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office spoke to the singer-songwriter about the new project, her musical journey, and the magical music video and exclusive photos shot in Joshua Tree, below.
You grew up in NYC — how has that influenced your sound and your outlook on the world?
Everyone here is looking for something and that never stops. Looking to find their identity, their tribe, their purpose. NYC fosters so much curiosity and growth. It is the very breeding ground for self-deviance and discovery. You can just as easily lose yourself while finding yourself and that's when I write my best stuff, when I take a second to reflect on my choices and state of mind.
Your interest in music began when you were seven years old and took up guitar. In your upbringing, how was music intertwined with your life and when did you decide you wanted to take it on full-time?
Music has been intertwined in my life since birth. I grew up in a Jewish household where we sang Hebrew prayers together every weekend on the Sabbath. That coupled with my parents' affinity for music; it was never silent in our house. My mom still sends me 80s music randomly. I dropped out of college and moved to LA on a whim at 19 to start making demos. As for the catalyst, I was in an on-again off-again ‘situationship’ that fucked me up and I literally spent more time writing lyrics than writing my journalism assignments. It was just so obvious to me that it was music or nothing.
When did you begin writing music? Can you remember the first song you ever wrote and how that inspired you to continue writing your own lyrics?
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. Before I could even read or write I would sing random melodies throughout the house and in public I’d annoy everyone around me. The first song I remember writing was about a boy I met on vacation, that I had a crush on but never saw again. I was ten years old.
‘I met a guy who made me go wild, I met a guy who made me smile, but I had to go and I didn't wanna show, how sad I am, how mad I am, but I had to leave and I could not believe, we’ll never see what we could be.’
I remember another song called ‘House of Despair.’ The drama!
What is your songwriting process like? Is it a linear process, or a bit more chaotic and Free-flowing?
It is sometimes chaotic, especially when I experience a traumatic or painful situation and run home to write out my feelings; I’ll be honest, some part of me seeks it out. I have a few lines in a poem I wrote — ‘I feed off the highs and lows. I crave the rollercoaster. It drives me. I thrive in instability. I relish in the anguish. After all, I am an artist.’ — which I hope can better answer this question. For the most part, it is spontaneous. I’ll even pull lyrics from text conversations. It's random like that.
Many have coined your sound as ‘sad girl indie pop.’ And your latest single, ‘Mirror,’ explores sometimes indulging in those feelings of sadness instead of trying to push them away. In what ways has music helped you face certain emotions or come to terms with tribulations you have experienced?
It actually takes effort for me not to express myself, so to have an outlet where I can say anything I want and not hold back has saved my life. ‘Mirror’ is a perfect example — there are actual screams from the desert in the outro of the song. It needed to come out.
Your sound takes on an almost nostalgic quality, shaped by the music you were raised with. I saw you mentioned in a previous interview that Santana was an influence for you, but what other artists or groups have impacted your musical choices?
Every week I’ll get obsessed with different songs while listening compulsively and they’ll inspire me sonically. A lot of those within the genre played a role in our nuanced production choices. My mom also sent me a bunch of Roxy Music songs that inspired most of the synth moments in my project.
Angst-fueled, indie-pop/rock has perpetuated for decades, but how do you share the experience of a contemporary 20-something-year-old, while still staying true to the music that shaped you?
I think the music I grew up with planted the seed for the kind of music I started writing, but sonic exploration as an artist never ends. You’d be surprised at some of the demos I have — they sound nothing like this project.
Your debut EP, Apt 7D, just dropped last week — packed full of ethereal vocals, guitar riffs, and heartfelt lyrics. Tell me about the emotions that drove this project and how you hope other people feel when listening to it.
I was so fed up with the cyclical nature of life in the context of my mental health and my relationships. In every song, there is an element of blame until an ultimate moment of clarity in which I admit it’s not their fault it’s mine — that’s a literal lyric. I want whoever listens to know they aren’t alone in that feeling. It’s okay to be angry and upset sometimes. It’s okay not to have the desire or capacity to challenge yourself or shift perspective. I’m not about toxic positivity. Feel the feels. At a certain point though, you do become an eternal victim in your own mind. We can indulge in our emotions all we want, but when it is no longer cathartic and becomes self-destructive, it’s kind of time to look inward. Hence the entire chorus of ‘Mirror.’
The video for ‘Mirror’ took place in Joshua Tree. 'Mirror' is a song about introspection and self-realization, and Joshua Tree is a beautiful, expansive place that is well-suited for reflecting. Tell me about the process of making the music video and why you chose that location.
