Welcome to Laila!’s World

When Laila! was four years old she wrote her first song. It was called “I’m Going to Do What I Want to Do When I Want to Do It.” It’s a mantra she’s followed ever since.

Over the last year she’s become one of the most buzzing artists under 20, mostly doing it on her terms. Out of the gate, she had two viral songs: her dreamy debut “Like That,” where she effortlessly juggles rapping and singing, and then “Not My Problem,”a song that features an earworm of a hook and instantly quotable lines like, “Now I got the juice, Passion fruit and guava juice.” After a viral appearance on On The Radar in June, Cash Cobain got his hand on “Not My Problem,” remixed it, and turned it into an old school mixtape hit, with artists like Big Sean, 6LACK, KARRAHBOOO and more jumping on and adding a verse. Cash Cobain released the “Problem” remix last week—a perfect segway into Laila!’s debut album, Gap Year, which is dropping on September 6th.

The music was only one part of Laila!’s rise, however. There was also interest around her backstory. Mainly, chatter that the Brooklyn-raised singer and producer was the daughter of legendary rapper Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def). She confirmed the internet’s suspicions to Complex earlier this month.

“He is my dad; the rumors are true [Laughs],” Laila! told Complex. “Whenever we would just jam sesh and vibe out, me and him, I always had my own style. I always had my own thing going on, and he's always just been like, ‘OK, kid, I see you.’”

It’s clear Laila!, who is still only 18, is embarking on her own career journey and trying to forge a path on her own. That doesn’t mean some of the comparisons to her legendary father aren’t evident. The album cover for Gap Year is eerily similar to the Black on Both Sides artwork; she self produces almost all of her music; she can rap or sing depending on the circumstances; and she makes music clearly indebted to R&B of the past.

“I listened to a lot of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson [growing up],” Laila! said. “They were my first musical obsessions in my life. I used to just watch every music video, every interview, everything from the time that I had my own iPad or TV. I would try to recreate their dances, and I was just super into it, and I just loved the performance. You could tell that they loved what they were doing, and I was so enthralled by that.”

Complex talked to Laila! about her rise to fame, her musical upbringing, talks with Tyler, the Creator, and more.

This interview has been edited in length for clarity.

What did you listen to growing up?

I listened to a lot of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. They were my first musical obsessions in my life. I used to just watch every music video, every interview, everything from the time that I had my own iPad or TV. I would try to recreate their dances, and I was just super into it, and I just loved the performance. You could tell that they loved what they were doing, and I was so enthralled by that. And then I started watching Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. I'd be eight years old, trying to hit every riff and run. My mom was like, “Girl, give it a rest.” I'm kidding—she knew that that's what I wanted to do. My sister always jokes, there was a time when I was a kid when I couldn't sing yet, and everyone was like, “OK Laila, you're going to be great.” And now it's nice because I am actually doing what I love, and I can actually hold a tune. I spent so much time studying the artists that I loved.

Do you remember the first album you learned?

I think the first album I learned was actually CTRL by SZA because I was in middle school at that time. When I was younger, my mom would play albums all day long. She'd play Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah, everything great. My mom was just playing that in the house. But I didn't really get into discovering my own album structure and discography until I actually started streaming music. At that point, I was just listening to songs here and there. Even when I was obsessed with Michael and Janet, I was just listening to the songs I loved so much and studying them for so long. But by middle school, I think it was CTRL by SZA. That was the first album that I was like, “Ooh, I have a phone now I can stream music.”

Did it mean even more to you when SZA liked your post on social media recently?

Oh yeah, when I saw that, I was like, “Oh guys, this is great.” I literally couldn't believe it, I was just so happy. So I feel like that was a really cool moment because it's SZA. I saw her live when she was doing her SOS tour at Barclays, and it was just emotional for me. Hearing the songs that you love and you have a relationship with in a room full of people at the same time in your own ears is crazy.

Do you play any instruments?

I can play the trumpet. I play keys, but I'm not classically trained. I'm just self-taught, so there's so much that I want to still learn, and then a little [of the drums].

How did you get into producing your own music?

