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Interviews

Kirby talks “Black Girl Magic” and her empowering new EP ‘Sis. He wasn’t the one’

Kirby

Kirby has written hooks for artists all across the global charts, however, it’s always a treat to see her claim the limelight herself.

Memphis-born and Mississippi-bred artist Kirby has a resumé so impressive you’ll do a double-take upon reading it. She’s written FourFiveSeconds, and worked for Beyonce, Ariana Grande and John Legend, to name a few. However, the self-proclaimed granddaughter of soul doesn’t describe herself as a singer or songwriter, but a “song therapist”.

This lens of healing is fully notable on her latest EP, Sis. He wasn’t the one. The EP features single Coconut Oil – a confident lathering of futuristic pop and soul that speaks affirmations, celebrating black womanhood. We caught up to learn more about the project from the mindful artist, so take a look.

Kirby

HAPPY: Your latest EP Sis. He wasn’t the one came out October 1st, congratulations! As an artist who creates “soul music for the future” where did you draw inspiration from for this record?

KIRBY: I think honestly I just drew inspiration from real life. When I wrote Sis I was definitely in a place of memorialising a love story that really changed me for the better, but didn’t exactly end in a typical happy ending, and Sis. He wasn’t the one was just the most natural progression from that story and that experience.

HAPPY: Your Sis EP gained over 18 million streams across streaming platforms in just a few months. How did it feel to know that many people tuned into your music in such a short space of time?

KIRBY: Oh man, it felt amazing, I mean I was so nervous with that record coming out, and I just didn’t really know how people would receive a body of work, especially with having so many people personally connect to Loved By You, I just wanted to give them something they felt emotionally moved by, whether it’s We Don’t Funk or Apple or Kool Aid, that people have really given this music a chance.

HAPPY: You collaborated with BJ The Chicago Kid on your track Lately. How did this collaboration come about?

KIRBY: Man, my collaboration with BJ The Chicago Kid is a dream come true, for me, him and Anderson .Paak are two of the forerunners of soul music, their sound is so authentic and so very needed, and they just stay true to who they are; and so for him to come on a record with me was the biggest co-sign I could have because I really believe he is somebody who is, right now, carrying the torch for soul music.

HAPPY: How did you guys’ land on this deliciously slow and soulful sound?

KIRBY: I actually had already written the song, and you know, didn’t want many features on the album but really wanted to have a second verse on this, I said man BJ would be perfect just because he’s such a master of harmony and I believe in shooting your shot, *laughs* in the best way possible. So I definitely was like, telling my fans to hit him up and tweet him and DM him because I wanted them to get his attention about the song, and I think somewhere between that and reaching out to his team, thank god, he decided to get on it!

HAPPY: What were some of the sonic influences behind this song?

KIRBY: Oh man, I would say Tweet, I would say D’Angelo heavily influenced this song, Bilal, Musiq Soulchild, Prince definitely.

HAPPY: Your energetic track Coconut Oil is the self-described national anthem of Black girl magic. I love this and can definitely feel the confidence and pride when I listen to it! Sonically it stands out from the other tracks on the album which are a lot slower. What were you thinking of when writing and recording this track?

KIRBY: I mean, I had just written Superpower and worked with my producer who I love, Spencer Stewart, and I think I was feeling super heavy, you know, because of all that was going on with Breonna Taylor, all that was going on in the world with protests, and I just felt like, ‘man, how can I make a record that is powerful but also feels light, how can I have a message song that I wanna twerk to?’

And that’s what Black Girl Magic, to me, essentially is – it’s taking the heaviness and the, sometimes what can feel like a burden of being a Black woman, and turning it into something beautiful and I wanted Coconut Oil to be the anthem for women to affirm who they are and affirm their worth, and also have a great time doing it.

HAPPY: Blame The Internet is such a gracious but painful track that is super relevant. Despite this, it definitely has a healing quality to it. How important was it for you to address our current dating climate?

