From Times Square billboards to a viral social media page, Dina Ayada is rising as a potent voice in the underground scene with her genre-defying sounds. Born and raised in Belgium with Moroccan roots, she looks at her artistic upbringing and early influence to release her debut EP, “Superstar!”, featuring 8 hand-selected solo tracks that serves as a representation of her learning experiences, experimenting and growth over the last nine months.
“[‘SUPERSTAR!’ is] all about celebrating the moments of success, self-discovery and the journey to becoming the best version of yourself. Every song on this EP reflects different aspects of my life and experiences; from the highs to the lows, they’re all meant to make you feel something,” she shares. “I learned a lot about myself in the process of making this EP, both as an artist and as a person. I tried to just let my creativity flow, playing with different sounds, different topics and different flows. I’m forever grateful for this entire experience and the people that were a part of it. I hope that as you listen, you’ll feel inspired, motivated, uplifted & that SUPERSTAR!’ becomes the soundtrack to your own personal journey.”
Here, we connected with Dina Ayada to discuss her musical background, the EP and what fans can expect from her next career steps.
Listen to “Superstar!”…
Read the full interview…
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got started in music?
I was born and raised in Belgium. I’m Moroccan on both my parents’ sides. They’re not really into music, but I grew up listening to a lot of old school rap and hip hop. People like DMX, Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott were all people I listened to a lot. By the time I was four, I would sit in the back of my dad’s car and play a lot of Arabic music. I was able to pick up a lot of the lyrics and my dad was so surprised by it – I was hitting a lot of the notes too! I was just really into music. I was always singing at school, I loved rapping as well.
When I hit the age of twelve, that’s when I ended up going onto The Voice Kids. I didn’t really want to do it. But my mum encouraged me to try it out. I went on to it with no expectations, but it turned out that I got selected for every audition that I did and ended up hitting the semi-finals. I learned a lot from the experience and being on the stage made me realise that being an artist might be for me. I thought, “I would be so happy if this was my job”.
By the time I was sixteen, I was writing lyrics and making music with my brother who was into producing a little. We recorded a song, put it out and it ended up hitting the charts in Belgium which was really cool. That was when I knew that I wanted to do more. I later met my current producer Chuki Beats. The first studio session that we did together was put out on his YouTube and hit 1 million views in a few weeks. It was just me freestyling at 16-years-old. Then fast forward to December last year, when I posted a clip of “Miles Away” on my TikTok. Out of the blue, it was going crazy hard. That’s when a lot of labels and producers started to show interest in the music I was doing and I made a lot of trips back and forth to LA over the next few months to get in the studio and make new music, as well as build up opportunities for my career.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
I was in law school for two years before all of this happened with my music career. I saw so many opportunities coming my way and I feel like I couldn’t just let them go because of law school. I really enjoyed my studies, but I don’t really see myself being a lawyer in the future. I just enjoy waking up, doing music, being on the stage and going to the studio. That’s the lifestyle that I want to have.
Who were your early influences?
I used to listen to a lot of old school music. Now, I also enjoy listening to Doja Cat a lot, as well as Lil Uzi, Ye and a lot of other dope artists.
Congratulations on your EP “SUPERSTAR!” coming out this week. What can you share about the themes and inspiration behind this project?
This project is honestly so beautiful. It came together really organically. It’s all based on life experiences that I’ve had, and I feel like the songs are all very uplifting, motivating and inspiring. The songs are about love, they’re about chasing my dreams, heartbreaks and moving on from that, and always improving and growing closer to my highest self. It’s also really personal and being able to create it with my whole team meant that there were a lot of good vibes and good energy around the project. We were meditating before sessions, just being super present in the studio with no phones – we wanted to give it everything and put our soul into the project.
How would you describe your musical style and the genre of music you create?
I wouldn’t really say that my music has a genre. I make different music. My “SUPERSTAR!” EP is more of an underground sound with my own sauce that I’ve put into it. It’s very Dina universe, but a lot of the styles in that I guess incorporate a lot of hip hop and rap.
You’ve received support from some big names in the industry. How did these connections come about, and what have you learned from them?
