Griff had a very specific viewpoint growing up in largely white, middle-class English suburbia.
I think often I didnt quite know if I felt that in other social contexts.
Pop music at the moment largely thrives on the prospect or trap, really of relatability.
Rachel Chinouriri and Griff are leading a new wave of pop music as women of color with unique artistic perspectivesLauren Harris; Courtesy Warner Music UK*
The music becomes for everyone and no one at all.
She inherited a hardened, matter-of-fact way of communicating from them.
But initially, she felt it didnt have a place in her indie music.
Consider the lesson learned.
Theres a different gut pain that I think has really influenced me.
Across her albumVertigo,she dissects the hurt that often accompanies change across nearly every throw in of relationship.
Everlasting, for example, roots itself in generational and cultural pressures.
I think the guilt of that carries different weights because of culture as well.
I almost was in a place writing this where I felt very numb in moments and very lost.
I think its up to creatives and writers to be as interesting and dramatic and honest as possible.
In June, the Ghanaian-Swiss and British singer released the seven-minute-long opus Genesis.
I was losing my identity, she said.
I grew up with so many different cultures.
At the label, I was being cut off from my roots.
But Id talk to male peers and find out that they had more creative control.
Meanwhile everything I wanted needed vetting.
She felt inspired by PinkPantheress being awarded Producer of the Year at theBillboardWomen in Music Awards earlier this year.
And the number of women serving as producers hit a record high of 6.5 percent.
I like singing my little songs on my guitar.
I can just about sing loudly.
I like hair clips.
Im not that good at my own hair.
My natural hair isnt that long.
Im not very good at makeup.
That impact resonates more with Chinouriri than online discourse or numbers on a screen.
The singer finds herself frequently being labeled as underrated by well-meaning social media users hoping to boost her profile.
I get to this level, then everyones like, Shes so underrated, she needs way more listeners.
And Im like, I got 1.7 million people listening to me every month on one app.
I cant even count 1.7 million people in my brain, she says, noting her Spotify stats.
Are those figures true markers of artistic validity?
Or is it ticket sales and chart positions?
Chinouriri is learning not to care, either way.
I think, before, it used to bother me, she admits.
But then I also was like, what does that look like for me?
Four months later, she won three Grammy Awards including Best New Artist.
If shes not ready, then I dont even have a bloody chance.
And it just is what it is.
Its allowed me to make more left-of-center pop.
I just try not to overthink it.
Chinouriri sees their vision crystal clear: Were going to be global superstars.
