Ayanna Ife: Breaking Barriers & Blazing Trails

Ayanna Ife

Ayanna Ife is quickly making waves in the hip-hop scene, and for good reason. As the first transgender and blind rapper to hit a national stage, he’s proving that nothing—not his disability or anything else for that matter—can hold him back. Hailing from Philadelphia, Ayanna brings raw, fearless energy and real honesty to his music, showing that authenticity is the ultimate power move. 

Q: Let’s hop into this single / video, "Strut," featuring Zeddy Will and Jenn Carter — how did this particular track come to fruition?

I am a TikToker, and I have an “off the cuff " content where I do my thing, and I have viral success with music before. I’d be in my bedroom freestyling and making content, and people loved it. I did one, and that was my part for "Strut." The fans commented that they'd like Zeddy and Jenn for it. They spammed it! And both reached out individually. 

It was wild hearing from them. I was at a friend’s house and left the city. I went to visit a friend I hadn’t seen in a little while, and I got a message from Jenn first. Jenn said, “That song 'Strut' is fire, don’t listen to the haters.” My friend asked if Zeddy and Jenn would do the record, and I said it’s unlikely. I check my IG at 4am, and Zeddy and Jenn hit me up to do the song. I left where I was as soon as possible to re-record the song as perfectly as I could. Jenn said, "You're doing great. I love you, and I want you to win so much.”

Q: How then does "Strut" compare to or differ from your previous songs?

“Strut” is the biggest moment of my career to date. It’s my biggest moment for me ever. That means a lot to me, because I had a viral TikTok song in 2023, but it was never THIS viral. The song I did before amassed 500-600K total on Spotify, and it was my biggest moment. I never imagined it getting bigger than that. The song is now at 10.6 million streams on Spotify at the time of this interview.

Ayanna Ife | Strut

Q: As a lyricist, where do you draw inspiration from?

The freestyles. A lot of times, I’m organizing phrases in my mind, and it gets me in what people on TikTok call a “flow state.” I really get into a zone, and the words start happening, then I have to record them before they go away. I draw inspriation form things happening in life or a story. 

Q: Tell me about your musical beginnings. When did this journey start for you?

Before social media even jumped off, I was on MySpace…that’ll tell you how long I’ve been doing this. I was a young kid, and my mom would take me to the CD store up the street to buy burnt CDs with beats on them, and you would rap over them. I’d find any basement studio and record records over those beats. I took a hiatus and tried music again in 2023.

Q: Growing up in the ‘City of Brotherly Love,' who were some of your biggest influences?

If we're talking specifically Philly, E Ness from Diddy’s “The Band” and Meek Mill. I don’t listen to many rappers nowadays, but I listen to everything. I grew up listening to Lauryn Hill and the whole Young Money era in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, and that was my motivation. That’s what I grew up hearing. 

Q: How do you define your style?

I make “sex music” but not in the sense of intimacy, but as in controlling the dance floor. Growing up, having a disability and being transgender, you don’t feel as powerful. But with my voice, I found that power to make people dance and move. When I recognized that power, I found my style. In an unreleased song, there’s a line that goes, “Ayanna couldn’t get her to fuck, but Ayanna can get her to dance.” Dance and Sex music make me feel like I have power in the dance realm. 

Q: What do you hope people take away from your music?

I found out that for some reason, it’s infectious. It’s feel-good music. What is infecting them is the feeling of power; then that’s great. I want them to take away from it the feeling of power. Like "Strut," for example, they dance in front of the mirror and cameras, feeling confident. That’s what I want them to feel. 

Q: Dream collaboration — who would it be?

That’s so hard…I’ll say Drake. Drake and I make the song of the century. Mark my words and write that down. It would be amazing. One day, Inshallah. 

Q: If you could play any venue in the world, where would it be?

I’m not really good with venue names, but something that can hold a lot of people. I want to fill out the largest stadium in the world. The energy in the room would be berserk. I hope you’ll be there one day, dancing with the crowd. 

Q: How do you feel about the current state of hip-hop?

Unfortunately, hip-hop is being erased, and people don’t know what that is. It’s a culture, and we have cultural aspects. Rap is rhythm and poetry, graffiti, and so many things in the culture dying away because they’re not being pushed. WE don’t highlight it the way we should. The current state is being erased. At least rap is living, it’s at an all-time high. But, it’s something you do within hip-hop culture. You can be a rapper and know nothing about hip-hop culture. 

On the East Coast, we have “party music” in Philly. It’s keeping hip-hop dance alive. It’s having a resurgence. People stopped dancing, and it died for a while, but it’s coming back with a vengeance.

Q: What’s the key to your longevity?

I say this about "Strut." It can potentially do this. It has different functions that can keep a song alive, and in turn keep me alive. It fits in Ballroom, modeling, and TikTok culture. It lives in different communities, so it doesn’t die quickly. The key is multifunctionality; otherwise, no one would need it anymore. The key to longevity is being functional in multiple ways. 

Q: Beyond music, what else, if anything, do you want to do?

I look at Will Smith’s career a lot of the time, as it’s what I want my career to reflect. I’d love to produce music and film, and it’s hard for me to watch TV because some of the writing on some shows is very bad. I want to do stand-up, and originally made my TikTok for stand-up. That goes back to my keys to longevity being multifunctional. 

Q: Biggest career moments thus far?

As I said earlier, "Strut" with Zeddy Will and Jenn Carter.

Q: What’s an average day like for you?

Here’s the thing…I always had a very intense pace of ADHD. Routine is hard for me. One thing my ex liked about me was: “you’re so unboring. New content always drops with you every day.” I know you’re supposed to have a routine to be successful, but that's never been my thing. I have a tumultuous life and show it because it’s never a dull moment. I wake up, have no idea, go on TikTok, go viral, then I get a call from a publicist and have an interview shortly after. 

Q: How do you interact with your fans?

I recently learned about an Asian culture in which they treat someone like they’re idols. They’re involved in everything. When I was struggling and had nothing and no one, the fans saved me every day. They’re always there. I can go live right now or at 4am, and they’ll ask me if I’m okay. They don’t let me get taken advantage of because they know and love me a lot. They’re my family. I don’t have a lot of family, so they’ve taken the role of protecting me, and they’re very particular in how I’m treated in the world. 

Q: Favorite and least favorite parts of this work?

My least favorite part is not having the infrastructure I want. I’d want it to be a well-oiled machine. A label deal is very tempting. I don’t have to be responsible for overhead, and I would like that to be handled so I can focus on my favorite part: the art. If a label would take that part over, I can just create, and that would be so, SO great. 

Q: What advice would you give to someone following in your footsteps?

The biggest advice I have is: “don’t believe in rise and grind culture.” I wake up at 4pm on TikTok and make freestyles. Now I have a hit song with two of the largest artists in the game. You don’t have to burn yourself out for success. Be you! 

Q: Five to ten years from now, where do you see yourself?

Inshallah, in five to ten years…I’ve produced different kinds of work. I’ve entertained large audiences. The world knows my entertainment work in five to ten years.

Q: What’s next for you, Ayanna? 

I want to put out my next anti-apoptotic record and give that to my supporters. I want to perform my music and put more of it out. 

Q: Any parting words for our readers?

The last thing I want to say is to do what makes you happy, and at least if nothing else, you won’t be bored. 

Thank you for asking me these questions. I've been looking forward to someone asking me these types of things for a long time. I really enjoyed this interview and hope to do this again!

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