Bahamian rapper, singer-songwriter Soaky Siren has been tearing into the Los Angeles music scene with a fierce, kinetic sound and style that has established Soaky as a multi-platinum, Latin Grammy-nominated songwriter.
The multi-genre artist learned how to tap into her talents early on: as a child, Soaky was obsessed with rap, spending countless hours in her mom’s closet writing verse after verse. By high school she was already establishing herself not only as a rapper, but as a vocalist, too. Her talents and abilities to effortlessly crossover from sound to sound, genre to genre, places her in the rare echelons of artists that can release everything from urban to dancehall to pop. Since moving to LA, Soaky has proven this time and time again, co-writing on hit songs including Jason Derulo’s ‘Tip Toe’, Chris Brown and Rita Ora’s ‘Body on Me’, and Pitbull, J Balvin, and Camila Cabello’s smash hit ‘Hey Ma’.
She recently debuted the official music video for her recent single, “Dope Boys” via Billboard.
She said, “Gotta be careful about the lifestyles we choose, man. Nothing is without consequence. That’s what I wanted to highlight in this record,” Soaky tells Billboard. “This is an anthem that’s saying ‘don’t get finessed by shiny things because they for sure come at a price’ and it’s never worth it. Ever.”
Read Girl Gang’s full Q&A with her below:
GGM: What was it like relocating to LA from the Bahamas? How did you know that was what you needed to do next?
“I was actually in Miami before I moved to LA – first I visited to see if it would be a vibe for me and I decided it was the right move. TBH, I had no idea what to do next. I just felt like there were opportunities here and I had to be here to make it happen so took the risk.”
GGM: How has your culture & upbringing influenced your music?
“People are the sum of their experiences and this applies to my music as well. My perspective has a lot to do with where and how I was raised. You can hear it in the storytelling. If I hadn’t grown up in Freeport when I did, I wouldn’t have written Dope Boys – I just wouldn’t have the story in me. Then there was the music; dancehall and soca music was everything and that energy definitely comes out on certain records.“
GGM: Do you come from a musical family? How did you know you wanted to pursue music?
“You know what’s wild? I am the only one that got into music. My older sister has always been a big music fan so she put me on to a lot of music we were growing up. I fell in love with rap though, it was intense. By the time I was in 7th grade I started writing and freestyling so at that point I had already told myself that this was going to be my path.“
GGM: What was the writing / production process for LUCAYA? Would love to see images or BTS if you have any.
“‘Dope Boys’ was the first record written on the EP, I did it with DallasK. He started playing the chords and right away I started coming up with lyrics and melodies. By the time we finished my sound was established, I wanted the whole vibe of the project to be urban resort. After that, the records just started writing themselves in away. “Kombucha” happened after a trip to the corner store and when we got back, Shy Girls played this track and I freestyled the majority of the song. Basically I went in with the producers to catch a wave. Most of the time we built the records from scratch – Kombucha was the only time I wrote to a track. Eventually, I ended up with the records that were clearly meant for the EP.“
GGM: Who’s your biggest fan?
“It’s a tie between my mother and the besties.”
How do you feel being a female in the industry has affected you (if it has at all)?
“Certain doors would’ve definitely opened sooner had I been a part of the boys club. I’m mindful of that but I don’t allow it to hinder me – I just have to work harder and win bigger.“
Soaky Siren’s Girl Gang Music Picks
Janine The Machine
Zohara