‘Mirror’ was written in Joshua Tree a year earlier so it was only fitting. Oh god, on set I would joke that I was getting free cryo-therapy. It was so cold at night. Windy and below 50 degrees while I was basically naked. I still can’t believe I pushed through that. Never again. I almost passed out filming the desert scenes. The amount of water consumed between me and my team on set could fill a small pond. It was an amazing experience though stepping into the different facets of my personality on camera. I loved every second of it and I can’t wait for the next one.
Now that the EP has dropped — a huge career milestone — what are some other achievements you hope to accomplish for the rest of the year?
Thank you, it is, alongside this article! I really can't wait to start performing live around the city this summer and in general. Mainly, I just can’t wait to release new music. I have a lot of stuff in the works.
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Anajah Hamilton Says Hello
DRESS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MARITHE + FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD, SHOES by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MIU MIU, TIGHTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP
These things are true about Hamilton: She’s an artist, a curator, an indulger, a traveler, and all-around talent who’s inspirations and connections to community guide her pen. After a slow farewell to the modeling industry and a transition into more auditory forms of art, she’s showcasing her vulnerability one lyric at a time. On social media, many edit out imperfections that would leave them feeling vulnerable. The erasure of imperfection, and with it, vulnerability, reinforces the irretrievable ideal of perfection. Hamilton’s artistry exists as a notification to everyone that there is no weakness in honesty. She is carving an image that cannot be erased or archived. It’ll exist beyond Instagram stories and retweets — with her new EP, Hamilton is writing her story over, beginning with ‘hello’. And with this you will never say goodbye.
How would you describe Anajah?
I would say Anajah is a quirky girl. She is a history buff, she loves art, she's really bubbly and fun.
What is your relationship to sound, both internally and externally?
I've always had a really interesting connection to sound; for one, my ears are super sensitive. I can't listen to bad music. And if I make something bad, I legitimately have to throw it away, like I can't work on it anymore. I've also been singing since I was a child. I was in a choir from eight years old until eighteen then I sang backup for instrumental artists. I would go to the studio with my mom and sit there with my notes. I was always so professional and excited. I’ve always been really demure and quiet about being a singer.
It's something I really care about and it's not something I really like to post or boast about. Not yet, at least, but I do feel like it's something that's really important to me. I recently did a 15-week music theory course because I feel like being an artist, if you want to be someone with longevity or at least with as much knowledge as possible, you have to continuously advance your craft or deepen the idea of it because art is a conversation and it can be repetitive. I'm trying to find as many new and interesting perspectives in my work so people can relate to it when they do hear all my new stuff.
1: ANAJAH wears JACKET by PURE PLEASURES STUDIO, BRALETTE, TIGHTS, SHOES, and BELT are STYLIST'S OWN
2: TOP and PANTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP, BELT and RINGS are STYLIST'S OWN
What part of your being do the emotions of your music come from?
As a Libra, I struggle a lot with my mind and I think I really lead with my brain. I'm a cancer moon as well. I'm not really an emotional person, but when I write music, I feel like I can really open up and say exactly what I feel or what I actually mean because I don't express emotion to people. But when I write music, it definitely comes from a very sensitive, deep, visceral place that I don't allow most people to enter. I also tend to hide my deepest secrets there.
I struggle with impostor syndrome and chasing perfection and wanting more out of life, dejection, you know, and I think being an artist is being vulnerable and honest in front of people. But I also think having to put it into words, it's such a different experience than drawing or any other medium. I have to legitimately therapize myself in order to create and I write a lot from a place of self-doubt and searching for my worth.
What would you say is the difference between your creative and analytical mind?
Well, I think I'm big on compartmentalization. I love having things in boxes, but when I start to create, they kind of bleed into one another. It's like a school project where you're making a diagram. It has all these words and you're adding pictures. That's how I make music. I feel like one side of my brain is thinking about, ‘Okay, how is this gonna look? What color does this remind me of sonically?’ But also, ‘Does this make sense lyrically?’
It has to be both. If I try to separate them, it can be a little corny. I definitely blend both sides of my brain a lot when I make music, because it's not just about how it sounds, it also matters if it makes sense.
What do you think about most?
I guess how I'm perceived, which is so bad. Like it's just bad. It's terrible. I think in all honesty I feel like something that's always on my mind is how I'm being perceived if I'm around all my friends. I'm like, ‘Ok, am I being annoying or too silly?’ if I’m on a date. I'm like, ‘Oh my God, am I sending out the wrong signals?’
