Your EDM has been tracking Yaysh, a soon-to-be pop and hip hop star with the voice of an angel and the mouth of a sailor, since her second video for the track “Twisted” released earlier this year. Yaysh combines pop melodies, crazy rap talent and polished production with her unique personal style to create a whole package that could genuinely make her the next leading edge in pop, hip hop and EDM.
Yash has put her single releases into an EP format which will be available shortly but in the meantime her newest video for the single “Get 2 Kno Me” shows her pushing about as many boundaries as one can. Featuring a bunch of people nude and with no makeup, it makes a bold statement about what sexuality really looks like and is about and asks, nay, demands that the viewer get comfortable with it. This is certainly one way for Yaysh’s audience to get to know her.
**Disclaimer: even the censored version below contains mature situations and nudity**
To see the uncensored version, click here.
https://vimeo.com/263571221
How could one not be curious about this artist after that?
First things first, do you have an official release date for the new album?
I do not but I will be releasing a full album end of summer called “Strawberry Milk.” Which will be more on a pop side, still with hip hop influences but more indie style songs and a few bangers. There will a lot more vibes coming out showing more sides and some more introspective songs, a little dance and some fun hip hop stuff.
The way in which you combine hip hop lyrics, pop music and R&B or even somewhat indie lyrics is really different. How did you come to put all these elements together in such a way that it worked for you?
Honestly it just happened. I don’t think much when I make music, it just comes out of me and when we are in the studio cooking we make things happen on the spot and come up with cool ideas. I think it just works because we are trying to make quality product but it’s really just all pouring out and we make it into something fun, fresh and cohesive. Not a lot of planning or thinking involved, lots of play and trying things.
It’s clear you have a handle stylistically on vocals and lyrics, but how do you set those to music?
It depends on how the song comes about. Sometimes I would already have songs I had organized from freestyles and had the lyrics written and ready and we would make the track on the spot. Or Sometimes R8dio would come up with a beat and I would make something to it. Other times we would freestyle things together in the moment like his beat while I spit. We made a lot of songs like that and then either they came out perfect or we could cut them up and organize them, or I would rewrite areas that weren’t perfect. We create music in a lot of different ways so there is not a specific formula. We just serve the song or the beat or the moment and vibe and listen to our intuition on what is needed. Essentially we freestyle and never know what’s going to happen in the studio but our intention is magic.
How involved are you in the production and engineering of each track? Do you do it all yourself or do you have partners who work to get the mixes tight?
My producer is a gangster. How name is Troy, R8dio Johnson. He’s the best. He supports the artists so when we create we are just in a kind of ope- space collaborative mode either energetically or physically, me on the mic and him on the beats. We work very well together. Sometimes I will say, “this is what I want” and imitate a big bass sound and exactly how I want it. Or “I want a clack, but I want it to be metallic, with an ego maybe. I want chopped and screwed in the chorus.” I have a lot of say in how the beat is made but R8dio is so talented oftentimes the makes something hard and I just add my finesse, and fill in where my ear and intuition take me.
I know this sounds weird but I just let the universe guide the way and I follow. R8dio is a part of it and so is the music. We are here to create magic. We are here to lift people up and we are both very talented. He also sometimes helps me with song structure because I come from such a freestyle background so sometimes R8dio will help me cut up a freestyle and make it into a banger, we do it together. This is a team. Yes I write my own stuff and could make amazing music with other producers, and I may in the future. But R8dio is still my main man, he’s my partner.
It seems like your lyrical content can go from fun and pop-inspired to downright filthy. How important is it for you to express the full spectrum of your ideas in this way (feel free to go personal or political)?
Filthy according to who (laughs)? I am just me. I make the music that comes out of me and I serve it by offering it to others. That’s it. That’s the process. Our world is so linear we think we should just do things one way but our soul is made up of the whole cosmos, not just the part we would like to have. I just let shit come out. I do not censor myself. And if I like it and it’s a banger, then bam! Thank you officer.
With a video out for each track you’ve released so far, it’s clear you’ve placed a lot of importance on your aesthetic and making you visual presence known. What has been your aim in doing things this way?
I wanted people to see that I have many sides to me and I look at it as art. I’m just being me. Things will change. I like to remain active, especially in this part of my career it is very important. If I don’t then I don’t have as large of an impact. I think people are just afraid to work and put their full heart into something that maybe will never get their return. For me what I am doing is genuinely my passion. I guess I just produce a lot…like a bunny (laughs).
What’s one really important thing you’d like fans to take away from your music?
That I give a shit and that I don’t give a shit (laughs).
If you had to pick one song to really sum up to fans what you’re all about, what would it be and why?
There is a song I am releasing this summer called “Wild One.” That song completely epitomizes me because it shows that I both sing and rap and am crossover, club, deep, pop, hip hop and LGBT and a freaking awesome person all at the same time!
Yaysh’s other videos and singles can be found on her YouTube channel or streamed as an EP on Soundcloud. Release dates for her full album are forthcoming so stay tuned for more boundary-pushing.
