Rising Artist, Ayisa, Has the Perfect Song to Fall in Love with Yourself
Visuals shot by Connor Dante
Ayisa's the type of artist you bring home to your mom. She's eclectic, tenacious, and quirky. I became a huge fan, after seeing her deduction and creativity in her covers. It was her ambitious thoughts behind the uploads and song selections, that did it for me.
When I had the opportunity to sit and speak with her for the release of her single, "All In It" I jumped on it. The vibes flowed like this:
(Nia Rice): So happy to be speaking with you. I’m a big fan. I definitely see the star power. I’m curious to hear about your start in music.
(Ayisa): I feel like it’s a long story, I started singing as a toddler. My mom would put Disney movies on all the time and play it on repeat.
Snow White and Pocahontas , were the two that I loved. I still have the baby blanket. I think I had the barbie too. Haha.
I’ve kept the blanket forever! But, I would sing along to it all the time. I didn’t talk as a kid, and one day I just started to sing along.
My parents stated, “What’s that noise? Is she singing along to the movie?”. I never thought about it, because I was always shy as a kid.
Whenever my family would tell me to sing karaoke, I would tell them “No”. They would bribe me with a $2 bill and I would still say, “No”.
Then I think in Elementary school you have to do the chorus, so I picked that up and loved it. In high school, I wanted to break away from chorus and do theater.
I did piano and dance as a kid also. So, music has always been a part of my life. It was second nature for me. I never thought it was going to be a career path.
High school is when Disney Channel stars were going big! I said, “That’s what I want to do! I want to be on the Disney channel. I want to be a pop star.” The goal began evolving as the years grew and opportunities came.
I didn’t take it that seriously until 2013. I said, “You know what, let’s do this.” This is something I can actually pressure. I’ve been professionally doing this since 2013.
(NR): Let’s talk about the creation process. You said you danced and played the piano. How does that play a part in creating music now?
(Ayisa): I think with music, I want a sound that inspires movement. I’m not a great dancer, but there are people that are amazing.
My dream is to go on youtube and see a dancer create a whole choreography and do a video for my song. I want to see talented people living their best life while my song is playing in the background.
That’s what I think of when I create music. I want the song to inspire someone to dance, make choreography, and move to it.
Possibly, a random person in their car rocking out. I love seeing people in their car, just jamming hard! That’s the demographic I’m trying to reach.
In my writing process, I try to tap into my subconscious. More or less, during the day, you’re just living on the surface. Kind of going through the motions.
So when I’m creating the song, I have to tap into my subconscious. See, what’s really going on in the world. I write songs that encapsulate all of that.
(NR): So is that the inspiration that you had for “All In It”? I loved the music video! I love how it’s free-spirited.
(Ayisa) I’m glad you watched it! I feel like this song is me realizing I don’t have to be so guarded.
I sent the music video to my dad before it released, and he asked, “It sounds like a love song. Shouldn’t you be in the video with someone?”
I said, “No Dad, this is a love song to myself!” Whether I’m talking to myself or a person, I have to fall in love with myself. So it’s a love song for me to constantly fall in love with me.
Visuals shot by Connor Dante
(NR) Speaking of parents, let’s break down your nationality? I saw photos with you and your mom, so I'm very curious!
(Ayisa) So I’m Filipino (mom side) and my dad is half Bahamian, white, German, and American. His mom is from Norway....or something like that. But they were a German family. My grandfather on my dad's side is from the Bahamas.
(NR) How are you using that to inspire you musically?
(Ayisa) Growing up, I used to joke and say my mom was blacker than me. Because she would listen to Motown and all the good 70s music!
I do want to start incorporating the Philippines music, the sound that’s typically heard there. And I also want to incorporate Caribbean sounds. My dad grew up in the Bahamas and I visited a lot. I loved the culture!
(NR) So we talked about your culture. With everything going on in society right now, how are you taking things and what kind of conversations are you having?
(Ayisa) I’m the type of person that feels deeply for everybody. Ahmaud Arbery: I was so deeply saddened and tired of seeing people that look like me, my cousin, or my dad going through things like this!
I had to step away, but I felt like I should be doing more. I started to feel guilty, and it was a constant tug and pull. Then George Floyd happened, I was crying.
Balling my eyes out over the whole thing. There are literally so many people that just hop on trends and painful scenarios don’t exist to them. I have so many friends of all races, that’s still posting and going hard. I admire them and their efforts.
(NR) What’s the legacy that you want to leave us? Who inspires you? Where do we see yourself in 10 years?
(Ayisa) Well, I hope I have one or two Grammys. Haha.
I feel like I want to add to the representation. I feel like as a kid I had Aaliyah, Rihanna, Beyonce and I feel like there were so many beautiful black women in the 90s.
And as the year progressed I saw less and less... where’s the representation? It kind of hurt my feelings. So I’m thinking of my 8-year-old self, what do I want to see in the music industry?
I want representation.
There are so many awesome music artists, but I feel like not people know enough about them. I googled “female pop singers” and the only two that were black were Beyonce and Rihanna, and everyone else was white. No offense to them, they are awesome artists. But when I put black in the search, it’s everyone from the 90s. The early 2000s, none that’s current. So I think it would be awesome one day to google my name and my picture is there, and that’s three faces - not two.
(NR) Anything else you want to leave us with?
(Ayisa) I want to encourage people to watch my music video “All In It”, I edited it myself. I’m self-funded. So please support and stream the songs. So I can keep doing this! HAHA
Sponsored by H2P Management
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