Music
Meet the Melbourne rapper who isn't holding anything back.
“I got big girl energy,” Sophiya declares on the opening line of her 64 Bars, out today on Red Bull TV. It’s an on-brand introduction to the Melbourne rapper, whose music ripples with confidence and bravado.
Her kick-the-door-down attitude is one inspired by the likes of Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Eve and Kelis. Sophiya grew up on the melodic pop-rap of the early aughts and that inheritance is one you can hear in her production as well as her swagger. But it’s Sophiya’s flow that really sets her apart -- her latest single, ‘Rosie’, was originally recorded as a one take freestyle. Which is all part of the fast-riser’s creative process.
“For me, it’s all about the beat. The beat’s gotta be super catchy first,” she told Macario De Souza on Red Bull’s Behind the Bars podcast. “I think my gift is flow, so I usually just do a freestyle flow over any beat because that’s the most organic take I’m ever gonna get. And then I just start writing from there. The writing process, for me, is actually the hard part. It takes me quite a long time. But getting the flow right, that comes straight away.”
Sophiya’s 64 Bars is the perfect showcase of that incredible flow and energy. As well as mission statements about championing the misfits, her wordplay includes tongue-in-cheek Australiana references to the Medicare rebate and the struggle life of Optus prepaid.
How did you learn to rap?
I remember memorising Sir Mix A Lot's 'Baby Got Back' and Ice Cube 'You Can Do It' when I was 6-years-old. I also used to always write poetry through my early teens in my literature class at school, but I really got into writing rhymes in 2012 as an outlet for how I was feeling. I was heavily inspired by the Fantasea mixtape by Azealia Banks which released that year and began exploring my own rhyming techniques.
In 2016, I uploaded several rap covers to instagram and started to feel more confident with my skills. I set up my home studio in late 2017 and researched and experimented until I released my first rap song 'White Ivory' in 2018.
What’s the backstory to ‘White Ivory’?
It was the first rap track I was working on back in 2018. Up until then, I stuck to melodic rapping and singing. I was experimenting with a new sound after Tyga's 'Taste' made waves that year and was influenced by that track as well as many others. I remember I was going through some drama at the time and that definitely came out in the lyrics.
Lyrically, what kind of stuff do you like to rap about? Is there a particular experience you want to give voice to?
Growing up, I used to hide my sexuality and felt ashamed that I liked girls. I feel it's important for me to express this rawness in a confident way to conquer the fear of judgement I had as a kid. Through rap, I found my higher self and the person I want to become. In a nutshell, I rap about girls, money, life lessons and I tend to draw nostalgic references from the early 2000s.
Through rap, I found my higher self and the person I want to become
Can you tell me about your track ‘Rosie’ -- who’s that named for? What's it about?
It references the popular nursery rhyme, 'Ring Around The Rosie.' At the time I was fascinated by folklore and researched the story behind it. To my surprise, it was actually about the great plague of London. I thought it was weird that children were singing and dancing to it considering its origins -- I found it even more weird that 'Rosie' was scheduled for release the week the country went into lockdown due to a global pandemic! This isn't the first time I've predicted something through my freestyling and believe I have a supernatural insight through music.
'Rosie' was originally recorded as a one-take freestyle in late 2018 after a heated argument. At the time, I felt like the people close to me didn't believe in me the way I needed them to. A lot of the lyrics are cryptic, but that's the underlying essence of the song. I ended up using the majority of the original flow for the final version and re-wrote the lyrics later.
You’re from Melbourne -- what’s the rap scene there like?
Melbourne's rap scene is pretty underground, though more and more artists are quickly starting to emerge. My mission is to bring the culture together in all creative communities because the talent is so bottled up right now and it's literally about to explode.
What’s your 64 Bars about?
My 64 bars is an introduction of who I am as an artist. I'm about my business and I'm down to live a crazy lifestyle dripped in designer. I'm a queer rapper so it's only right that I make those type of references, as well as some Aussie punchlines we can all relate to.
In your 64 Bars you rap, ‘I do it for the misfits, artists and the dreamers’. Which one are you?
I've never really belonged to one group, so I really resonate with all three.