With a unique sound that effortlessly blends pop, hip-hop, R&B, and even country sensibilities, meet native Old North State singer-songwriter-rapper Anella, née Herim, who semi-recently unleashed Season 4: I Need You, the fourth installment in an ongoing series of widely popular bodies of work.
So FN Dope: How did “Love On The Brain,” featuring Hunxho, come to fruition?
Anella: We met up with a producer named Elman in Miami, and he had sent me a pack, and we got into a studio called More Play, me and Seven. And we were just recording on random beats, and I recorded the hook and the verse in probably 20 minutes, and we had it for like a year. And then, I randomly sent it to Hunxho and he laid a verse on it, and it boom, bada boom bada bing!
So FN Dope: “Love On The Brain” comes courtesy of your latest EP, Season 4: I Need You – Conceptually, what does this title represent for both to and for you?
Anella: Season 4: I Need You is just the fourth installment of the “831 series,” which is eight letters, three words, one meaning. So it's like, “I love you, I hate you, I miss you, I need you, I want you. I know you, I have you. I knew you.” Anything you want it to mean, it can mean. And the fourth one just happened to be, I need you.
So FN Dope: How then does Season 4: I Need You either differ and / or compare to previous Anella efforts?
Anella: The reason I did the seasons was because there's no requirements as in genre or pace or feeling or emotion. It is an emotion itself. 831 is an emotion. So it kind of is a big umbrella. So the only difference is the point. Like, the whole point is to be different. Every song, every genre, every everything. So that is the difference.
So FN Dope: As a songwriter when you sit down to pin your lyrics, where do you draw inspiration from?
Anella: I have no idea. I stare at a wall or I watch a movie or I...I don't read a book…I lie, or I read a cereal box or I talk to an old guy at a bar or I talk to a 12-year-old that's in my family and pissed off 'cause his mom won't let him do something or like, I don't know, just find somebody that doesn't explain their emotions the same way I do.
So FN Dope: Tell me your whole inception into music. When did you first become interested in it and how did it all begin for Anella?
Anella: My dad was a praise and worship leader at church and I grew up; I started playing drums when I was four. And so I was kind of just following him around all the time. He played in bands, too, and so I just wanted to do what he was doing. And so he taught me how to play the drums. And then from there I just learned like every instrument possible.
So FN Dope: Now you’re from Trinity, NC, correct? So growing up in the "Tar Heel State," who all did / do you consider to be your strongest musical influences?
Anella: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and The Beach Boys. And then, like blink-182, Green Day. And then obviously like Justin Bieber, Post. Anyone that makes good music. Adele, Jon Bellion. Insane. Mmm...not James Brown. I don't listen to him enough to call him an influence, I guess. Oh, my dad.
So FN Dope: That said, how do you describe and or define the style of music that you create or perform?
Anella: I describe it as good. I think it's different and I think it's emotional and it's just the right amount of not understandable.
So FN Dope: What particular string of events actually led to your current signing with Def Jam?
Anella: I played local bars when I was growing up to make money, and I played at this bar called Boxcar + Arcade in Greensboro. And I met this guy named Malik who then took me to a studio to record, and paid for a slot at a festival called No Stress (Fest) Parking Lot Concert, which is (E.) Sudd’s concert. And then Sudd had a previous endeavor with a producer named D.A. Got That Dope. And so he posted me on Instagram, and D.A. reached out and wanted to meet me. So Sudd introduced me to D.A., and then D.A. showed a song called “No One” to a guy named Tunji (Balogun), who is the CEO and Chairman of Def Jam. And Tunji took me out to eat at BOA in L.A. and then he signed me, and that's exactly how that happened.
So FN Dope: Switching gears here, what exactly do you want people to get from your music?
Anella: I have no idea. I don't even know what I get from it to be honest. I don't know. I'm so uninspiring. I mean I, yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like I am, I know, but I'm not, to me; I just piss me off.
So FN Dope: What do you want people to get from your music?
Anella: I don't know. Happiness.
So FN Dope: If you could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Anella: Adele, because “Adela,” that's all I need to say! No, I'm just kidding. She's an amazing writer. I wanna work with her.
So FN Dope: If you could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?
Anella: Is it Wembley? Where did they do Live Aid? Queen.
So FN Dope: Oh. Oh yeah.
Anella: Is it Wembley? Wembley, 110% Wembley. I guess SoFi would be cool, but that's too new. There's no like you go walk in there and be like, yo people have been here. It's like, yeah, Wembley is like, holy shit. Everyone's been here.
So FN Dope: Epic. Yes. Iconic.
Anella: Yeah, iconic.
So FN Dope: On a more serious note: Are you happy with the current state of music?
Anella: Of course not.
So FN Dope: What do you feel has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?
Anella: I'm gonna continue to make it for me, instead of somebody else.
So FN Dope: Do you have any other outside / additional (future) aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?
Anella: Yeah, I want to compose and I wanna write for Broadway and I want to be in movies and I just wanna be cool. I wanna be like Adam Sandler swag.
So FN Dope: To date, what has been your biggest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?
Anella: Probably the Wayne tour...or going to Sweden. Yeah, that was about it. Or I guess like, I don't know, hitting 10 million streams or, I don't know. All the numbers seem so small now. All you do is stare at numbers all day; it's just pointless.
So FN Dope: What's the average day like for you?
Anella: Boring and unfulfilling and irritating. And then you have rare dopamine overdose days that make up for all the bullshit.
So FN Dope: Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
Anella: I don't call 'em fans. That's fucking weird.
So FN Dope: What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?
Anella: My favorite part and my least favorite part is not having a schedule. Sometimes I wish somebody would just be like, Hey, do this and this is how you make money. Yeah. And I'd be like, Heyyyyyyyyyy. And then sometimes I'm like, thank God I don't have to wake up at 7:00am 'cause I would've, I'd be shit.
So FN Dope: What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Anella: Don't. What I've done has already been done. Do something else. Do the same thing in a different way - there you go.
So FN Dope: Looking ahead, say 5 or maybe even 10 years from now, where do you see yourself?
Anella: Doing the exact same thing at just a bigger level, I guess with a house and a family.
So FN Dope: What's next for Anella?
Anella: Working on Season 5, which I think's called “I miss you” and...I don't know. [laughs] Singles and tours and merchandise and branding and just figuring out how to be an online human.
So FN Dope: You're also about to hit the road with Lil Wayne, beginning on February 27th in Indianapolis, Indiana. How does it feel? And, for someone who has yet to experience you all the way LIVE, what would you tell that person can be expected?
Anella: Feels fire, feels good. I don't know how to describe it. I won't know how to describe it until it's over. I have no idea what to expect. Honestly, what you should expect is some singing and some shitty dancing. Some good advice I guess, and some bad advice. Everything with a bow on top.
So FN Dope: Is there anything I left out or just plain forgot to mention?
Anella: Nope. Not that I can think of.
So FN Dope: Okay, that's a wrap! Lastly, any parting words for our readers?
Anella: Don't drink and drive. That shit is lame.
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