KING ISIS: “I MAKE MUSIC THAT ENCAPSULATES MOMENTS AND FEELINGS, NOT BOXES”

VOCAL GIRLS get to know Dirty Hit x No Matter’s newest signee King Isis, in a chat about their beginnings, influences, and their upcoming debut EP. 

Photo Credits: Cole Maslansky

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Dirty Hit x No Matter’s latest signing King Isis is gearing up to release their debut EP, scales, at the end of the month. Speaking to VOCAL GIRLS, King Isis names an eclectic string of trailblazers as inspirations, ranging from artists such as SOPHIE and Erykah Badu to literary and feminist icons such as Angela Davis and Assata Shakur. They also pay homage to a more personal connection – their great-great-grandmother, Omega King, who was one of the first Black opera singers in Chicago. With their bank of legendary influences steady in their peripheral vision, King Isis’ output is a multifaceted collation of self-expression that stems from a sheer love of creating. This love also drives their work beyond music, as they also work to maintain safe creative spaces for low-income communities in Los Angeles – including incarcerated youth and the children of incarcerated adults – by volunteering in music classes and working with the Free Studio program of Rikers Island. Music is at the epicentre of King Isis’ life, and it is this innate affinity they have for creating that drives their projects and work.

When and how did you begin making music as King Isis?

I started making music as King Isis in 2019. I had recently graduated college, released music under a different name in the past (she’s buried), and was deciding between going back to grad school or moving to LA to really start taking my music career seriously. I think a part of that shift was changing my artist name to King Isis. I wanted to incorporate my real name into my artist moniker but also have something that detached a bit from being just me. King Isis felt right - it honoured my great-great-grandmother, Omega King, was a fuck you to binaries, and was also true to me.

If you had to pick five words to describe your music, what would they be?

Ethereal, punk-rock, fairy music :)

What is the main thing you want people to know about you?

I want people to know that I make music that encapsulates moments and feelings, not boxes. It’s not urban just because I’m black, it’s not ‘RnB’ because I’m a black woman, it’s music that sits in an alternative world and doesn’t really belong to any one prescribed narrative.

Photo Credits: Richard Mwanthi

Who would you say are your main influences at this point in time, and how do they feed into your music?

I feel like a lot of my influences come from writers and books that I’ve read and phrases or passages that stand out to me. Borderlands by Gloria Anzaldúa, Assata by Assata Shakur, and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde are some books that really shaped me and my writing. I feel like their voices have shaped mine as a songwriter. A theme or a phrase will find its way into a song and it’ll have its place there. Other music also inspires me, just watching and hearing how other people create. Music and creativity really are limitless and boundless.

Your EP, scales, is coming up this Spring, and you’ve just released the EP’s latest track, ‘taste of u’ - what made you choose this as the next single?

I chose ‘taste of u’ as the next single because I feel like it builds the full picture of my sound and energy. It’s the more fun, pop-rnb moment that I embody with my music sometimes.

Which song was the first track you decided to include on the EP, and why did it feel right to do so?

I’m pretty sure the first song I included was ‘im fine, thx 4 asking’. I think this was the first song where I was like “yeah, this is the one”. I felt like it’s the perfect introduction  to the genre-bent sound that I feel represents my music. It pulls all of the grunge-y, poppy, and rnb-esque flavours into one track.

What are you up to in the lead-up to releasing scales?

I’m planning the scales release party (if you’re in the LA area, come through!), writing and reading, tryna figure this life shit out, working on booking shows and finishing the next EP! I’m really looking forward to getting this project out there, and everything that comes next. I really hope it resonates with people.

Is there a particular song of yours that you’d tell people to listen to first? If so, why?

Based on songs out now, ‘4leaf clover’. It’s the closest thing to being in the room with me writing a song. We recorded it in one, playing the guitar and vocals at the same time, and I feel like it’s the most authentic introduction to me as a writer and as an artist.

Are there any upcoming musicians around you who you feel particularly connected to or excited about?

Yes!! Everyone should be looking out for flora mma and Hello Yello, their music should definitely be on everyone’s radar. I love everything Nilüfer Yanya does and I’m always excited for a Paris Texas drop.

You do a lot of work providing safe and accessible creative spaces for people who need them, what is it about the opportunity to create that you think is so important?

I think working within my community has always been important to me because of the freedom and power creative expression has given me and the people around me. Creative spaces are really important in shaping perspectives, providing outlets, and for personal and collective growth. Growing up in Oakland, I experienced first-hand how access and encouragement of creative expression transformed trajectories and opened paths that seemed unfathomable at first. Everyone should be able to express themselves creatively; it’s helped me immensely in finding a place within myself and in the world, and it’s helped my community as well.

Have you got any specific goals or wishes for yourself over the next year?

I want to be releasing my first album, playing Afropunk and other festivals, play a sold-out show at the Fox Theatre (my favourite place to see concerts growing up), play a sold-out tour with my first album, and have a community of friends and fans around the world connecting over music <3

scales is out on 29th March via Dirty Hit.