Heralded for her remarkable vocal range, Emmy-nominated singer/songwriter and actress Sy Smith has been putting her stamp on music over a couple of decades. As a vocalist, songwriter and lead singer, her long list of credits is proof that she’s been putting in the work and making a name for herself. Our Sy Smith interview dives into her story.
Four years since the release of her last album, Sy Smith has returned with her super sensual new single, “Slide.” The track is the first offering from Smith’s long-awaited, still forthcoming solo collection, Until We Meet Again, executive produced by Hip-Hop and R&B multi-hyphenate Phonte, due out this December.
With a soulful voice that’s reminiscent to the late, great Minnie Riperton, fans are sure to get a treat with this album, which once again finds her teaming with longtime collaborator Zo! and his production partner, Tall Black Guy.
We caught up with her for an in depth interview to talk about the new music and much more. Check out our Sy Smith interview here…
“When I first heard the skeletal bones of this track Zo! sent me, I was pulled in by all the rhythms. I knew immediately that I wanted to write something very direct. An invitation to “meet me where I am – in this space – I won’t be coming to you’ kinda thing. This track demanded that. Melodically, I imagined Marvin Gaye writing a song for Diana Ross during his ‘I Want You’ era.” – Sy Smith
Parlé Mag: The single “Slide” comes courtesy of your forthcoming solo LP, Until We Meet Again. Conceptually, what does this title represent for you?
Sy Smith: “Until We Meet Again” is a song on the album that was written pre-pandemic, but the album began to take shape in 2020 around the same time as the pandemic began to mandate all these mitigations and precautions that kept many of us apart for a long time. So that song took on a new meaning and we decided to make it the name of the album because it felt so poignant and resonated this new spirit of valuing each other’s presence so much more than we had before.
Parlé Mag: How will this body of work either differ and/or compare to previous Sy Smith projects?
Sy Smith: This album – except for one song – is produced by my longtime collaborator Zo! and his production partner, Tall Black Guy. For the people who are fans of Zo! and fans of myself – especially regarding the fans who appreciate the work I’ve done with Zo!, Nicolay, Phonte and the whole The Foreign Exchange collective – I think this is the album people have been waiting for [from me] for a long time. And because we really believe in this project, we’ve invested so much into it. String arrangements by Maurice “Pirahnahead” Herd and Gina Kronstadt. Horn arrangements by Dontae Winslow. And, appearances from my friends Sheila E., Chris Botti, guitarist Leo Amuedo… and I finally got Phonte to write me a couple songs, so I’m REALLY excited about that! I’m really finicky about songwriting.
Parlé Mag: What particular string of events led to your current deal with +FE Music?
Sy Smith: My relationship with +FE Music has been cultivated over these many years through a deep respect for Nicolay and Phonte and what they’ve done musically, what they stand for culturally and in this business and obviously a friendship with them that includes a couple of years touring with them – The Foreign Exchange. So I think it was just a matter of time that we would end up working together on a Sy Smith project released by +FE Music, it just makes sense.
Parlé Mag: As a songwriter, when you sit down to pen your lyrics, where do you draw inspiration from?
Sy Smith: I read a lot. I consume lots of words. I live for language and take deep dives into dialogue. And then, I’m always reflecting on life. Not just my life, but all the life around me. My experiences as a Black woman, my observations of other’s experiences, my understanding – and sometimes not understanding, yet – the ways of this universe and what it all means… so my lyrics come from all of this. And sometimes, I can’t even take complete credit for this because sometimes lyrics just fall from the sky and I just write ‘em and sing ‘em how they appeared to me.
Parlé Mag: Tell me about the inception of Sy Smith, the artist. When did you first become interested in music, and how did your professional career come to fruition?
Sy Smith: There has never been a time in my conscious life when I was not interested in music. Music has lived inside of me for as long as I can remember remembering. I begged for piano lessons and my mom obliged, so I studied classical piano for many years. At age 10, I began singing in school choirs. I was quite the late bloomer as far as singing goes. I didn’t even consider myself a SINGER singer for a long time, but I knew I had better ears than most people and I could harmonize in my sleep. I also wrote songs and poems for as long as I knew how to write letters on a page. But the artist Sy Smith took a LONG time to manifest. I ran from it for a long time. I didn’t wanna be centerstage, lead mic, any of that… not until I kinda had to be.
When I moved to Los Angeles from Washington, DC, to become a songwriter, every time I took a meeting with a publisher they thought my song catalog was an artist demo. They keep saying I should just get a record deal. After a few publishing rejections – and a few publishing deal offers that were more like highway robbery – I decided to take a record deal that was offered to me. Going on my first tour as an artist is really what made me see what I’d been running from all that time… I needed to be the one to tell the stories I was writing, nobody would be able to tell them like me. I enjoyed being amplified for the first time in my life. I enjoyed being HEARD and SEEN. And yeah…there was no going back after that.