KIRBY: Oh man, the dating climate sucks, I tell you. Actually, I shouldn’t say that, because I believe you have what you say, so I shouldn’t say the dating climate sucks first thing. The dating climate, man, is strange, and I was just talking to somebody about the choice between blocking or not blocking somebody after you talk to them. Like, how do you get over somebody when it’s so easy to click and see where they are in their life, or who they’re dating, or what they ate for lunch today; and I just think it’s tough to move on.

I think you have a plethora of options now, but it’s harder to move on because you can be super involved in somebody’s life without them knowing. I think just to break up or end a relationship, nowadays you have to be super intentional about cutting ties, whatever that looks like for you. But Blame The Internet is a real-life story, you know – you date somebody, then you find out they’re married two years later because you checked their Instagram… it can take you down a rabbit hole *laughs*.

HAPPY: You’re currently on tour with John Legend for his US Autumn tour! How has the experience been so far and how is your new music being received?

KIRBY: Man, going on tour with John Legend has been a life-changing experience for me – literally, a Legend. To tour with an icon like him is just amazing, and I think it’s really been awesome to see people of all shades and colours and ages really connect to a song like Coconut Oil, or sing Superpower in an audience that is so diverse and see them really connect.

I think if anything, John Legend has taught me, from a distance, how to be Black Excellence, he’s taught me how to be just extremely professional because everyone on his team is extremely professional and kind, it’s really pushed me to be a better businesswoman and to dream bigger. Because when you’re that close to an icon, you have to challenge yourself to be better and to expand your horizons when it comes to what you can actually accomplish in life.

HAPPY: As such a successful soul artist during a time where this genre is not typically mainstream, what advice can you give to aspiring artists who feel their sound is not being heard right now?

KIRBY: I mean, I always go by the theory that if you’re being heard by ten people, then there are a hundred people that will love your music too. I think sometimes it’s discouraging, you know, I believe my theory behind wanting more people to hear soul music has evolved; it’s not from an egotistical place of wanting to be so big, but it is from a place of wanting to be able to employ and change as many lives as possible and those types of things can be done when you have the income to do that.

And I think that’s why it’s important to give soul artist opportunities, because with every one artist that you give a brand partnership or sponsorship, they’re probably gonna hire 4-6 people to help a system, and that’s 4-6 Black lives that you’re changing. When I look in the tour bus and see five Black women that we were employing, and changing, and helping them gain experience – that to me gave purpose behind wanting my music to be bigger.

So I’m all about, you know, get as big as you can, because if your motive is right… I have an even better example. John Legend, being as big as he is, was able to give me an opportunity that’s life-changing. And it’s life-changing because he’s a superstar. And so I think, once you realise just how many lives you can touch and change by being successful in your genre, that’s really healthy motivation. And I think, whether that success is defined as ten million monthly listeners, a million monthly listeners, whatever it is – it’s enough to change lives.

HAPPY: I know you have just released your EP but have you had any more ideas brewing for another project?

KIRBY: Man, I’m ready for the next project, for sure, for sure. I wanted to release a project during Black History Month, hopefully, we can still make that happen, but I’m so ready. Being on tour has really shown me what I wanna give my audience, what my audience wants to hear and what people connect with more. I feel more prepared than I’ve ever felt prepared in my life to make a project and know what my sound is.

HAPPY: If there was anything you could change about the music industry today, what would it be?

KIRBY: I would change maybe the lack of opportunity sometimes that seems to be… how do I say? This is a really delicate question, I wanna be precise. I think it’s the idea that in order to get in the industry, you have to sign a bad deal. I think a lot of times people, you know, you get your first deal and you’re like ‘man, I don’t care what it is, I gotta get my foot in the door’ and sometimes that foot in the door is a ten-year contract that takes ten years of food out of somebody’s mouth.

And it’s just not fair for a lot of young people to think that they have to pay their dues unfairly in order to be in this industry. The industry needs creatives; creatives don’t need the industry. And so I think it’s about time that we had publishing contracts and recording contracts that reflect that ideology.

Sis. He wasn’t the one EP is available now on all streaming services.

Interview by Alexandra Ellen 
Photos supplied