Anayka She on Blowing up on Tiktok, Music, and more
By Ella Edwards photo by Ashley Thompson
After blowing up on TikTok, Anayka She is one of the budding talents entering the music industry. Her bubbly, authentic, and hilarious personality acts in contrast to her soulful, R&B sound, making her unlike many musicians in the current industry. The Brooklyn-born and based Musician started her TikTok account in 2021 and soon after had a video receive over 200,000 likes. She has since released an EP entitled “Mistaken”, a five-song collection where she reflects upon herself, relationships, and past. Having now amassed over a million followers on her Tik Tok account, she inspires her fans daily, making them laugh as they follow her along her journey growing her career.
Ella: What is your first memory with music?
Anayka: On Saturdays, my mom would clean and make boxed cakes. She would always let me have the leftover mix to eat. While I was potentially getting salmonella, I heard “Respect” by Aretha Franklin for the first time, I couldn’t have been older than 7 years old. I remember loving how the song made me feel and how strongly she sang it. It also taught me how to spell the word, and I would scream it from the top of my lungs every time I heard it. From that day I knew I wanted to write music, and I wanted to make people feel something through it.
Ella: What was your opinion of TikTok before joining the app and how has it changed?
Anayka: I was like everybody else who was too cool, and mature to get on. Especially since I experienced Vine, I wasn't expecting Tik-Tok to actually be good. In my defense Tik Tok was a dancing app only, I didn't even know they had jokes until I got on it. but I'm so glad that I experienced it for myself because Tik-Tok has completely changed my life. With all of the app's flaws, Tik-Tok is one of the most revolutionary apps of the last decade. I have never seen an app be more versatile from self-promotion, education, comedy, to full fledged series and so much more. And I think what really separates Tik-Tok is that it allows the average person a chance at amassing a huge platform. You don't have to make 100 videos before you have a successful one, your very first video could blow up if it's good.
Ella: What was your reaction when your videos started blowing up?
Anayka: I remember the very first video that blew up. I checked my phone every 2 minutes because I couldn't believe it. I just really wanted it to hit a million views, and when I finally did I was so excited I told my family about it and I showed everyone. My success on Tik-Tok was fairly quick, as soon as I started showing my personality the views came along. It was so amazing 2 see comments from people and parts of the world that I've never been to. When my video started blowing up, I just felt happy to be heard and seen.
Ella: How did you navigate others' opinions when you started gaining a following?
Anakya: Obviously when you gain a bunch of followers, you're now subjected to a bunch of different opinions. That could be hard for someone to deal with, but I think growing up in Brooklyn has really toughened my skin, so I don't take strangers' opinions seriously. What was difficult to navigate was the opinions of people in my regular life who were confused about my social media presence. It was really awkward at first because they would watch my videos and try to talk to me about it and real-life which I hated. So I told them to stop watching my videos.
Ella: What made you decide to start pursuing music?
Anakya: I wanted to be a musician for as long as I can remember. But the difference between wanting to be something and being it is actually doing something about it. I think my childhood consisted of me building the courage to finally take that leap. I'm the kind of person that has to give 100 percent of myself to the things that I do, so while I was in college, I promised myself I would focus on my work and when I graduated then I would pursue music full-time. I graduated in May 2020 during the pandemic, And by December I had already written and recorded my first EP. It's so much easier to not be afraid of other people's opinions when you're not surrounded by other people.
Ella: What is it like being a woman in the music industry?
Anakya: In short, It's rewardingly draining. There is the exciting aspect of learning and immersing yourself in new experiences and opportunities, but always being aware that there is a man telling you what to do, whether that be a manager, a record label executive, A recording engineer and so on. Sometimes it is intimidating, but you have to learn to speak up for yourself. Also being a woman ads so many more expenses in the appearance aspect of music. You have to look the part, be beautiful and always put together. And there's always the belittling of your art as a woman, I sing about heartbreak and ending relationships because that's what's true to me. It isn't less valuable than another subject matter. But any struggles I face will never surpass the joy it brings me to see my fans and followers in person rooting for me, and inspired by me. Especially dark skin girls who look like me, everything is worth it when I know that I've opened a door for someone else.
Ella: How does and how has music helped you?
Anakya: In my real life I am pretty reserved. I don't like making friends. I'm not very social, it stresses me out. I like to be alone, and that's what people know me for. But music has allowed me to express myself to the world in a way I didn't think I could. It allows me to show another side of myself that surprises people who do and don't know me. I feel like it's given me A way to connect with people that doesn't overwhelm me. It also forces me out of my shell because I like to talk about the lyrics. I write about how I felt when I wrote a specific song. Some people have exercise, or cooking oh, but I have lyrics
Ella: In what way do you hope your music helps your fans?
Anakya: I hope my music is exactly what people look for when they decide they want better for themselves. I want my people to hear my songs and think “wow, that is my exact situation” and know that they aren’t dumb and sometimes love makes you do stupid things. So if they feel dumb, just know i was dumb too. I hope it reminds them they’re baddies and anybody would be lucky to have them and that they deserve the best.
Ella: What is something you wish you could change about the music industry? Social media?
Anakya: Sometimes I wish it was less invasive. I wish people didn't care who you date or what's happening in your personal life. I wish it was just focused on the art itself. But people want to know every detail about you. As much change and progress we’re making, it’s still such a struggle to fit into the perfect mold of what's desirable or interesting.
Ella: What is a dream of yours?
Anakya: I want to be able to look back at my life at 99 years old and say that I did everything. I want to be able to reach people in countries I've never heard of. I want to be able to help people, create opportunities for people to come out of poverty. I want to make my family proud. I want to be able to say I made it out, against the odds. My biggest dream is to just be happy with myself and what I do.
Anayka She is what role models should look like. Graduating with a degree in psychology and now pursuing music, She demonstrates that you don't have to fit in a box. Going outside your comfort zone, leading with kindness, and pursuing everything that interests you is what sets a new precedent. From being a content creator to a Musician, as She’s career progresses, she continues to remind her fans of the importance of authenticity and vulnerability, of owning where you have been so you can thrive in what's to come.
