Written By: William Buckley
Naïka’s been busy. With songs released since she was at music school, her repertoire is already substantial, but, following a slew of singles and EPs, for the first time, she is working on her debut album. Our shoot in Paris with Dior Beauty was fortuitously timed.
She’s just finished a “writing camp” in a country house in Blois, a picturesque hillside city near the Loire Valley, and will travel to the south tomorrow for another two-week camp.
It sounds reminiscent of the major label-arranged writing retreats of bands like Fleetwood Mac or Genesis, but these are organized by Naïka herself, with a group of hand-picked creative collaborators, many of whom she’s known since school. While her music has garnered a significant fan base, her single “Sauce” was a breakout, making some major waves in the music landscape.
She recently dropped another single, “6:45”, which, without trying to define or categorize her richly and widely-influenced sound, could quite easily be the new Rihanna track the world’s been waiting impatiently for.
And lucky us, she took some time to sit with us and talk challenges, creative processes, her world, and her vision for the future.
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WILLIAM BUCKLEY: So the shoot was fab, thank you so much for coming in for this. You said you were at a writing camp?
NAÏKA: It was in Blois, like two hours outside of Paris. It was really beautiful. We were in this little country house. Then we’re doing the second leg in the south of France, so I leave tomorrow.
WB: Who attends these? I’m sorry, I’m not super familiar with the writing camps. Who’s there at the house?
N: I’ve carefully selected my favorite creatives to work with. So it’s going to be two or three producers and then a couple of songwriters as well.
WB: Okay. So the producers are working on the instrumental side and then you’re working with the writers on the lyrics of the songs.
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N: Yeah, exactly. So, we build everything together from scratch. Because usually, I like to be involved in the beat-making and the production to make sure that it’s aligned with what I want and where I’m going. And the writers also have really good input and ideas. So it’s just like one big collaborative process, which I love.
WB: And then you’re going to Marseille to do another one?
N: Yeah, for two weeks, for my debut album.
WB: No, stop. Wait, so all of the other music that you’ve been releasing on Spotify, it goes back to 2017?
N: Yeah. I was still at school when I was dropping those, actually. It was like my first time and first experience dropping music. And then my first proper project was in 2020, like peak Covid, which was an EP. And I’ve done three EPs total from there. So it was never like an album project. It was just mixtape mini projects. So this is the big one.
WB: Are any of the singles that have been released this year also going to be on the album?
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N: No, all new stuff. And what we have so far is amazing. It’s been a new process for me because I think I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself for my first album, obviously. Between the people and the ideas we have already, I’m really excited, it’s going to be really good.
WB: Let’s backtrack a little bit, growing up were you always singing? How did that come about?
N: Yeah. I think music was my very first love. It’s something that happens in the cosmos, I would say. My parents say the first time that they ever saw me smile was when my mom had just given birth to me, they left the hospital and then they put the radio on in the car, and that was the first time they saw me smile.
It’s definitely been something that I’ve been connected to and obsessed with. I started finding an interest and love for opera music as a kid. My dad also played guitar and sang, which was always fascinating to me. I always knew I wanted to do that.
I moved a lot growing up for my dad’s job, it was a bit unstable. But music has been the only constant throughout my life, no matter where I went. Every country I’ve lived in, there’s always been a thread throughout, which was music.
WB: Did you study music?
N: Yes. It was something that my parents didn’t take seriously, to be honest. They always thought it was me being a kid doing her thing. Being an only child, I don’t think they wanted that for me necessarily, especially with a Caribbean household. They wanted me to do something more traditional.
WB: Sure, doctor, lawyer…
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N: Doctor lawyer vibes. When I was 15, my dad unexpectedly lost his job. We didn’t know where our lives would go, because we were used to following his job posting. My parents decided to move to the US.
Although it was a tumultuous time for my family, I saw it as an opportunity of a lifetime. To start taking lessons, pursuing music as a career, because the US is perfect for that. I remember my parents were in a financial situation, but still managed to get me 30 minutes a week of singing lessons.
WB: Were you already singing in the US?
N: Yes, in Miami. I would go to this lady’s living room and she had her piano. I properly started composing and writing songs with the piano at around 14 or 15. I started developing, and played shows around Miami. I remember my first show was at a local coffee shop in Miami, playing my original songs.
It wasn’t necessarily good, but it was the beginning. From there, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have proper guidance, especially, I was still in a phase of pushing against my family’s expectations. I applied to a music school and I ended up getting in.
WB: Oh, no kidding.
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N: Yeah, It was my first time fully being around other creatives. It was intimidating because everybody was so good and it felt like they had come out of their mother’s womb playing guitar and singing riffs. I was shy growing up, so for me, I was in study mode, observing everyone and taking it all in. Still too shy to show what I had to offer, but it helped me.
The bar was high and that’s the best environment I could have been in. I learned everything that I know about music and more. Finally, in my last year of college, I released my first song, which got me signed. It basically took off out of nowhere.
WB: You released your EP during Covid; how was that?
N: It was very random. One of the songs was getting a lot of traction in Brazil. Another was getting traction somewhere else. I didn’t know how to properly put myself out there. I was still shy, I could have marketed it better, but for what it was, and being independent, it did really well.
It started my connection to my audience. It was the start of something special.
What was trippy for me was when I did my first tour, which was two years later, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that first show. We did a Europe section and a US section. We started in Paris, and I think I cried when I first got backstage and I saw that there were 300 people shouting my name.
