We get to know Brooklyn-born singer, Justine Skye.
21-year-old Justine Skye is a musical prodigy on the rise. Her cover of “Headlines” by Drake has notched up an impressive 2 million views, a testament to her musical capability. It was this cover that helped to kick off the Brooklyn-born musician’s career and led to Skye working along side many other well-known artists, including TYGA. She also bagged herself a performance at TIDAL 10X20 – an event curated by JAY-Z and Tommy Hilfiger and sold out her first headline show – not bad for barely 21 years of age.
Her latest endeavour is her exciting new track “U Don’t Know” featuring WIZKID – and obviously we’re obsessed. Wonderland grabbed a moment to speak with Skye talk about about her music, fans, love of the colour purple and her much-anticipated EP “8 OUNCES”
Sum up your sound in five words?
Fun, fresh, bold, honest, alive
What drew you to songwriting and performing? Have you always had a natural aptitude for music?
I knew I wanted to sing from when I was really young, I just felt it in my soul that I wanted to change lives through my art and after the first time I hit the stage, I never looked back, it felt like home and everybody loves to be home!
Where did your love of purple come from? You are The Purple Unicorn after all!
Funny story is, my favorite color is actually green, but my mother wouldn’t let me dye my hair green, she did however agree to purple….lol! I’ve never dyed my hair any other color since!
Tell us all about your latest track with Wizkid!
The song is basically what happens when Reggae meets Afrobeats, it makes everyone want to dance!
How did you get involved with the Beats By Dre Ultra Violet Campaign?
They felt I was a good fit for the campaign because, the new headphones are purple and I’m known for my purple hair 🙂
“I knew I wanted to sing from when I was really young, I just felt it in my soul that I wanted to change lives through my art”
How does your upcoming EP differ from your debut EP “Everyday Living” and LP “Emotionally Unavailable”? How has your style and influences changed in the time between them?
I named the EP “8 ounces”, because that’s the average weight of a woman’s heart and this project is basically my diary. Every song is very personal and comes from my own experiences, I’ve grown so much since my last EP releases and that’s very evident when you listen to “8 ounces”.
How did you get involved with Roc Nation?
I had a record deal at Atlantic prior to my deal with Roc Nation, Atlantic and I decided to go our separate ways and Roc Nation showed a lot of interest, I met with their team and the rest is history sort of speak lol
How does it feel to have such dedicated fans in your #UnicornNation?
It started with tumblr, and then it spread to other outlets like youtube, twitter, then finally instagram and the newest snapchat. It helps because it’s an easy way for you to reach millions of people all around the world in such a short amount of time. It’s the most amazing feeling to know there are so many people who support me, every chance I get I love to spend time with them.
Do you have any mantras that you like to live by?
I feel really strongly about treating people the way you expect to be treated, “do onto others as you would have done to you” would be my mantra.
What’s next?
I’m planning on going on the road for a few dates with The Dream, who Executive Produced and wrote “8 Ounces”. I also have many surprises that will be announced through the year that I can’t wait for everyone to see. I’m also currently in the studio working on my debut album.
