Giving us Summer Walker vibes with her steel-string guitar in hand, is rising singer-songwriter Lotus Ma’at. Inspired by the likes of Drake and Justin Bieber, the singer strips it back for her latest track “Just Talk”, laying her honeyed vocals bare over a beautifully produced acoustic arrangement.

Speaking on the emotional tune, the singer said, “I’ve been in a situation where I was confused about my feelings for someone but one thing I knew for sure was how special the connection was to me and how things are smooth between us. I’d rather keep it on that level and be honest about it.”

The New Jersey-hailed singer started her promising career singing covers of her favourite artists on YouTube, before teaming up with renowned producer Juice Billionaire for her upcoming debut EP, “GET LO”. Set for a busy year, we sat down with the singer and talked TikTok, musical heroes and what we can expect from the debut EP.

Check out the interview below…

Hi Lotus, what has your lockdown experience been like?
It’s been pretty calm and relaxing. I took it as an opportunity to slow it down and re-evaluate certain things like my mental and physical health.

Tell us one thing you’ve been learned.
I’ve been experimenting with producing beats and engineering my own voice, anything musically to keep the creative juices flowing.

How do you think growing up in the Philippines influenced you sonically? And growing up in New Jersey
I didn’t stay in the Philippines for too long, but I grew up in a traditional household where Filipino music played all day. Both my parents are also musically inclined, so I ended up always listening to them either play or sing songs that were mostly ballads and OPM rock. I grew a strong connection to the melodies and instrumentation. With that in mind, I also listen to the music here, I can say that there are lots of different sounds I can draw off of.

Who were your musical heroes?
I always find this the hardest to answer only because I have so many! It could go from Jazmine Sullivan, Brandy, Mariah Carey, to Justin Bieber, Frank Ocean and even Ne-Yo.

You started out posting covers – what do you think of TikTok and this democratization of music ?
I think TikTok is a great platform to showcase different types of music. It’s where everyone can incorporate their own talents like dancing, singing, skits, makeup etc. But truthfully, I haven’t taken advantage of the app’s capabilities because I’m still accustomed to Instagram.

Congratulations on your new track “Just Talk”, what was it inspired by?
“Just Talk” is the song I wrote with D.C. We were going back and forth with ideas to convey the difficulties of being honest to someone that’s special to you, and telling them that there’s nothing more to the relationship, but also hinting that there is. It’s relatable especially in our generation now where there is “no labels”, but there’s still “strings attached”

And your debut EP “Get Lo” – what ties the track together as a body of work?
It was how I could freely express myself in different ideas of love.

How do you want your music to make people feel
I want them to feel satisfied and rewarded. Hopefully, my music can be strong enough for them to relate to, and go to when they want to express themselves.

What’s next for you? What are you excited for in 2020?
I’m looking forward to grow as a musician, create different forms of art and to meet different artists that love to do what I do.