As a person, my brain never stops, but always draws back to being perceived, which also goes back to comparing myself to others and people see me. With that as my main thought, it's also about calming down and re-centering myself.
1: DRESS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MARITHE + FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD, SHOES by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MIU MIU, TIGHTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP
2: TOP and SKIRT by SANDY LIANG, SHOES and TIGHTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP PRADA, RINGS are STYLIST'S OWN
How do you navigate familiar spaces as you redefine your identity as an artist?
As I redefine myself in this very different part of my life, I think that I'm trying my best to just be as authentic as possible. I feel like in the age of the internet, there's a lot of people who perform or put up a wall or feel like they have to be a certain kind of way for people to like them so that they can get followers, or brand deals or people to really gravitate toward them.
I've never liked that. It always made my skin crawl. I just want to be a human being, whether that's in real life or online. In any part of my life, in any room that I stand in, I just want people to see me as a person.
As you flip through your physical music library, which album do you find your fingers on the most?
I really love The Dots and Loops album by StereoLab. I saw them a few months ago at Brooklyn Steel and they were so good. They're just so cool and chic and I love the sound that they use. It's so timeless and futuristic, especially for a French disco band from the nineties. It just sounds like it could be from any time period. I love what they sing about, like they sing about just existing time space filling it up, I think it's really interesting.
Describe the last dream you had.
I have a lot of dreams but if I don't remember them. It's because they're gonna happen. I've always been a clairvoyant person and when I was a child, I used to be able to tell people what was gonna happen. I told my mom she was pregnant and she was like, ‘No, I'm not.’ She was, and I named my sister. I've just always been really strange and I feel like dreams are very important. I don't know in what way they're significant to me yet, but I know they're important.
1: TOP and PANTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP, BELT and RINGS are STYLIST'S OWN
2: JACKET by PURE PLEASURES STUDIO, BRALETTE, SHOES, and BELT by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP PRADA, TIGHTS are STYLIST'S OWN
What is your fondest memory?
I remember when my great grandmother passed away, I was sitting outside by myself after the repass and I was just talking to the wind telling her I'm going to miss her, like being an odd kid, and then the wind started blowing and I was like, ‘where is it taking me?’
And the wind blew me to where my cousin was and he was digging a hole. I didn't know what he was doing and then I started helping him and we found a horseshoe. It always felt like a good omen. It always felt like she was telling us to find this thing. Even though she's gone, she's still gonna guide us through life. After that, other weird stuff happened.
She loves frogs, and one night, like, we heard a knock at the door, we opened it, it was frogs, like, just like strange stuff. I feel like my fondest memories are with the older people in my family who have passed on who shaped me into the woman I am now.
How has your influence on others impacted your personal life?
In my personal life, because so many have seen me go from a girl in my town to doing all of these novel things. It really affects how people treat you. It's very tricky because it’s always hard to differentiate when somebody actually wants to be your friend and not use you for who you know or what room you can get them in.
I also feel like I have a need for people to see me as a person. I think often people say, ‘Oh, she's pretty and you know, she has this on or she's met this person or she's done this or done that.’ But when I actually confide in people emotionally, if I'm going through something stressful or worried about work or if I have a family issue, if I talk to someone who I felt like was my friend or like a lover the response is just like, ‘Oh, you're gonna get through it. It's gonna be okay.’ I'm like, ‘Damn’, it's just so shallow.
I feel like a lot of people you meet are so focused on chasing after their dreams that they keep it surface level and will cut you off very quickly if you're not feeding into whatever plan they have going on. So what I've struggled with a lot in my personal life is finding genuine people who also work in the same industry as me. I feel like the people I hold close to me are people from back home or people I grew up with. Some people act like their social interactions are a job and I can't do that. It just makes me feel like I'm in a simulation and I hate that.
1:TOP and SKIRT by SANDY LIANG, SHOES and TIGHTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP PRADA, RINGS are STYLIST'S OWN
2: DRESS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MARITHE + FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD, SHOES by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MIU MIU, TIGHTS by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP
What does transformation look like as someone who's grown up so connected to the digital space?
To me, transformation looks like an internal conversation with oneself. Life is so long, and it can be fun to discover all the ways possible that you can present yourself to the world. Being a young person who grew up posting and sharing so much of myself on the Internet, I find that it is so important to have an identity that truly reflects your inner self. To transform in the digital age is to continuously learn who you are, away from the computer.
