Shortly after I called KeiyaA for our interview this past Friday, she asked if we could talk over FaceTime instead. After a quick outfit change, I was happy to oblige. “Now we can actually talk and see each other,” the New York-via-Chicago singer — born Chakeiya Richmond — said with glee. In her excitement, she spilled weed ashes all over her lap.
KeiyaA writes to be understood. It’s one of the reasons her debut album, Forever, Ya Girl, released this past March, is such an enchanting listen. Her lyrics deal in affirmation (“ I’m gonna keep burning, so baby roll up!” from “I Want My Things!”) and plainspoken declarations (“ Long as you respect me, I could care less if you like me “ from “Every Nigga Is A Star”).
It’s hard to deny KeiyaA’s power. Outside of production assists from underground rap mainstays MIKE and BSTFRND, whom she met through mutual friend AKAI SOLO after first moving to New York, KeiyaA produced, composed, played every instrument, and looped every sample across Forever by herself.
“Some beats were six years old,” KeiyaA admits. “Some songs were half-written pieces I’d been freestyling and improvising live. I was wearing a lot of different hats. I was a one-person band and my own executive producer, in essence.” Through her piecemealing process, Forever finally came…
