Can you tell us about how you got scouted?
I would always do little Instagram shoots when I was younger, like 12-13, and my followers started going up. I also put out a cover of Drake’s Marvin’s room which got a lot of love and pushed my numbers up. I got officially scouted when I attended an event called IMTA and I attended it when I was 14 years old, summer of last year, as a singer and actress. I went with my mother agency Social New York and while I was there I met Erin from New York Models and we hit it off!
As for starting with the music I’ve been writing music for a very very long time I’d say I’ve been writing for pieces since I was 11 or 12 but the best way I could put them out was just by recording them with my iPhone or my computer and then kind of mixing them myself and kind of engineering myself. The first people that really gave me a gate into the music world were Herrick and Hooley, A super dope band from Dallas Texas. I started following them because Tyler the Creator reposted their music and I thought it was really amazing and it turns out we made a connection and they thought my stuff was really cool too. What happened from there was they started to send me tracks to put vocals on over and I would just send my raw vocals from my iPhone and they would make the magic happen. Then soon after I met a wonderful man named Drew aka Kydnice. I met him outside of a Lil Yachty show at the MOMA. He’s an engineer at Blastoff Studios in Midtown, and we vibed really well and that’s where I’ve been able to record my whole album at. Shout out to him!
What have you been up to since you got scouted?
Since I got scouted I’ve been busier than ever and I’m having the time of my life. Before I got scouted I was doing a lot of little projects, but I also did a lot of cool stuff on my own. When I was 14 I did the campaign for Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 2. That was the first time I got to travel for modelling. On that shoot I got to work with Adonis Bosso Grace Bol, and Alice Metza. It’s so cool to build relationships with models like that who can help mentor me for the rest of my career. Meeting Kanye and being shot by Jackie Nickerson and styled by Joe McKenna is a dream come true for any model and I’m so grateful to have had that experience at such a young age. Also after being signed
I’ve been featured in Vogue Italia, been a Pat McGrath muse, and shot for Gucci. I’ve been working pretty much every day since I got signed and it’s pretty fuckin amazing. I’m seeing parts of my city and country I didn’t even know existed. i’ve also had the opportunity to continue to work on my album and write music with influencers and people that I never could’ve dreamed of working with.
What’s your favourite thing that you’ve worn on a shoot or in a show that you wish was yours?
My favorite thing that I’ve probably ever worn a shoot was this orange for coat with a spray-painted diamond on the back from Gucci. My good friend trouble Andrew actually designed it and he got a collaboration with Gucci that I was able to shoot for which was totally sick but the jacket was only ever worn by two other people Who are ASAP Rocky and Beyoncé so that’s pretty fuego. I wish they let me keep it ha ha.
Who would be your dream photographer to work with? Or your dream designer to work for?
My dream photographer to work with would probably be Steven Meisel. For me I think he finds the happy medium between the purity of life and the craziness of fashion. It takes a genius to kind of creatively direct themselves to that kind of perfection.
What do you do when you’re not modelling?
I do everything else in my whole life when I’m not modelling….I think at this age finding a good group of friends is very difficult I’ve definitely had my trials and tribulations but at the end of the day I’m all about being a good person and building each other up so whoever’s down for that is going to be there in the end. I’m also a fence or when I have time I went to the junior Olympics and I was 14 years old and I still like to go to practice and go to the gym every once in a while when I have time. I also like to put on beats and freestyle with my friends I swear we could all go for hours!
What’s been your favourite moment as a model so far?
Well this isn’t necessarily my favorite moment as a model but really my favorite moment as a person and as a public figure I guess. I personally love it when people come up to me and talk to me and let me know that I inspire them because for me that’s better than any DM or any tweet or comment that I get because real life interaction and people recognizing me and just sending me positive energy, nothing beats that for me.
Do you prefer shows or shoots?
For me I can’t really pick between doing live shows and shooting and all of that because I love it all equally but I will say nothing beats the rush of being on stage. I’ve only performed a few times in my life for a good amount of people but on the 19th I’m playing at SOBs with Sonny Digital, which is going to be a pretty big crowd. I love when I’m performing and people know my lyrics because then it makes me really solidify the idea that I’m impacting groups of people with my music. That just blows my mind.
Which city would you like to live in?
Well, nothing beats living in New York but if I weren’t living here I would probably be living in Paris or maybe like in the middle of nowhere in the Alpes or something.
Who’s your favourite female model and who’s your favourite male model?
Personally I absolutely love Dilone and Imaan Hammam. I think they kill it! And they are so unique. For male models, my good friends Trè Samuels and Adonis Bosso. They’re truly gifts from heaven!
