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The 24-year-old brought gospel-tinged goodness on last year’s self-titled debut album. Man About Town catch him in London after a triumphant Wireless Festival performance.
Words BEN TIBBITS
Although he may seem like a newcomer, relatively fresh to the world of artistry, behind the scenes Fridayy has been pursuing music in some form for over a decade, whether that be in his early Soundcloud releases in 2012 and 2013, or growing and refining his craft as a songwriter for a plethora of global artists. He emerged with a fully-formed artistic identity, in 2022, after years of lurking beneath the mainstream’s murky undergrowth, immediately making a splash for his show-stopping hook on DJ Khaled’s “GOD DID”, alongside a mouthwatering vocal cast of John Legend, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. The track went on to receive three GRAMMY nominations, and Fridayy announced himself to the world stage with a compelling performance of the track at the esteemed ceremony.
Fridayy has since collaborated with a myriad of industry titans, from Headie One to The Chainsmokers, Lil Baby to King Promise and shared his self-titled debut record in August of 2023. The album, which boasted contributions from Byron Messia, Fireboy DML and Adekunle Gold, is a richly textured and stylistically diverse body of work, sitting somewhere between grandiose gospel and forward-thinking contemporary R&B. It’s a considered and captivating concoction, the kind of album that transports you into its soundscape, the glossy production splashing cadences onto the shores whilst Fridayy’s pitch-perfect voice rides the sonic waves with depth and sensibility.
Music has always weaved through the 24-year-old’s inner passion and character, learning to play several instrumentals—piano, guitar, trumpet, etc—at a young age, and growing up in the church, with his sound to this day heavily influenced by the gospel music he was encompassed by there. “In every way,” is how the genre of music influences him. “That’s the type of music I grew up with and it’s the most fulfilling music for me to listen to. No other music feels like gospel, so I try to incorporate that into my music. It’s where I’m from so I want to keep that in every song that I do.”
He tells me such, in his thick, deep Philadelphian inflection, sprawled out on a sofa at his label Def Jam’s HQ in Kings Cross. He’s in the English capital for a week or so, having made the trip primarily for a set at Wireless which occurred a few days before our meeting, one which he felt was “great. The energy was so good, gaining new fans too is crazy, watching that unfold while I’m on the stage.” The generous Saturday slot reveals the extent that the UK market has invested in the artist, appearing alongside and out-performing contemporaries whose careers are far vaster and more decorated. His latest release, swooning summer bop “Baddest In The Room”, is another marker—both as a sonic statement of intent and a pledge to remain planted in the mainstream consensus for years to come.
Fridayy drives forward in a lane of his own, avoidant of congestion. “I don’t have no traffic,” he jokes. “If you really listen to my voice, my music and to what I’m saying, I don’t feel like there’s anybody to compare me with.” Man About Town got the rundown on the man behind the voice…
How did you first start making music?
It’s just natural for me, I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. My dad was a musician, I grew up in church.
How did you first carve out your career and find your identity as a musician?
I was around 13 or 14 and my cousin Michael had a studio and he invited me one day. From me doing my first song I felt sure that I could do it for a living.
How did you first gain a fanbase?
I used to release inconsistently, but I didn’t really have a fan base like that. But I used to song-write a lot, that’s how I got in the game. I was very much in the industry before my artist stuff popped off.
What provoked the decision to begin your own artist career?
I always knew I was going to be an artist but I just didn't know how it was going to happen. It was probably God that did that. I always had my music ready for the world—songs that I knew I would always keep for myself. But it was God who introduced my voice to the world.
You’re from Philadelphia. How did your upbringing and your cultural background influence your music?
In every way. I’d say in Philadelphia, there’s nothing really to look forward to –musically and in chasing your dreams. I put that in my music a lot. You’ve just gotta put your head down and put the work in.
How important for you is it to convey the person that you are, your identity, through your music?
I think that’s everything in music. Every artist should want to be themselves. That’s the only way you stand out – there’s a lot of artists appearing everyday so if you’re not being true to yourself and putting who you are into the music, then I don’t think you can make it as an artist.
Has there been a moment in your career that shifted gears, and allowed you to begin believing in yourself fully?
Definitely around “’GOD DID”. I made the hook and sent it to my manager who sent it to Eddie, my A&R, who sent it to [DJ] Khaled who said ‘I need this hook.’ That gave me confidence.
The song received three GRAMMY nominations. How did it feel to bolster that achievement so early on in your career?
Being there was crazy. We performed the song too, it was my first performance of the song and my first performance ever.
Since you began pursuing being an artist, you’re always active—whether collaborations, tours or solo releases. How important is it, do you think, to be constantly in the public’s gaze?
It’s important, but you gotta do it in the right way. I don’t like to always be in the public but it’s good to have something out there all the time, whether a song or a feature. You’ve gotta keep in people’s ears all the time. Some people take year long breaks and stuff like that, and that’s how they miss their spot. It’s all about your fanbase; if you find your people and build them up right, I don’t think you can ever lose.
Your self-titled debut album is nearly a year old now. How do you feel reflecting back on the project?
I feel amazing. I feel like it was a great debut album and it got me a crazy fan base. I'm not going to lie, going on tour and seeing how the world was reacting was crazy.
What was the process of making the album? Was it difficult, especially with it being your first time doing so?
I made the album in like 6 weeks or two months with my producer and two writers. We would work on it every day and not waste any songs. I think we probably made like 15 total songs.
How is your writing process? Do you go through purple patches of creativity or are you quite prolific throughout?
It depends. Back then I would be in the studio every day, but right now I’m in and out. It’s easy for me to clock back in real fast.
You’ve done a lot of impressive features. Why is collaboration so important to you as an artist?
It’s how I came up. I see the importance of bringing your sound and another artist bringing their sound to create something special. And they get some of your fan base and vice versa, it benefits everyone, bringing two worlds together.
How do you pick who to collaborate with?
I’ve got to like the song and it needs to make sense. I look at music as art, it ain’t no crazy thing. If I like the song and the artist’s energy, I’m going to collaborate on it.
How about on your album? How did you go about choosing the features?
I didn’t go into the album thinking ‘I need this person on this song,’ it was more that if I heard a song and could hear a specific artist on it, I’d get them to feature.
What was the inspiration and thought behind your recent solo return, “Baddest In The Room”?
I just wanted to make a feel good song for the summer to have the ladies feeling good. That’s what I made the song for, I didn’t even think about it too much. I think the single shows people that I’m versatile. My fan base knows that if you listen to my album, but this is to show outsiders I can do something else.
What else is to come this year?
I’m going on tour with Buju Banton, and then I’ve got my headline tour too at the top of next year. Then I’ve got my album too, sometime later this year.
