Skye Morales is a singer from the Bronx, New York City, with a lovely voice that gives off major Sade vibes. Her talent is very promising and our team had the chance to sit down with her and get to know a little bit about her. Read the interviewer below to get to know Skye Morales.
Where are you from and what is your background?
I’m from New York, the Bronx specifically, and I’m Dominican and Puerto Rican.
Do you still live in New York?
I live in Atlanta, I've been here for like 10 years now.
Do you like Atlanta better than the Bronx? What are the differences?
Honestly, I really do like Atlanta, but I feel like the older I get, the more I miss New York a bit. But the difference I would say is just, I don’t know, Atlanta is more chill, New York is more hustle and bustle, but here it's chill so I like that.
So is this where you want to stay long-term?
Honestly no, I want to move, I love Atlanta but I want to move. I might move back to New York, I don’t know. I really like LA.
Are you out in LA a lot to work or anything?
I haven’t been, especially with all this corona stuff but I’m actually going to LA on the 9th for like a week just to record and stuff like that.
Was that move to Atlanta a hard transition, and did you go there for music?
Honestly, it wasn’t a hard transition moving to Atlanta for real, like when I moved out here is when I decided to really get serious about music anyway so it’s been pretty good for me for the most part.
So how did you get into music, I know you said you became serious about it when you got to Atlanta but were you always into making music?
Well, I’ve always been into music but ironically, my mom met my stepdad and he, when I was like 13, he had a studio and she basically told him you know my daughter can sing and one day he literally just stuck me in the studio and was like here sing this. He gave me some harmonies to sing and I sang them and literally from then on, I been doing music.
So he was always a producer or he was just producing for you?
Yeah, he has always been a producer.
Was it hard to get used to the music industry? Was your stepdad helping you with that?
My stepdad was helping me because my mom ended up managing him so it was like a family thing so literally I was in the studio every single day whether I was recording or not I was around the business of it literally every single day. I’m thankful for that because that helped me a lot like I got a lot of insight on the back end.
So your mom is also your manager?
My mom is my manager, yeah.
How does that work, do you get along?
We literally bump heads all the time but I know at the end of the day she’s really the only person, probably, that will really look out for me, and like I said I got a lot of insight on the back end so I know the industry, it gets crazy. So I’m thankful that I have her because if not I feel like things would be going completely different.
Are you signed or independent?
I actually ended up signing to my stepdad’s label, I wanna say around April of last year, 2020. I’m actually out of that contract with them so I’m not working with them anymore, you know we kinda split due to personal reasons, we just decided to end on good terms. It wasn’t working, so now I’m doing my own thing; free agent.
Do you wanna get signed again or are you cool being an independent artist for right now?
I do wanna get signed again, but right now I’m completely happy being free, you know what I’m saying, do whatever I want to do right now, today. But eventually, I do feel like I wanna be signed. Just to have that bigger backing you know, behind me and stuff.
Going into the music industry, one being a woman, and then also just being known on Instagram and things like that, what were some of the challenges you faced, and what do you do to get people to take you seriously?
Honestly being a female in the music industry is just hard for any female just in general because predominately I feel like it’s a male world and they don’t like to take us seriously. Even though we serious and about our business, they still are wary about us for whatever reason. But, I don’t know you just gotta like, for me, I just try to stay level-headed and stand my ground for the most part. I’m a very blunt person I just stand my ground, I try to say what I want, say what I don’t want, mean what I say, don’t say what I don’t mean.
Do you feel like that’s harder in Atlanta because the music industry is so different?
I do feel like it’s harder in Atlanta because there is a lot of male energy, male artists coming out of here, it’s like either the guys want to talk to me or.. an example would be it could be this poppin’ male artist and if I wanna work with him it’s kinda like, I been in a situation where it’s like either you’re going to talk to me or we’re not gonna get any work done, and that, that’s hard.
Have you had someone basically just say they not tryna work with you no more because of that?
I have, I have, it’s like either you’re going to talk to me or we not going to work. It be like that though, it's real, and I know I’m not the only female that goes through stuff like that, so.
In terms of your songs and your writing process, do you write all of them, do you work with other people?
I write, but I also love working with other people like I like bouncing ideas off of each other I feel like that’s when I create the best because I’m super good at melodies but in my mind I’ll just be thinking about a hundred things at once and I don’t really know how to portray them in the best way, so I love working with other writers.
Do you have any mentors that help with this process?
I don’t have any mentors right now, honestly lately I really been thinking like I want a mentor or mentors but as of right now I don’t
What was your first ever album or piece of work?
I don’t have an album out yet, I’m excited to put one out but I have an EP out, it's like a four-song EP, it’s called free, I made that maybe like 2017 or 2018. But that’s like the only body of work I have out right now I’m excited to drop some new work super soon
Do you feel like you sound different now than you did in ‘free’?
I definitely feel like I sound different, like the stuff I’m talking about is different, you know I’m growing up, so I been through so much more than that. I’m just excited for you guys to hear it.
So are you coming out with a new album or something similar to the EP?
I’m gonna drop some singles first and then I’m gonna drop an album, I think it's time for an album. Like I really want to drop a body of work that’s like, this is me. Not me all the way, but this is like a piece of me, a big piece of me.
So what is this album inspired by, what are you drawing off of?
Really just; I got out of a three-year relationship so I’m kinda talking about that, I’m talking about bossing up, getting a bag, getting out of your feelings, confidence, all of that. I’m on that type of time.
Do you have any music inspirations, and who did you listen to growing up?
I really like old music, I listen to a lot of Anita Baker, I still listen to this type of stuff. I don’t know like, Kool and the gang, Phil Collins, like I’m super seasoned when it comes to music. I love Jhene Aiko, Sade.
I was going to say, listening to free I hear a lot of Sade similarities, so do you ever get those comparisons?
They always say that; they always say Sade or like Aaliyah or Jhene
Okay, so who would be your dream feature?
My dream feature? That’s such a hard question, its so many people I would love to feature on my stuff. Honestly, though, Imma say Jhene right now, I love her.
Has there been anyone that’s given you the recognition that made you feel like, okay that was a big deal for me.
Honestly no, because a lot of people mess with me and mess with my music. Shoutout to Trinidad James, he’s been on me since I was probably thirteen fourteen, and we just kinda reconnected as of lately and I definitely feel like he’s seen my growth as a young woman and as an artist. He’s just super excited to work with me too so, shout out to him.
Growing up in the Bronx, are there any things that you feel influenced your music or any female artists out the Bronx that impacted you?
Honestly, I don’t feel like, music runs in my family so if anything growing up in the Bronx, that’s where all my family is so I feel like that’s really what inspired me if anything, my mom was in a group, my aunt has been singing all of my life, she will sing the back of a cereal box, like all of that stuff inspires me.
Are you only a singer, or do you also rap?
I cannot rap, I wish I could rap sometimes but I cannot rap. I can do a little a singy-rap but that’s pretty much it.
Listen to Skye's music below.
Skye's Social Media:
Instagram: @skyemorales