Hip Hop’s Yaysh feels that if people could let go of their judgments, they’d have a better time. She has launched her summer of fun with “Boss,” last week. It's a song that encourages listeners to go after what they want from life. The music video, shot in San Francisco and featuring many members of the LGBTQ community, celebrates pride month. Yaysh, who identifies as pansexual, recently discussed her music, videos, unique outlook on life, and more via an exclusive interview.
Style, inspirations, and music videos
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you get interested in music and how would you describe your style?
Yaysh: I got interested in music after I had been freestyling for a while. I was never perfect at it. I would mess up but I wouldn’t give up, and I would say some really amazing things. I could sing, too, so I started incorporating that in my freestyle, especially at parties. People kept asking me where my music was online. It inspired me to get more professional. So, I learned a little bit of piano and guitar, like kindergarten level, and started learning how to write songs. I would describe my style as free, non-conceptual.
MM: Your new song is called “Boss.” What inspired it?
Yaysh: The inspiration came from a desire for people to take more of the lead in their own lives. We need to get rid of the poverty mentality that is always fault-finding and fixing oriented.
When a person comes out of the closet, when a person is really themselves, there’s no linearity to who they are or how they express themselves and often times it’s an incredible celebration. That’s what this song is about. Not thinking.
MM: What was the inspiration behind the colorful music video?
Yaysh: The inspiration came from a desire to represent the LGBT community in a way that really shows its wisdom.
The wisdom of the LGBT community is that it is all about being genuine. It supports diversity and finds beauty in what individuals have to offer. Its respects each person’s preference and how they want to be, live, have sex, dress, identify, etc. I chose to shoot in San Francisco because it is an iconic and historical city, especially to our community.
Lyrics, beats, and creativity
MM: You identify as pansexual, so how does your involvement with the LGBT community influence your creativity, if at all?
Yaysh: I am 100% influenced by the LGBT community, but I’m also influenced by the rest of the world, too. We’re all in this together.
MM: Do you write both the lyrics and beats to your songs?
Yaysh: I write my own lyrics, and I work with my producer on creating the beat. He comes up with a lot of the beat, but I do help sometimes because I want specific things in there: sounds and a specific rhythm. I don’t use programs to make music. I let him do that so that I can focus on the natural music that comes out of me. The type of artist that I am is the type of producer he is, and that’s why we work so well together.
MM: What other songs are you excited to introduce to the world?
Yaysh: I’m excited to introduce all of my songs! They are all my children. There’s a song called “Benjamin Franklin” which is really nice and has a summery vibe. There’s also “Wild One,” a pop song with a little bit of a hip-hop ending. I’m planning a full album and an EP release in the fall!
I would just like to say that life is not about the goal. It’s about the journey. There is a book out there called "Journey Without a Goal." It’s worth reading. I’m about keeping it real. Keeping it real means I live in the moment. I think about past, present, and future but in general, my entire mindset is about being here. I care about waking up, and I wish to be of benefit.
I don’t have a goal because I’ll never achieve it. There will always be another goal to achieve. The satisfaction of the journey is much more important to me. I don’t ever want my success to be over so, for me, life is a lazy river or a torrential thunderstorm. It’s like water, and it just keeps moving.
