Hey Music Mag - Issue 3 - December 2018

When did you first discover your love
for music?
I’ve loved music ever since I can remember.
My parents used to make me read so I used
to write stupid songs in my library books
when I was a kid.
What was your introduction to the
music scene?
When I was 15 I got accepted into Grammy
Camp LA. It’s this awesome camp that the
Grammy Foundation puts on every year for
high schoolers in three different locations
around the country.
You moved to southern California to attend
California State University Long Beach but
then put that on hold to pursue a career in
music. What changed your mind?
I never wanted
to go to college,
really. I only picked
Long Beach
so I could land
somewhere near
LA. Even when I
was there I was
skipping class to
go to the studio.
Seems like you
made a wise move considering the artists
you’ve since worked with…
I’ve worked with lots of amazing artists…
a bunch of cool people.
Snoop was probably the craziest. He has
this huge compound out in Inglewood, where
all his classic cars are parked next to his
Pittsburgh Steelers’ tour bus with his face
on it. Once you walk in, there’s a huge Bruce
Lee statue and a bunch of candy jars. He has
multiple studios there, multiple games rooms,
a full basketball court and a casino, and
upstairs is his living quarters. Everything he
says sounds crazy philosophical. I listened to
him for so long. He’s the coolest guy.
Tell us about your songwriting process…
It depends. If I’m going into a session for an
artist I normally ask them what’s going on
“I’ve written a million
terrible songs and I
couldn’t have gotten
to the good ones
without them”
in their life, and we go from there. Melody
might come first or the lyrics. If I’m writing by
myself I almost always start with melody. To
me, that’s the easiest way.
If you could work with one person for the
rest of your life who would it be?
Lana Del Rey is the reason I started writing
songs in the first place so it’d be a dream
to work with her.
What’s the biggest sacrifice you’ve made
to get where you are today?
I love my job. It’s weird to even call it a job
but I feel like I sacrificed being a normal
18 - 20-year-old kid. I never really got
to do the whole young adult thing. I just
jumped right into working all the time. I’m
surrounded by people a lot older than me
and I miss hanging out with people my age.
How do you find
being a young
woman in such a
huge industry?
When I first started
writing I was really
intimidated and
then I met Justin
Tranter [one of the
most successful
songwriters in pop
music today], who
I ended up signing to. Working with him has
really shown me that I can be comfortable
speaking my mind. He has a rule that he
won’t do a session unless there’s at least one
woman, person of colour or queer person in
the room. He’s opened so many doors for
me. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor.
What’s next for you, music-wise?
I’m finally putting out more music myself.
I had a lot of growing to do as a writer so
I’ve been taking my time. There’s a full EP
coming and surprise collaborations.
What advice would you give to young
songwriters?
Write as many songs as you can. I’ve written
a million terrible songs and I couldn’t have
gotten to the good ones without them.
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