Is there anything you've healed from?
Being an artist, both a singer and a model. If you're a model, people love how you look and they want you to be seen and not heard. And the whole idea of your body image and how you view yourself facially is just like, really stressful. I was a singer first and I became a model by accident. Having to transition into the music space, I worry, ‘Do people take me seriously?’ I think something I've healed from is the stress of worrying what people think about me. For the most part I've really calmed down my inner critic and I've just been trying my best to like to sit with who I am.
I like myself and I think I've healed this whole idea of constantly trying to change myself, trying to fix every little imperfection. We’re always going to grow and change, but the mindset is different. When I’m in a good space, I'm like, ‘Okay, I do like her. She's fun.’
FAUX FUR TOP by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP, TOP and BOTTOMS by SANDY LIANG, SHOES by CONSCIOUSLY SHOP MIU MIU
What are you trying to let go of as you step into this new chapter of your life?
I think I'm trying to let go of my fear of failure. No one wants to fail. No one wants to be a laughing stock. But I think if you don't try,you'll never know. So I think I'm just trying to let go of my fear of doing something and it not being good. I want to be like, ‘You know what, I'm gonna just post the craziest thing in the world like why not?’
For sure. What can we expect next?
I've been working on a lot of new songs. I've been making an EP for a while and finally wrapping that up and releasing a bunch of singles. What's next for me is just working on music and being considered a singer. I really love being a singer. It's so much work, but it has its moments of fun and creativity, but I love to work on art and my craft and I just want other people to enjoy it with me and to really like it. I want to hear what people think.
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Ward Is in His Jordan Year
Left: jacket WALES BONNER, jersey HERON PRESTON, shorts WILLY CHAVARRIA, headband NIKE.
Aside from growing up in the Black church, Ward also says he was heavily involved in the dance community in St. Louis from an early age. At 9, his mother placed him in a musical theater program where he learned tap, jazz, ballet and hip-hop. He acted, sang, and danced for years, due to his excellent dancing skills and involvement in competitions, he was constantly traveling. Jordan’s aspirations to move to Los Angeles guided him and by 18 he moved there to pursue professional dancing.
After some time there, he landed a gig touring as a backup dancer for Becky G. While on the road, he found himself drawn to creating music while cooped up in his hotels – Becky G. encouraged him too. Though it felt foreign for him at first, he began doing what felt natural for him: writing and singing about his life as a dancer on the road. By the time 2015 came, he was hired as a backup dancer for Justin Bieber as a part of the singer’s Purpose tour. This led to Ward striking up a friendship with a talented artist and dancer who pushed him to start freestyling and recording, he stayed consistent and within a year and a half he released his first EP, A Peak At The Summit.
FORWARD released on Interscope Records has so many layers and that’s what lands Ward in the lexicon of rising alt acts who once were inspired by distinct eras of hip-hop: think the blog era where artists like Wiz Khalifa and J. Cole got their footing (Jordan looks up to both of these acts). In conversation, the artist-rapper expresses that FORWARD paints a picture of where he’s at right now as a music-maker. But, it also does more than that, it introduces him to new listeners by way of fleshed-out arrangements by Lido, the album’s executive producer and Ward’s honest lyricism. These notions when paired with hip-hop, gospel and rhythm and blues influences create a fusion sound that culminates with Ward ushering in a reflective chapter of his artistry.
office caught up with Jordan Ward following his first headlining tour to speak about his influences, his creative childhood and his background in St. Louis, and more.
What were some of your earliest music memories?
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was just one of those CDs that I just remember always being in my house since I was a kid. And I would always pick it up and listen to it, and it followed me into my adulthood. Other than that, I mean, I grew up around a lot of gospel music.
Left: jacket WALES BONNER, jersey HERON PRESTON, shorts WILLY CHAVARRIA, boots TIMBERLAND, headband NIKE.
Right: jacket HERON PRESTON, sunglasses STYLIST'S OWN.
How old were you when you started getting involved with creative activities like musical theater, dancing and more?
I remember being drawn to singing and dancing and rapping ever since I was a kid, ever since I can remember. But the first time I actually got involved was when I was eight or nine and I started doing musical theater. My mom had noticed I was getting in trouble for singing and dancing in class. So basically she was just like, "Let me just switch you with some singing and dancing." So she sent me to some musical theater auditions.