I started producing during [Covid-19]. So I was 14, and my freshman year of high school was on Zoom. It was so depressing. It was on a screen, and it was not meeting these people at all. These are people you don't know. But my mom was like, “We're not going to stay in New York during this lockdown. There's nothing to do.” So we moved to St. Thomas for half a year. So we're just in the islands, and I was just doing my Zooms from the beach. I also spent just a lot of my time in the house too, and I was like, “Let me see if I could make something.” I was listening to “Awkward” by Tyler [the Creator], and there's this Frank Ocean alternate version that was unreleased and hidden, but it was on YouTube. I was just listening to music on YouTube, and it popped up, and I was like, “Ooh, this is cool.” And Frank was singing this really cool part, and I started singing it and I was like, “Yo, let me find the instrumental to see if I could sing this.” And then I was like, “Why don't I just try to make my own version of this song?” And so that was my first beat. 

I feel like you and Tyler would get along really well because you both seem to have a knack for diving into the weeds of music and production.

Yeah, he's super cool. He reposted my song “Soft Serve” off of my mixtape on his story. That was super cool, and then we were just talking about all the riffs and runs that he loves and it was super cool. He's super, super cool. Especially when it comes to keys. There's certain melodies, and you have to have a certain type of imaginative kind of mind. And I think that that's something he really has, which is cool the way he dreams up melodies and stuff.

What other passions and hobbies do you have outside of music?

I love fashion. I love, like, little graphic design stuff, making mockups, and just playing with textures and colors. I really love writing. I think that that's where my love for songwriting and song structure comes from. Just always being really good at English in elementary school and high school. I think those are my main hobbies, anything clothing-related, photography related, and graphics and image-related. 

Your song “Like That” went viral a year ago right before you graduated high school. How did that change your plans for possibly going to college?

When “Like That” started going up, I was just like, “Whoa, the internet is an amazing place,” because I would’ve never imagined that something I made in my room that I was way too scared to even put out at first [would blow up]. My older sister Nia was like, “This song is good, girl. You just gotta put it out there. Who cares? It's not embarrassing.” And it just caught fire, and it was so insane. So after that, I was like, “Maybe I'm onto something.” It was just super beautiful to see how people were responding to it. Then after I graduated, I was like, “Whoa, I am in the real world.” And it's actually so crazy because, for a long time, I was like, “I can't wait to get out of high school. I hate this. I just want to do what I want to do. I just want to make music.” And then I was out, and I was like, “What am I about to do?” I didn’t take applying to college seriously. 

I just didn't care, sorry mom [Laughs]. At first, I was like, “OK, I'm going to go to college.” But then I was like, “I don't really want to go to college.” I just didn't want to do it. So I graduated and I didn't apply. I was supposed to apply, but I missed the deadline. Regardless if I went to school, I was going to still pursue music 100%. But it was kind of like, “OK, let's just do this gap year thing.”

“Not My Problem” is R&B heavy, but “Like That” has you rapping more. How would you describe your sound?

I think I have such heavy R&B influences in my life with Brandy and Aaliyah being my two favorite artists really at this point. I feel like, for right now, my sound is kind of just taking inspiration from things that I love so much when it comes to the soul that is R&B and the feeling and the melody. It’s romantic even when it's not. I love R&B, but then I always end up just making it my own thing. I don't really know how to describe that. Even with me rapping, there was no way to pinpoint why I did that or what kind of genre I was trying to go for.

Even the way that people responded to “Like That,” saying “It has such a nostalgic feel, I thought this was a ‘90s song. I thought this was an old song.” The fact that I was able to achieve that is really cool because I didn't even necessarily go into it with that intention. I was just taking inspiration from what I already loved and just making that my own thing. I think it's that nice little tang of nostalgia with something that's new and fresh sounding. I think that that's how I would describe my music

How did “Not My Problem” come together in the first place?

That song was a freestyle. I made a beat, then I took it and I remixed it. It’s supposed to be this hood trap-inspired jerk vibe, which is what “Not My Problem” is. So then that became the beat, and I was in the room, I was playing it for my sister, and she was like, “Yo, that's hard.” And I was going to just scrap that beat. I was like, “This is all right. I don't know if this is corny.” She was like, “Nah, this is fire.” So I started freestyling. I went to the studio, and I played it, and everyone was like “That's the next song. You need to record that.” And then I just went in and was freestyling from there, kind of just came up with the bridge and the second part at the end. We were just in there freestyling and having fun.

