Let me put y'all on. First off, I was embarrassingly obsessing over Annie Tracy when she first got to the Mona's Lounge set because I have been in love with her sound from the moment I heard her sing a year ago. To have even gotten a chance to just observe her sing live was an incredible feeling. Perks of being an A&R blogger? Pretty much.
Annie Tracy is fresh to the music scene with a soulful sound highly influenced by her love for gospel and desire to keep things genuinely her. Her persona brightens up a room, and when she sings . . . bro I can't even make this up, my skin tingles all the way down to my finger tips. If I had to describe her voice, I would have to describe her like a great cup of hot chocolate. You know the kind your soul craves on the coldest day of the year? Annie's voice is enticing, deep and smooth. She brings this feeling out of you. When it comes to songwriting, her lyrics are like the paint brush creating this insane work of art that is so unique and worth so much more than a thousand words. I spoke to her a little about who her inspirations were and she surprised me when she mentioned chance the Rapper and Kanye West. When I asked her to explain, she said, "they just do them in their music. They're not trying to be anyone else . . . They are both heavily inspired by gospel'. Her song 'Empty' is full of poetic influence that pushes the listener to dissect the meaning behind the message. Although this is one of her only songs out right now, she did clue me into plans of releasing an EP/Album later on this year. Fingers crossed and eyes glued to Instagram and Apple Music to wait for the drop girl, I'm ready!
When Annie and I sat down to start our interview, I could already tell we were going to have a dope conversation. We clicked instantly, and definitely wandered off topic a few times (we discussed basketball court dreams, the fact that we both attended PACE University in NYC, and our mutual understanding that it's ok to throw yourself a curve ball if that's what helps you find your happy place). I learned so many things about her and grew an admiration for the way she looked at life and her music career. Recently picked up by T.I. and Tiny, she speaks about how even though things are going so well and she's been working with some of the top producers in the industry, she never gets ahead of herself, and always takes moments to just enjoy what she's experiencing in the moments. "I don't believe it's happening", she gushed to me. "I still pinch myself everyday. I've learned more working with them in the past 5 months than I have in my
entire life". In fact, when I asked her where she saw herself and her music career heading, she said she didn't really plan ahead that far. It was all about being in this incredible moment of being able to create music and share her gift. Honestly, if Annie would have told me something like that five years ago I would have been like hell nah, no plan at all? But seeing how life is so totally not in a straight like I wanted to believe forced me to realize that planning every step out just wastes time and takes you away from actually enjoying and giving yourself the credit on the things you're accomplishing in the MOMENT! (Clearly the key word today is 'moments'...)
What else can I say? Annie Tracy is a breath of fresh air and shows so much potential. If I could put her in a category, I'd say a mix of gospel, smooth jazz and some kind of in-between of indie music and R&B. Hoping to even see a collaboration between Annie and H.E.R? Guess we'll have to wait too see that one.
natural soul rhythm 2020