She’s recently launched her own label, Hussle Girl. The first single released on the label is the monster Mind Controller which demonstrates her keen ear for hooky vocals and an underground template.
Jimmy Coultas caught up with her to get the juice on everything rocking within her world.
During your career you’ve been noted for your collaborations. What have you learned from working with other people and would you recommend it as a good way to build your creativity?
Absolutely. You can't say that you know anything about anything if you don't spend time with people who know more than you do. It's been an invaluable experience and I've loved every minute of it.
What is it about dance music that you feel makes it such a good foil for your voice?
I love dance music, it's that simple; but whether it’s dance music that's good for my voice or my voice that's good for dance music, I couldn't tell you. We just have a happy relationship.
How much influence have you taken from the US R&B hip hop scene? Are there are any performers, male or female, which you’ve looked up to from over there or in the UK?
I grew up listening to US hip hop and R&B so there's no doubt that it has influenced me in some way. It's very hard not to have traces of things that you love in the music that you create, and that's all good, we're revivalists after all. I was massively into Big Daddy Kane, Common, Tribe, Busta Rhymes, The Roots and Pete Rock. And R&B has always held a special place for me; Jill, Erykah, Angie, Janet and even further back into old soul classics.
You’ve been dubbed the Queen of UK Bass. Is this a title you expect to have to defend?!
I'm flattered by it but I don't make music to compete with people. I make it because I love it and I want people to love it; it's not a competition for me to be honest with you, and I'd hate to look at it that way. I love that everyone is doing their thing, we're all in it together, man.
Bass music is being heralded by many as the most exciting form of dance music right now. Why do you think the agenda has swung back this way in electronic music?
Music will always swing and roundabout. I think that club culture has come back because people want to go out and have a good time. It gives you a freedom and a release from all the nonsense going on around us.
Growing up in the Middle East must have been quite a culture clash to the UK. What are the differences and why did you make the move here?
I moved over here initially to go to university, but I had been spending summers here growing up so it always seemed natural I'd end up here. I love London, it's my spiritual home. Amman, my hometown, is great too. Arab hospitality is unrivalled and I love going back there, but for the music I make I have to be here until we can make the dance scene bigger over there. I'm working on it.
You’ve also got a history making records for the pop market in the Middle East. How different are the challenges and are there times where the music from both crosses over?
Ah! I'm afraid this isn't strictly true. I've had two cuts for pop records in the Far East this year but it's a very new thing that I'm just getting into. I've been writing songs for a very long time so it's nice to see things getting picked up and made use of rather than just sitting around.
And finally, dream situation time. You can go back to any period in clubland history, and play at any club. Who would you have playing alongside you and what tune would you drop that would define the evening? Or have you been lucky enough to have had this moment properly?
Wow! I would say LTJ Bukem, MC Conrad and The Western. I was obsessed with that sound in the late 90s and even though I loved being a punter, there would have definitely been something magical about being on the other side watching/hearing it all go down.