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Parlé Mag: Growing up in “Chocolate City,’ were there local/native DC artists that influenced you? Who were some of your strongest musical influences?
Sy Smith: I was always into bands that had horn sections and when I was a kid, some of those Go-Go bands that had really great horn sections were my favorites – Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, Little Benny & The Masters. I loved those bands! I thought I would be a horn arranger one day! (Laughs!) I even tried playing clarinet, but I was terrible. But my voice sounds a lot like a horn, and my background arrangements are greatly influenced by the horns of bands like these. Some of my strongest musical influences are pretty obvious, and some aren’t… but Minnie Riperton, Deniece Williams, Patrice Rushen, Ella Fitzgerald, Cameo, Chuck Brown, Kashif, Michael Jackson, Jimmy Jam / Terry Lewis… they’ve all played a huge role in how I might approach a song – live or in the studio.
Parlé Mag: How would you classify your overall sound and style?
Sy Smith: This is a tough question for me to answer, because I don’t think I want to classify what I do. Classification is so scientific. Art isn’t. I think listeners and fans might be better suited to answer this question, but reframed – How does Sy’s sound and style make you feel? I’d love to know the answers to that.
Parlé Mag: What exactly do you want people to get from your music?
Sy Smith: I want people to get whatever they need in that moment from my music. I want them to get high. I want them to get motivated. I want them to be inspired. I want them to cry. I want them to laugh. I want them to remember something that they’d forgotten, be reconnected with a moment that they’d lost. I want people to smile. Dance. I want people to BE.
Parlé Mag: If you could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Sy Smith: Raphael Saadiq. I love what he does.
Parlé Mag: If you could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?
Sy Smith: I have so many answers to this question, but I feel like it would take a lifetime to explain each one. And I’ve been really blessed to perform at so many dream venues around the world already, usually as a featured guest with artists I’ve toured with, like Chris Botti, so I’d have to clarify my answer a bit, too. I think the dream gig / venue for me would be some sort of “homecoming” type show / venue – either in my hometown of DC, or on my family grounds in TN, which I consider sacred, or maybe a Go-Go in my backyard. It would probably be easier to just say, “I’d love to return to Sydney Opera House or Radio City Music Hall as a solo artist…” but the truth is, if I could play any venue in the world, I would want it to be a venue where I know MY folk [my people, my family, my neighbors, my friends] will have access to it and be in attendance.
Parlé Mag: Are you happy with the current state of music?
Sy Smith: Sure, I am. People are out there making some brilliant shit. I’m inspired by a lot of what I’m hearing. The current state of music business is a different story.
Parlé Mag: What do you think has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?
Sy Smith: There are probably a few keys to my longevity in this game. I’ve been a professional musician for more than 25 years now. I’m proud of that. I think I’ve been able to survive and thrive in this game for as long as I have because I am always learning, I don’t limit myself as far as what I can do, I’m able to play lots of different roles as a vocalist, and my love for music / performance outweighs any negativity I might experience. Some people think being multi-hyphenate is a bad thing. But I think if you enjoy doing lots of different things, do them all! So yeah, Sy Smith – singer, songwriter, producer, vocal arranger, supporting vocalist, voice-over artist and actor. And I’m certain I’ll be adding some things to that list as life goes on.
Parlé Mag: What would you consider to be your biggest career moment to date?
Sy Smith: I think performing at Carnegie Hall was one of my biggest moments to date. I did a tribute to the iconic women of Jazz called “Sophisticated Ladies,” with the New York Pops conducted by Steven Reineke there, and it was probably the most surreal experience I’ve ever had for a bunch of reasons.
Parlé Mag: What is your favorite part about your line of work? Your least favorite?
Sy Smith: My favorite part about my line of work is probably listening back to songs that I’ve recorded that I really love. Or hearing an audience sing along to my work. Or, seeing videos of people dancing to my music…I love all of those things. My least favorite thing…sometimes travel can be really horrendous. And sometimes sound-checks are painstakingly slow and terrible.
Parlé Mag: Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you see yourself?
Sy Smith: I really don’t know. Life is so weird and precious and precarious… and things happen that you don’t see coming. I don’t know where I see myself in 2024, let alone 10 years from now. I hope that things will be good for me and mine though.
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Be sure to follow Parle Magazine for more celebrity interviews and the latest entertainment news. Be sure to check out Smith’s Until We Meet Again album once it drops this December.
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