Sonyaé hopes to take over the music industry once and for all. With the nickname BLÚ, it’s hard to miss her bright blue hair and overall aesthetic, as she continues to perfect her craft and create bangers for her growing fanbase.
She explains, “Honestly, it calms me. When I put blue lights on, it calms me. Anything that’s going on, don’t matter the vibe, it’s just a sexy vibe. It gives a cool, sexy, laidback, chill vibe. I just love it. I love everything that’s blue: the sky, the ocean. I’m a summer baby, so all that stuff just coincides.”
Priding herself in her versatility, the rising star describes her sound as “soulful with a twist of rap, like trap rap.” Hailing from Newark, New Jersey, Sonyaé is proud to come from the same place as some of music’s greatest to ever do it, including Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, and Queen Latifah. Growing up in a musical household, she was always destined to come into her own as a recording artist… and now she’s not looking back.
Most recently, Sonyaé unleashed her newest single and visual for “Cameras Watchin,” produced by international DJ and producer Siobhan Bell. The song serves as a fun rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” boasting a nostalgic sample that immediately reels you in upon listening.
AllHipHop: Being from Newark, New Jersey, what was that like growing up?
Sonyaé: I’m from Essex County. Like 20 minutes from New York. Being from here is very crazy because I feel like the best female artists of all time… Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, and Queen Latifah are all from Jersey. That s###’s crazy. I’m very proud to be from there, just being an artist and having those types of people to look up to is like a secret weapon.
AllHipHop: When did you realize you could do music for a living?
Sonyaé: My dad sings but he’s a gangster. My mom sings and writes and pursued a career in music. Her and her friends are all artists. I was basically raised in the studio so it came with the territory. [laughs] I grew up around it, then my uncle’s a jazz musician. I’ve always been around music so I feel like it chose me, because it’s all I know. I can’t even say there was a time it wasn’t in my life honestly, when I think about it.
AllHipHop: Is Sonyaé your real name?
Sonyaé: Yup, that’s my real name. Everybody calls me BLÚ, though, but Sonyaé is the name my mother gave me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYdAf4CwkEk
AllHipHop: New single “Cameras Watchin” out now, how are you feeling?
Sonyaé: I’m feeling very excited about it. It’s got a dope energy to it. I did it with my homegirl Siobhan Bell https://www.instagram.com/siobhanbell/, she’s a huge DJ. She’s freaking amazing, so we collabed on some girl power s###. She came to Atlanta, she came to the crib and we cooked up. It was really organic how it came about. She has that drill vibe from London, then I put my little blu sprinkle on top. Of course that sample is too hard, come on. The “Toxic” sample, Britney Spears? It’s Britney b####! [laughs] It’s just one of them ones that you play to get in ya bag forreal.
AllHipHop: How did you guys come across the “Toxic” sample? That’s so nostalgic!
Sonyaé: Yo for real, so nostalgic. Honestly, I said “I wanna rage!” She said “oh, I got the perfect little batch for you.” She sent me a couple beats and I went right in soon as I heard it. It was perfect, matched exactly what I wanted to spill at the moment. We got some bangers, some afrobeats, rnb hits that’s coming crazy.
AllHipHop: How did y’all meet?
Sonyaé: Omg, Karl Kani. Karl introduced us, he said “I think you guys would be so great together.” Literally put us together and we vibed right away. We kept in touch and she started sending me tunes, them s#### was hard. Oh yeah, it’s up. [laughs] She’s really a great person too aside from the music.
AllHipHop: How was it shooting the music video?
Sonyaé: It was so much fun because it was on a whim. We were really chillin’, cooking. We do that all the time though. Invite the girls over, Patrick Neree was in town. He’s my amazing photographer/videographer from New York. He said “let’s go! Let’s do something raw right now.” We had mad fun, overly lit. Obviously. [laughs]
AllHipHop: What is it you want fans to get from your story?
Sonyaé: I want them to be empowered. I want them to be confident. I want them to know that anything you want to do period can get done, as long as you never let up. Consistency is key, that’s what I want them to know.
AllHipHop: What’s it like being independent?
Sonyaé: It’s cool. It’s very interesting because a lot of my peers are signed. Sharing each other’s experiences, it’s almost freeing in a way to be indie. To be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want is top tier. To be indie but being able to work with some of the people I be collaborating with is a major blessing. [laughs] I love that I own everything, everything that I do. I write all my music so that’s very important to me.
AllHipHop: Talk about co-writing “Collide” on the Queen & Slim soundtrack, I love that song!
Sonyaé: Omg, that song is amazing. That was a dope experience. We pulled up to the session at Michael Jackson’s old studio, it was magical. We was definitely in a studio where some magic happened before because the vibrations were so high. Everybody’s spirit was so fluid, it was good f###### times. We ate cookies and we made hits. So much fun. That experience was special for me because I manifested getting my music into film & television. For that to be the first one, whoa. All Black, female directors, a classic soundtrack & film like that! To be apart of that was really big for me.
AllHipHop: Were Tiana Major9 and EARTHGANG in the studio?
Sonyaé: Venus was there. I love me some EARTHGANG! It was really good vibes. One of them types of vibes like everybody was in the building cooking up. It was so many incredible people in different rooms making magic, one of those vibes.
AllHipHop: What was your reaction when you heard it back?
Sonyaé: I thought they sounded beautiful. I was happy to be a part of such a beautiful love song honestly. I thought they executed it to perfection.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CY7AScjlOFk/
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio?
Sonyaé: Tea, Manuka honey. That’ll be one because that goes together. A good sativa [laughs] A blanket or a heater, some type of something because I’ma be cold. I like a blankie that wraps around my legs and feet while I’m recording. That’s something I really need. Oh but wait, we can replace one of them with food because I definitely need food.
AllHipHop: What kind of food?
Sonyaé: Right now, I’m kinda vegan-ish [laughs] so no dairy, but sometimes I mess up and eat fish. I’m so slim and being completely raw vegan is so hard.
AllHipHop: What made you want to go vegan?
Sonyaé: Well honestly, my body started rejecting certain things… chicken and beef, so I stopped eating that and I was pescetarian. Dairy started making me feel weird too. I said I’m gonna get rid of it all… [laughs] I’m just going to eat fruits and vegetables and see what happens, but I’m hungry all the time doing that.
AllHipHop: How was it working with Young Thug?
Sonyaé: He’s the GOAT, first of all. That’s my big bro, really family at this point. A superstar yet so humble. He’s so dope & one of my musical soulmates. I have like 3: him, Anderson .Paak. & Jeremih. Some people, you get in the studio with and it clicks right away. Y’all on the same wavelength. He’s definitely one of them people, he can do anything. He’s fearless with vocals. Sometimes he be sounding like Dizzy Gillespie. I be like what’s going on right now? [laughs] and he’s a freakin workaholic, I respect that man.
AllHipHop: What’re you most excited for next?
Sonyaé: I’m excited to be dropping singles. I’ve been working very hard so it’s time to drop singles and videos. I’m excited about my album too.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from the album?
Sonyaé: It’s called BLÚ, obviously. [laughs] You can expect that raw woman’s perspective. One that loves hard but absolutely knows her worth. I’m very soulful, but I rap and sing so a good mixture of both.
AllHipHop: Any features?
Sonyaé: Of course I have features lined up, Fivio, Yacthy, my YSL family, but I’m trying to figure out if they’re dropping as singles or if they’ll be part of the album.