start making music?

I started putting things together in 2018 but I didn’t professionally release music until June 2019. At first I was just writing stuff, putting lines together, developing melodies.

BLACK SHERIF wears TOP by MARITHE + FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD, JEWELRY by MARTINE ALI, PANTS are STYLIST’S OWN, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN

I know a lot of men that really identify with hypermasculinity. I respect them but I want to live. I want to experience, feel everything. I want to be able to be vulnerable and feel fragile sometimes.

Can you walk me through your writing process a bit?

I let it breathe. I feel like there’s no limit to where I can make music. Sometimes ideas come to me when I’m jogging, waiting at the bus stop, or on the airplane. Wherever, I am I write it down.

I love to put notes together, my music is like the soundtrack to my life. I mark memories with my music. I write music everywhere.

Right now, what song would be the soundtrack to your life?

"Oil in My Head."

Why?

In the second verse, I say ‘Man don’t stay down when man fall//I get up and come for more'. Right now I’m creating so many projects and sometimes I get so tired. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like it’s possible to make what’s in my head.

But at the end of the day, we try to pull it out and it ends up being better than I imagined. I feel like I’m part of the chosen people and the oil in my head marks being chosen. I feel unstoppable.

SHERIF wears TOP by MARITHE + FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD, JEWELRY by MARTINE ALI, PANTS are STYLIST’S OWN, SHOES are STYLIST’S OWN

What does healing look like for you?

Accepting who I really am as a person and a creator, seeing my strengths and weaknesses. It’s self realization for me.

I feel like I’m close to identifying my problems and that’s the first step to healing. I’m very close to knowing my real self.

I know that you've been called the voice of the youth in Africa before? What does that mean to you?

It means so much to me. I believe that it’s actually true. There’s no lies in my art. My art is authentic and me, so getting that reaction is volcanic. I don’t do cliches.

I write about what’s really going on outside. I don’t struggle to express what’s going on or to explain my art. It’s not difficult to get people on the same page as me about my art or how I see it.

What are you most excited about right now?

The songs, the new songs. I’m in a different space in my head than I was last year. I found time to evaluate things and feel everything to its core.

Now I’m in a space of trying to heal and solve my own problems. I’ve taken steps to solve some things that have been holding me down or hidden in me.

Do you want to talk about your new projects?

I’m dropping a new music video and that will be closure for the album. Then it’s on to the next one.

How would you define your art and yourself as a creator?

My art is pure and futuristic. It’s very rooted in culture and nature. I think my art is like the son of the Earth, the daughter of the Earth. I believe that balance is the source of everything. I try to think about today, reminisce about the past, predict the future and fuse that all on wax.

I try to add a feminine and masculine touch to everything I do. That’s how the world works, it’s all about balance.

Everything is interconnected.

In Twi we say ‘Asase is the mother’ meaning Earth is the mother. We believe the Earth is your mother. She takes everything patiently and with understanding.

I don’t do cliches. I write about what’s really going on outside.

Music

Jesse Jo Stark Is in a Genre of Her Own

April 19, 2024

In the midst of a total solar eclipse, I got the chance to talk about music and style with Jesse Jo Stark.

As I’m on the phone with her from New York, Stark is on a tour bus with The Veronicas, driving through the Colorado mountains to enjoy some time off in between shows. The Veronicas have just started their Gothic Summer North American Tour, and Stark is opening the show. What’s special about this tour for the lifelong music obsessive is the sense of powerful feminine energy encapsulating the tour. “We just started [tour], but it’s been really lovely. I’m obsessed with the fact that we’re all women — it feels like a very powerful crew. The Veronicas are lovely, the crowds have been so fun, and the venues are beautiful. It’s gonna be a good month.”

