Last year you released your 1st single SMOKE, which truly gagged us! When did you start working on this & who did you work on it with?
I started working on “Smoke” back in February of 2020. I was bored one night scrolling through beats and came across one of my favorite producers, Arcne. Literally wrote the song in less than 30 minutes. The beat went crazy and I was just so inspired. Originally the song was just me on it alone, one verse and the chorus due to the beat being so short. I previewed a snippet of “Smoke” back in May during quarantine on Instagram and that’s how Connie Diiamond ended up hearing the song and wanting to jump on it. Been a fan of hers for years, so I knew automatically that she was going to go crazy on it as she did! Love you, big sis!
Who are some of your musical inspirations and how have they influenced your music?
Honestly, I take so much inspiration from multiple artists, I can’t choose one person. For example, I live for Beyonce’s stage presence, so I take pointers from her when it comes to performing and dancing. I adore how much fun Nicki Minaj has on a track and try to apply that while I’m in the studio. I’m inspired by Dave East’s aggression, it’s something I enjoy. That’s why I’m so rough on certain tracks and not always the girly girl that I am in person.
How would you define your performance style?
I would define my performance style as very aggressive and gritty with a bunch of attitude. Something just takes over me while I’m performing whether it’s for a video or a show. When I’m on that stage or in front of that camera I’m making it known that I’m here for the long run!
Queer artists have seen some mainstream stress in the Dance & Pop genres recently. Why do you think R&B & Hip-hop have taken so long?
I believe that R&B and Hip-Hop took so long, especially Hip-Hop due to the toxic men within the industry. If you’re not the typical cis-hetero hood dude or the typical female rapper narrative although there has been progress lately, they’re not allowing anyone in the game that doesn’t fit that description. Recently gay men and women have been making their presence mainstream into the Rap and R&B field and making their statement. We have yet to have a Trans individual breakthrough into the industry and I’m trying to be that figure to put us girls on the map! Every letter of the LGBTQ has touched Hip-Hop now it’s time for the real T!
As we were sending these questions you dropped Hit List, which is equally a vibe. What inspired these visuals?
When it comes to visuals I’m always thinking of a fantasy. I like to blast my music in my ears and just fantasize about what that particular song might give. Smoke was a little difficult when it came down to the idea of what I wanted to give. We honestly kind of free balled and let the director just do his thing. I’m so glad I did because the video came out beyond my expectations. But for the Hit List I knew exactly what I wanted, which was a grungy bad guy type of vibe and it came out just that.
What can we expect coming from Ky Ani in the future?
Something you can expect from me is definitely a full-length project coming by the end of April along with a third single right before the project releases. I want to give the girls more visuals and hopefully a second project before 2021 ends. I’ve made my debut with Smoke and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. So best believe the kid is going to keep applying that pressure until I’m at the front of the Grammy’s and even after that I’m going to keep my foot on their necks!