Being in LA was definitely how a lot of the connections I’ve made so far came about. I feel like a lot of people know about me because of my TikToks that I’ve posted. This year, I’ve also been invited to so many concerts and performances and being able to get to know people and observe backstage has been great. I’ve had a lot of artists backstage at shows come to me and be like, “oh, you’re that girl who sings this song and that song,” and it’s really nice for people to be recognising me.
Also, when I was in LA hanging out with producer Digital Nas, he introduced me to a lot of people like Ye, Playboy Carti and other big names. Being able to meet those artists and vibe with them for some time taught me that things do get real, you know? As a kid, you dream about being in the same room as all of the artists that you love listening to. But as soon as you’re there yourself, it gives you that sense of confirmation like, “wow, I’m really here.” We’re all stars here, and it showed me that you should never give up chasing your dreams.
What’s been the most exciting moment in your career so far?
Travelling around the world and getting to meet new people. I love exploring and experiencing different environments. I get a lot of DMs from people around the world saying that I really inspire them and that when they look at my videos it makes them happy. I feel like I try to give an uplifting energy and I really want my audience to feel the love that I put into my music.
Could you share a bit about your creative process when writing and recording music?
This one is really weird! Basically, every time I go into the studio, I do not listen to the beat before going into the booth. As soon as I go into the booth, I put on my headphones, Chuki presses the record and that’s when I hear the beat for the first time. That’s when I start freestyling, singing random stuff and catching onto good melodies. Melodies are very important to me when it comes to my music. After that, I go sit with Chuki and we check the structure and flesh things out more. Most of the time it’s one-take recordings that we turn into an actual song. Then when it comes to writing, I write with my manager Dro a lot, or I write with other dope people I’ve met like Derrick Milano or BJRNCK. Then record the final parts, fill it in with ad-libs and then it’s finished. I don’t like to overthink things because that’s when things start to not feel organic anymore.
What do you hope your listeners take away from your music?
Honestly, just to do what I do. To try and make good decisions in life and chase your dreams. Pursuing music and taking my first trip to LA opened so many doors for me. I want everyone who listens to my music to not be afraid to do something just because they’re a girl, or because they’re Muslim. I’m a girl, I’m Muslim and I feel like there’s these expectations that we shouldn’t do this or shouldn’t do that. No. We’re all human beings and if we’re good at something and want to use a certain talent to spread love and good energy, then just do it. I feel like it’s important to go with your heart, your gut feeling and to not let any negative comments stop you from chasing your dreams.
Do you have any live concerts scheduled?
Wembley Arena show supporting Lil Tjay Thu 2nd November! When I first saw the capacity of that show, I was like, “Wow! You’re talking about 10,000 people!?” It’s crazy because this is going to be my first ever show performing in front of people. We’ve prepared a full setlist, done lots of rehearsals and put so much work into it so I’m fully ready and prepared for it. I’ve always dreamed about being on stage performing in front of people. But 10,000 people, in London… I’ve heard the crowds in London are crazy, so I’m excited, I can’t wait and I’m very grateful to Tjay for giving me this opportunity.
I’m also super excited about all of the European tour dates I have coming up with Tjay as well. It’s going to be my first tour so I can’t wait to see how it’s going to go. I’m really happy I have the chance to share my love and energy with people.
What are you most looking forward to in the future?
I’m super excited for the release of my “SUPERSTAR!” EP. I’m also just excited to share more new music in the future as well as my love and energy on stage. I want to – no. I AM going to do lots of studio sessions with people I really like and want to meet like Doja Cat and Lil Uzi. It’s important to speak things into existence. That’s what I’ve been doing the past few months and everything has come true. I will do everything that I want to do which is travelling, going on tour, making music with artists that I like and surrounding myself with good people.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations as an artist?
I want to start my own brand. I’m very into fashion and I think that it’s important for an artist to be fly all the time. I want people to look at me as an artist, but also as someone who’s involved in the fashion world. I’m not just a girl who freestyles on TikTok, I make music, I’m into fashion and I want to spread love in this world because I feel like it’s very needed right now.