When it was only online, it’s numbers, you see the streams and the comments, but when it’s real and you see the actual people that are listening and have been affected by the music singing their hearts out to the song, it’s the most insane feeling.
But going back to how I started, at home my mom listened to Caribbean music, Cape Verdean music. We moved a lot. So a lot of the different cultures that I grew up in, I got the opportunity to also grow up with that music. But when I discovered Britney Spears, I was seven years old and I remember it completely shattered everything for me.
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I just watched her dance on stage, the production, the lights, the storytelling on stage was just insane. I would be practicing for hours in my room, like Britney Spears. That’s when it clicked for me that I needed to do this with my life.
WB: I see how that would relate to any seven-year-old. But with your experiences and background, you’re now more soulful, R&B, and hip-hop influenced. Where did that shift come from?
N: My discovery of Britney Spears came around the same time as like Destiny’s Child, Usher, Alicia Keys.
WB: I hear a little Rihanna in some of your music.
N: Yeah, I think that’s the island side, for sure. My goal is to stay authentic to myself. I have so many influences and I am still trying to mould it together into my own thing. I want to explore more dancing, more production, and as I grow, I’ll be able to. As an independent artist, you’re limited to where you can go when everything is a matter of budgeting.
It’s a steady growth of finding my sound with my fan base. I’m happy that I’m not boxed into one thing because to my core, I am a mixture of different elements, and the music reflects a perfect blend of all things that make up who I am.
WB: As an independent artist, how did you transition from releasing an EP to planning an album? Unlike major labels handling studio bookings and producer partnerships, how do you manage these logistics independently?
N: My team and I (which is very small, and I love), it’s like family and friends. Because I had the opportunity to go to music school, I met a lot of people. I’m very fortunate that the creatives I work with are like my really good friends. Most of us went to college together. Most of them have known me since the beginning when I was in my baby stages as an artist.
Moving to LA, I’ve been put in sessions with many people. The process was working with a lot of people and seeing who I connect with creatively. It’s mostly through my people, my friends, the people that I care about and that I love creating with, which is important. This is why this album process has been so special because I handpicked a few people that I love working with, who know me and are building this new phase of my career with me. It’s beautiful, it’s the people I love.
WB: In 2024, being an independent artist seems more accessible with social media where you can share and promote your music. Back then, major labels were crucial for radio play and marketing. Now, it feels more democratized. How do you see this shift impacting your journey as an independent artist today?
N: The industry is not the same because of it. Back in the day, it was just a whole different world, you needed the label and the structure.
But now we have access to social media, you can build your audience, you can build your platform yourself, and take it wherever you want to. It is really beautiful.
WB: Would you ever sign to a label?
N: Yeah, for sure. If I had the right team around me. I’ve learnt, that the team is so crucial.
WB: Right, so that control of being able to have your team and not be dictated to?
N: Exactly. I’ve been able to build a substantial amount on my own. It’ll need to make sense on different levels, to work with a label, one being the people that are going to be on the team. How committed are they? Then obviously the right deal, and how can the partnership blossom and not be a situation of exploitation.
WB: From your perspective, can you share about your music and your creative vision? I know it draws from various influences, but how important is telling personal stories and reflecting your own experiences?
N: Yeah, I’m a Pisces, so vulnerability is a trait.
WB: Right. Yeah, now it makes sense.
N: I mean, it’s important, especially nowadays. It’s so accessible to release music. There’s so many amazing up-and-coming artists out there. Staying true to your authenticity and being vulnerable and truthful is what I think helps you connect with people on a deeper level. I strive to stay true to that because I want to make people feel – whether it’s an escape, happiness or any magical sensations that you get when you listen to music. That’s my goal.
I am a big fan of human connection. I love people sometimes to my own detriment. Because I love connecting with people, I tend to always believe the best in everyone. I think human connection is one of the most beautiful, powerful and magical experiences. And I strive for that through my music.
Another thing that I like to touch on lyrically is female empowerment. As a woman, and my experience in finding my womanhood, it is something that I like to bring forth in my music – make women feel sexy, inspired, strong and confident. I was raised by strong women. My family is mostly women and there’s a real force in that.
WB: And what are your hopes for the future? Like, what’s the dream?
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N: In my career, my hope is to create a community of people that feel safe and feel like they belong. Growing up, and moving a lot, in so many different cultures that are quite different from each other, it’s an immense privilege, and it’s given me a unique lens – seeing that we’re so similar as humans. We put up these walls of fear, just because we don’t know. Fundamentally, we all want to feel love and to love, be respected, seen, and understood.
I love bringing people together, it’s a beautiful thing. Going back to human connection and togetherness, it’s something I love to see and I strive to do. I’m still figuring out how to express this message through art and music. But to see it at shows, I’ll be on stage and I see all types of people, coming together, and it makes me so happy.
WB: The album you’re working on, do you have a release date in mind? Can we expect a tour to support it?
N: The album, we’re aiming for top of next year, and then for sure a tour around it. I want to promote the album all of next year, play festivals, tour, work on other music, collaborate with other artists I admire and love.
WB: Amazing, last question. What is your favorite flavor of sorbet?
N: That’s my favourite question you’ve asked me. I love lemon sorbet.
Creative Concept Studio Sorbet | Starring Naïka | Photographer Laora Queyras | Creative Direction William Buckley | Producer Jean-Marc Mondelet | Makeup Aya Tariq using Dior Makeup | Hair Jean-Luc Amarin | Nails Jessica Ciesco | Lighting Assistant Li Roda-Gil | Makeup Assistant Sandra Lefort | City Paris
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