Did you expect the viral reaction it got?

Not that quickly. I knew the song was special, it was making everybody move. Even at my 18th birthday party, I did a listening party, and I played it before it was out and everyone was vibing. But I didn't expect it to blow up that fast. It was the day it was posted; it was just going up and up. I didn't think that the internet would actually catch on that quickly to the song, because with “Like That,” it took some time. “Like That” had three different moments where it blew up and had a whole resurgence. But when I first posted it, it took a while. I dropped a song in March and it really went viral for the first time in August, around that time. But “Not My Problem” was kind of instant, which was just so crazy. 

What was your reaction when you saw “Not My Problem” start blowing up? What has been your favorite remix?

I love all of them. I can't even pick a favorite. Just seeing so many artists that I love and admire being on a remix of a song I made freestyling is so insane. Again, the internet is a very special place in the way that things can come together and worlds can collide. I could have never imagined that I have 6LACK and Anycia, Karrahbooo, and Flo Milli and Luh Tyler. There are so many other people who have made amazing verses and it's been very cool and fun to see. 

It's fun to bring back those remix challenges. I started by making a beat challenge for “Not My Problem.” I posted that and I was like, “Yo, if you're a producer, I want to see y'all best remixes of ‘Not My Problem.’” And SoundCloud was just going crazy. They were just remixed after remix, after remix. So I made a whole playlist of that, and then [Cash Cobain] remixed it, of course, and he hopped on the Beat Challenge, and I was like, OK, boom. This is crazy. It's just cool to bring back that challenge vibe that I feel like it's super 2016 of us.

Who has been the most surprising or exciting person that you’ve been able to connect with so far?

I think meeting Brent [Faiyaz] was really a cool moment for me because, just like me listening to SZA in middle school, he was also one of the artists I listened to so heavily throughout middle school and really inspired me a lot. We met in Paris during Fashion Week, so that was super cool. And then Teezo [Touchdown] was one of the first people to show love. I opened up for the last night of his tour in New York, and it was just amazing. I had the best time ever, and just meeting him, he’s so sweet, so kind and genuine, and he was just so excited for me to be there.

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding your familial connection to rap. To set the record straight, is Mos Def your father?

He is my dad; the rumors are true [Laughs].

Did you learn anything from him in terms of your approach to music?

I don't know. I guess I kind of just always been my own artist in a way. And that's a cool thing because I feel like as a kid, whenever we would just jam sesh and vibe out, me and him, I always had my own style. I always had my own thing going on, and he's always just been like, “OK, kid, I see you.”

What does success look like for you?

I'm already so blessed, and I feel like I've succeeded at so many of my dreams. I feel like success is something you can't really touch or see, but you feel it when you feel like, “Wow, I've accomplished something. I've reached people, or I've touched people.” I felt successful the day that I realized I had 5,000 streams because I was just doing what I loved. And that just made me feel like that's a win. When you're just able to say like, “Yo, this is what I want.” And then to see so many people now actually loving my music and caring about what I do, it is an overjoyed feeling. I feel very successful because of that. And I am so thankful to anyone who listens to my music or has ever listened to anything that I've ever had to say because it means so much, and that's why I'm doing this. I want people to be able to hear me and feel me and make people feel something, too. So if I've been able to do that, that's the biggest win. And to make my family proud. Just seeing my mom proud, my grandma. The day that we went to see the billboard, my grandma was tearing up because it was huge, and I’m not the most famous person in the world, but just to see the look on my grandma’s face, it means everything in the world to me.

Where do you hope to be a year from now?

I want to take it to the moon. I want to have the best new album ever in the whole universe. The “best new” everything. I want to walk across a million stages, visit countries I've never been to, perform in front of even bigger crowds, have even flyer outfits. Everything I'm doing now, times 10. I want to be a Complex Cover star. I want to be decked out. I'm about to get a car. I want to have all the homies in my car, about to get my mom a new car. That's going to be me in a year. I'm just going to be everything—10 times flyer.