I started doing community theater, professional theater. And then when I was nine, I started dancing, started taking tap, and then when I was 10, I joined my dance studio and I was like a competition kid. I was a convention kid. As a kid, I always just wrote raps, had rhyme books, battled people at the YMCA lock-ins and around neighborhood and stuff. I had a big community in the musical theater realm. And then within the dance studio culture in St. Louis, I knew a lof of kids from competing.
What other types of music were you listening to as you were growing up?
Other than gospel, I mean, coming up as a kid, I was big on 50 Cent. And then right before middle school, I got more into 2Pac’s Me Against the World and Nas’ Illmatic. I like All Eyez On Me too. Biggie’s Ready to Die, JAY-Z’s Reasonable Doubt. I was on my real hip-hop shit as a kid. I started listening to all that when I was like 10.
Were you creating music as a part of the SoundCloud era in middle school or high school?
I never made music as a kid. I used to just rap, write raps. I recorded one demo in my friend's basement because her dad was a church musician and he had a studio. By the time I got to high school, I was way more focused on dance.
In high school, I wasn't thinking about being an artist at all. I was just focused on being ready to move to LA when I was 18, to start my career and shit. But I definitely was super into music though. If anything, I thought I was going to go from dance to the music industry, but just in a different way. I came up on the Lil Wayne No Ceilings era, the Wiz Khalifa “Taylor Gang” era, coming home, watching Wiz Khalifa YouTube videos “DayToday” every day, watching Mac Miller, watching just even early Tyler, The Creator and Drake.
I was traveling a lot for dance. Every weekend I would fly to these different workshops around the country and try to get on scholarships so I can train more throughout the year. And I would be flying by myself a ton. So I always just had music with me. And I feel like that combination inspired my view on the world a lot.
Jacket, pants and shoes GUCCI, top HERMES, sunglasses FLATLIST, rings MIANSAI.
Do you think you’ve taken anything from the blog era and used it as a part of your artistry?
For sure. I mean, I feel like the blog era artists lay it like a new blueprint for artists. As far as putting yourself on the internet, branding yourself. My YouTube series “PlantainGo!” is definitely inspired by Wiz Khalifa’s “DayToday.” I'm trying to carry that era with me – everything from the merch to just the community recognition.
What inspires me from that era and what I try to bring with me is that the internet allowed people with different personalities. It allowed for a different set of representation. When I saw these artists on the internet that maybe came from a similar community that I came from, but was different from a lot of the people they came up around inspired me.
People like Wiz Khalifa and J Cole, they made me feel I could identify with them as a young Black kid growing up in the inner city that didn't talk like everybody, or didn't necessarily dress like everybody. I was doing contemporary dance and doing ballet and getting music from what I would be doing with that, studying at my studio and stuff. And I would see them be tapped into the same music too. So I feel like it's just inspiring.
How did you transition from dancing to creating music? Especially since you initially moved to Los Angeles to chase your dreams of being a professional dancer.
By the time I actually started working professionally as a dancer, the last thing I wanted to do was become an artist. I feel like there's an unspoken code you assume as a dancer when it's just, you just become more ninja like. You're only there when you need to. You not asked. At least the way I was thinking about, I'm not asking for extra attention. The only thing I want to speak for me is did I do my fucking job. I was touring with Becky G for a year. Becky would just hear me sing, playing around sometimes, and she’d be like, “Just sing a little something for me.” And I’d be like, “What are you talking about?” Then maybe a year and a half after that is when I started fucking around with the music.
I was on tour with Justin Bieber in 2016 with my friend, he was another dancer and performer. We just had a lot of free time in the hotel rooms, and he's an amazing artist. So he would be making music on his laptop, and then I would just be free styling for fun next to him. And then he was like, "Bro, you should fuck around with that." And then I started writing raps, and then pretty much all my free time on tour became me just getting recording equipment and recording demos in my hotel room.
I spent the next year and a half being in my hotel room, hooking up my mic, instead of going out and drinking with everybody all the time, I would just be pulling beats off YouTube and just seeing what I could do living in my own little world before I touched down back in LA. And by the time I came off tour, I had a tape and I started going to the studio on my breaks in between booking studio time in LA. By the end of 2017, I had a tape and I put an EP out, and then yeah, it just started from there.
Jacket and pants ALEXANDER McQUEEN, shirt ACNE STUDIOS, shoes CAMPER, sunglasses FLATLIST, rings MIANSAI.
With your debut album FORWARD do you have any lessons or themes that you took from your first project?
