• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Entertainment

READ MORE LESS
By Akiba Solomon · Updated December 6, 2020

Let’s just get this out-of-the-way: the artist formerly known as Syd Tha Kyd—the one who started out DJing for the controversial hip-hop juggernaut Odd Future and led the cool-kid soul band The Internet—identifies as “gay.” Although she is perhaps the first Black mainstream singer to openly court another woman in a video (“Cocaine”), and she always presents as boyish, Syd (no more “Kyd”) bristles at the idea that she’s a pioneer in the Black music game.

“I don’t think it would be right to consider myself a pioneer at 24,” says the Los Angeles native with a chuckle more rueful than amused. “The most I’ve dealt with is with photo-shoot people hiring a stylist who brings women’s clothing. I just say, ‘I’m sorry I don’t do that’ and it’s all good. People have asked me how I’ve been so unapologetic. That’s cool to hear, but I don’t know. I just didn’t know any other way.”

What the preternaturally low-key artist does enthuse about is the synth-heavy ‘90s-era R&B music she writes, produces, mixes, masters and performs in an Aaliyah-reminiscent soprano. Syd has always been convinced of her gift for making tracks—she built a home studio at age 14, and later graduated from audio recording school. But she says she “sucked really bad” when she started singing at live shows with The Internet in 2011. 

Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.

“There was a lot of time I wasted trying to be a traditional soul singer because I felt I was lacking those climactic moments,” says Syd, who grew up on Brandy, Usher, Erykah, and a side of N’Sync. “I hired a vocal coach as soon as I could. Now I know that the gift in me not being a belting singer is that it’s what sets me apart.”

Rather than break with The Internet sound, which was prominently featured on the HBO hit Insecure, Syd’s solo debut, Fin, sticks with the group’s blend of trap beats and R&B. The album would be quite comfortable on a playlist featuring artists like Jhene Aiko, K. Michelle, Missy Elliott and Tank.  

But unlike other young starlets, Syd doesn’t project an image of opulence. She readily tells you that she still lives with her parents and younger brother, Taco, because it makes sense financially. She’s also a proponent of wellness, working with a college basketball coach who serves as her yogi, nutritionist and sometimes therapist. “What she’s about is balance,” says the singer, who struggled with depression in high school and on tour with her old group, Odd Future. “I make sure to be centered.”

In many ways, Fin is just the beginning for Syd as an artist, on her own instead of being flanked by an all-male squad. And despite an identity some unnecessary complicate, her dream for the album is pretty basic:

“I just want people to be able to listen to the whole thing without having to skip any songs,” she says. “I don’t want Fin to be a guilty pleasure. It’s a menu of all I can do.”

This feature originally appeared in the April 2017 Issue of ESSENCE Magazine.

TOPICS:  Magazine
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now