Photography Sophia-Liv Maguire
Styling Marc Eram
Interview Angelina Hazzouri
Talent Jesse Jo Stark
Hair Antoine Martinez with PARADIS using Roz Hair
Makeup Sydney Szramowski
Photo Assistants Mia O’Neal, Rashaun Richardson
BTS Ms Josephine
Creative Producer Olivia Roper-Caldbeck

This is Stark’s second time touring since the release of her full-length debut album DOOMED in late 2022, which was very well received and led to Stark’s first sold-out international headlining tour on behalf of the album. Previous to her solo tour, she’s opened for various notable acts, such as Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction. I asked Stark, who’s been writing and playing music since age 11, what it was like to prepare for her first sold-out headlining tour. Unsurprisingly, before any tour, Stark goes into what she describes as “bootcamp mode” — dancing every day, vocal training, rehearsing with her band, and of course, working on her outfits. “That’s the sort of homework I love,” she says, smiling. (Even though we’re on the phone, I can tell she’s smiling when she talks about the outfit part. I’d smile too if I had her tour closet.)

What’s unique about Stark as a musician is that she has ultimately created her own universe by embracing every aspect of her creative upbringing, her raw talent, her fascinating influences, and her unwavering beliefs in not needing to fit into a certain box when it comes to her art. She creative-directs and styles all her own looks, referencing an ever-evolving list of influences that range from Vegas showgirls to Halloween to old films to her parents in the 90s. “I think when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from,” she tells me, “but now it’s just my blood. I constantly reflect on my childhood and everything I was taught and everything I saw. My brother and sister and I are constantly pulling influences from our parents from the past. I think, more than ever, I’m heavily influenced by them.”

Stark, the daughter of founders and owners of the self-made American fashion brand Chrome Hearts, and now its creative director and designer, is someone who always knew what she liked, but as she describes it, had to ‘go through the motions’ that come with growing up and knowing one’s identity. Today, her self-efficacy is palpable — and it’s inspiring.

...when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from, but now it’s just my blood.

When she’s on tour, Stark is growing with herself and with her art — she’s not afraid to take life as it comes and learn through the process. With every show, regardless of whether it was on her DOOMED tour or this tour with The Veronicas, Stark understands the importance of human connection through music. Seeing faces of music lovers like herself, meeting those who have traveled to see her, and visiting familiar and unfamiliar cities has reminded her that she loves being on the road. “The growth that happens on tour is so important to me as an artist.” Sometimes we have to leave behind what’s familiar in order to rediscover what’s important, and Stark is a proponent of this growth mindset.

Growth doesn’t just happen on tour with Stark — this evolution of herself happens within genre as well, and for Stark there’s no such thing. Since her first release Driftwood in 2017, the artist’s sound has shifted year after year, but in a harmonious way that still feels central to her gothic Americana roots. When asked if she’ll experiment with genre in the future, Stark confidently answers, “I think I’ve only experimented with genre. I don’t think anyone knows what genre I am.” (She calls herself a “horrific hillbilly” — a perfect descriptor.) Steadfast in her belief that we as humans can constantly evolve in our work, Stark thinks it’s antiquated to fit yourself into a certain box and focus on one specific trade in order to succeed. “If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time. I want to experience different things.”

Since Driftwood, a two-song EP rooted in rock and country, Stark has experimented with more robust beats and 808s on DOOMED, and her most recent single “skeleton” features a softer, grungier punk sound. Without fitting into a specific genre, Stark’s music is undoubtedly and wholeheartedly her own, transcending the boundaries of what many artists struggle with when finding their sound. “I don’t think we should have to label ourselves in any way, shape, or form; so I’m not going to. I will continue to make all types of different music.” Fuck yeah.

If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time.

This goes beyond just music — in terms of her personal style, the same mentality applies. We discuss the idea that clothing and dressing is a sort of playground, and personal style comes from within. Stark isn’t about following trends, but rather, she thinks it’s important to tap into different stylistic elements that amplify who we are at our cores. On her DOOMED tour, Stark wore a lot of leather and stuck to a fairly dark color palette. Right now, she’s into more bourgeois satin and lace, experimenting with different textures and wearing things that feel slightly daintier and more delicate. On this current tour with the Veronicas, Stark is making it more of a point to take everything in — absorbing inspiration from every city, writing songs on the road, recording video on a friend’s super 8 camera, styling and wearing new outfits, learning and performing new covers — ultimately growing through the whole experience.