I feel like I'm just always trying to evolve. I'm never trying to do the same thing twice. So on that first tape, I feel like I was describing where I was in life. It was called A Peak At The Summit, which is basically me describing being at one peak of dance and then looking over at the next peak or the next summit of music and being like, "Damn, I got to go through that journey to go up and down." And I feel like, so on that tape, I was talking about my current life being a dancer and my current relationships. And I feel like on FORWARD, I tried to go a little bit before that and talk about my childhood and my family. And I mean, it's music at the end of the day. It's not a tell all or anything, but I feel like I just tried to show a little bit, give a little more context behind it.
What were the biggest themes you were hoping to get across on FORWARD?
I was just trying to illustrate what I was feeling on the inside. At the most basic level, I was just trying to show my evolution as a human being, try to give more context as to why I choose to express myself the way I do, why I have the humor that I do, why I have the emotion that I do, why I have the passion that I do, because of everything that's led me up until this point. And I'm not sure why, but I was just trying to paint the picture as to what led up here.
Left: jacket, pants and shoes GUCCI, top HERMES, sunglasses FLATLIST, rings MIANSAI. Right: jacket and pants GUCCI, sunglasses FLATLIST.
What was the process of creating FORWARD?
Everything was recorded in LA except “IDC” with me and Joony. We made that in New York. We were both in New York at the same time, and that was our first time meeting. But everything else was made in LA. We worked a lot in Lido’s studio. Lido has a home studio, so I was at Lido's crib a lot. There are a lot of the producers on the album, I would just be at their crib. The intro “BUSSDOWN,” produced by my homie, Eli Heisler, I was at his crib when we made that.
All of us came together, myself and the producers, and we rented some houses out throughout the year. One in Malibu, one in Topanga, one in Venice. And just spent four or five days at a time, just locked in, making different ideas, taking mushrooms, going to the beach in between, coming back, trying something else. There was definitely a sense of camaraderie.
I’m curious about the fusion sound you landed on, on the album too. I don't want to say that it's R&B or anything, because I'm not sure what you want to define yourself as, but I'm just curious. Was that a decision that you came up with Lido you executive producer, that you just didn't want to confine yourself to any genre?
I'm not the first to do any of this shit. You know what I'm saying? I'm inspired by mad people. But yeah, I guess, I mean, I don't know if we was sitting in there like, “I don't want to be confined to one genre.” I don't think we stay in one genre. Going back to what I was talking about earlier as far as what I was so inspired by on the blog era, is that you could really hear all these artists' influence.
I don't really mind what genre people put it in. I feel like that's not my job. I like to consider myself a hip-hop artist. I'm not going to call myself a rapper, but I like to consider myself a hip-hop artist. But ultimately, most things are just rhythm and blues derivatives. Rhythm and blues is the ultimate genre after blues and gospel and jazz and all that.
I never want to pigeonhole black artists. What if the artist actually doesn't want to be canonized and placed definitively in a lane?
Since you said that, I'm going to just go ahead and insert that right there. I mean, Chuck Barry, father of rock ‘n’ roll from St. Louis. Tina Turner, queen of rock ‘n’ roll, also from St. Louis.
I feel like I'm just always trying to evolve. I'm never trying to do the same thing twice.
Jacket and pants HERON PRESTON, shoes JORDAN BRAND, bag LOUIS VUITTON.
What was it like collaborating with your friend and stylist Angelo as you were piecing together the album?
I’ve known Angelo since like 2014. We both came up in a similar dance circuit as kids to adults and ended up on similar career paths. But me and him have been friends before I ever started making music, before he started pursuing fashion professionally. We both have gone through financial ups and downs together, real life ups and downs, relationships, all that. I've slept on his couch.
He's seen how my tastes and everything have shaped over the years, why they've shaped that way, how everything has influenced what I do. And I've also seen him evolve as just a fashion creative, and I think we just both have a trust in each other. And now he knows where I'm at with the music. I know where he's at with the fashion, and we both want to take each other to the next level.
How would you describe this chapter of your life?
This chapter is about reaching the fullest potential. I don't even just mean that in just music because my journey with music isn't about becoming as big as I can. It's about being the best artist that I can be genuinely. Of course, I would love to travel the world, and I would love to create financial freedom and create a freedom for me and my loved ones. So I feel like you have to create something sizeable naturally to do that. But to me, it's just about really bringing to life everything that God or the Spirit has put on my heart.
