Words by Hannah Shaw
Indian-born and London-raised, emerging hip-hop artist NAYANA IZ is going big places.
It’s pretty much impossible to listen to Nayana IZ without thinking, “I wish I was as cool as her.” Her unique music is culturally inspired, combining urban hip-hop vocals with a distinctive Indian sound, and it’s this authentic origin that helped Nayana IZ to be named one of BBC Asian Network’s Future Sounds of 2020.
As Nayana IZ began to evolve her sound, jazz was a major influence, alongside dipping her toes in the waters of R&B, trap and soul. It is her Indian heritage, though, that takes priority when it comes to the inspiration behind her music – and rightly so. Her grandmother’s legacy as a Manipuri singer is also highly important when it comes to the origins of Nayana’s sound, and she often incorporates her Indian culture into her shows and music videos. She’s said that she hopes to eventually live and work in India, too.
Playing a major role in the success of London collective, NiNE8, Nayana IZ is really making her mark in the cultural sphere. And she doesn’t stop there. She is also the co-founder of Hydration Studios, a platform for queer-femme women working in the hip-hop community, which also labels underground music groups.
Don’t worry about her Spotify track-list all sounding similar, though. Nayana IZ is versatile. Her rap game is strong and her single How We Do is pretty ground-breaking – it brings some serious bad b*tch energy, to say the least. But skip a few songs over to partner in crime and Nayana’s music gives off some very different, very chilled vibes, providing all you need for the perfect driving playlist. If you’re into dreamy vocals, her album SMOKE & FLY is guaranteed to hit all the feels – with “GROWING PAINS” a personal fave.
While you’re here, check out the other artists we’ve profiled as part of our Discover Weekly series.