It’s endearing and inspiring how well Stark knows herself. A Los Angeles native, she proudly tells me that the tour finishes on May 5 in her hometown, a show that she’s especially excited for. While we can’t predict what thoughtfully-curated outfit she’ll wear or what songs will be performed, with new music already underway, one thing is clear: Jesse Jo Stark is just getting started.

Music

9lives' Latest Single Continues to Push Sigilkore

April 19, 2024

The versatile artist, producer, and pioneer of the sigilkore genre, 9lives, has recently unveiled his latest single "CANADA" featuring jnhygs. In less than two years since his emergence onto the music scene, 9lives has carved out an impressive niche for himself as a prominent figure within the digitally-driven sigilkore movement. "CANADA" sees him teaming up once again with experimental dance artist jnhygs, following their successful collaboration on "XTAYALIVE".

With aspirations to establish himself within the mainstream arena of experimental music production and artistry, 9lives is blending his distinct dark production style with collaborations with a diverse array of influential artists who trust him to create innovative sonic landscapes. "CANADA" marks his second release of 2024, as 9lives continues to champion the burgeoning sigilkore movement, pushing the boundaries of genre, evolving into a multifaceted artist, and solidifying his status as a rising star with an expanding audience.

Image by Connor Pritchard

Reflecting on their latest project, 9lives shares, “In early 2023 jnhygs found my music and we started chatting through TikTok, releasing our first song together called "XTAYALIVE"." He adds, We’ve been friends since this song had a viral moment, and fans have been heavily requesting for us to work together again all over our videos.” Describing their creative process, he explains, “I sent a bunch of new ideas to jnhygs via Discord and she sent back vocals to “CANADA”, which I then used to create melodic layers and extra percussion to complete the song.

Music

Eclipsed at Vampire Weekend

April 16, 2024

It had been about a week since the goosebump-inducing communal howls at the moon, as it covered the sun through a cloudy Austin, Texas sky, left me needing to take a seat—suspended in awe of the totality of the event and the synergistic break from routine. I overheard someone say, “I mean, it feels like we’re all going to die, but in a way that’s okay, you know?" under the shadow of the eclipse's peak, ceremoniously brought in as the band performed “Jonathan Low,” (in Vampire Weekend's familiar ironic hue) a track they wrote for the third movie in the Twilight series, Eclipse.

It had been five years since the band had released an album. In celebration of their latest album, "Only God Was Above Us," ticket holders wrapped the streets in blocks outside the venue for the band’s first Stateside show in about two years. Event managers searched to replenish the venue’s stock of eclipse glasses, while the band prepped a show reminiscent of 'getting the boys back together again'.

Words and photography by Rianne Akindele

In between newly released songs like “Classical” and “Capricorn”, the boys filled the almost two-hour-long show with old favorites like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Diane Young” and a genre evolved rendition of “Sunflower” as the crowd danced barefoot feeling the Earth’s energy intertwined with their own and the vibrations from the amps on stage. People stole glances at the imminently darkening sky, artists doodled, friends grabbed onto each other to scream the lyrics in each other’s faces, and onlookers from the highest level of the parking garage across the street cheered on in a symphony of nostalgia and anticipation.

Adding to the layers of the celestial afternoon, the band invited to the stage the likes of Thomas Mars from Phoenix, Dave 1 from Chromeo, and guitarist Brian Robert Jones, inducing further levels of indie revival euphoria.

As the show drew to its close, and the zydeco/country-rock “Cocaine Cowboys” medley fiddled through the air, a conversation could be picked up between two sisters in search of their Lyft driver through closed-off streets,

“I wish this happened more often.”
“Eclipses or shows like this?”
“Both.”

It’s moments like these that remind us of our shared humanity and the power of collective experiences; a gathering of souls under the same sky, sharing the joy of music and a wonder of the stars above. Perhaps it’s the rarity that allowed such transcendence, reverence, and gratitude to be felt. Either way, what a beautiful moment in time it was.

Here are a few shots from the Monday afternoon: