Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our listeners to some deserving up and coming artists/bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons, We think they kick ass and we hope you do too! Today we’d like to shine the spotlight on SkyDxddy.
Fresh off her first national tour run, playing to capacity venues across the USA, singer, verse-maker, and alt-pop artist SkyDxddy just released her new song and video for her song “7 Years”. Stream it here Presave “7 Years” By SkyDxddy.
“7 Years,” is a haunting slow burner with no-holds-barred rhymes which are deeply reflective and finds her veering between pain-stricken vulnerability and snarling rage.
Unafraid to share her story, SkyDxddy is a survivor of an assault that changed her life forever. After struggling with mental health issues, for which she was diagnosed as having PTSD, she finally found a way to start to heal from that trauma through her music by delivering filter-less anthems of empowerment.
She paved the way for her success using TikTok as a way to share her music and story and has engaged over 1.4 million followers to date. As an independent artist her song releases have collectively racked up over 41 million streams worldwide.
SkyDxddy is proving to be an authentic and powerful artist. For her and her listeners, her music is therapy, a way of coping, understanding, and sharing feelings. Her much- anticipated forthcoming debut album is arriving in May 2024 in tandem with Mental Health Awareness Month.
We sat down with SkyDxddy for a short, but fun Q & A session.
Every superhero and villain has an origin and an artist is no different. Well, minus the radioactive spiders and secret government experiments. What’s the origin of SkyDxddy?
SkyDxddy: I guess my story really began when I discovered I was different from my family, when I was around 12 years old I realized I was gay. It led to so much pain and frustration because my family always made it clear that being gay was a sin, so naturally, this caused a lot of internalized homophobia. Soon after I went through what sadly most women go through, a lot of mental abuse, sexual trauma from people I thought I could trust, and when I was finally diagnosed with my mental illnesses my girlfriend introduced me to mental health artists and told me I should put my trauma into music. I thought she was crazy but one day at work one of my friends started making rape jokes, I got so angry I almost hurt them, but I walked it off, and the lyrics “I shouldn’t take things so serious I don’t think they mean any harm but it would sicken you to if it happened to you and you had to relive every part” that’s really where “SkyDxddy” came from, me not wanting to keep my truth in anymore. And being in control of my own life. Especially when it comes to women being treated so poorly. We deserve a voice.
Tell us about your new album song “7 Years” and upcoming debut album which is slated for release in 2024. What were the writing and recording processes like for you?
It was the most emotional writing process I have ever experienced. I had to dig down as far as I could go for this one because it’s so personal to me. Most of my music is, but breaking down the aftermath of my sexual assault was painful but healing at the same time. This song is the perfect intro for the beginning of my upcoming album. It begins with “Once upon a time, I lost my mind” and I think it captures perfectly what survivors go through after experiencing that trauma. We’re not ourselves anymore. But breaking that down and reminding yourself that it's not your fault is so important. Some artists cite when they heard a specific album or saw a band live as when they knew music was going to be their life.
When were you bitten by the music bug?
I was so little. I grew up in musical theater so when I was four years old, I was listening to classical music and learning about musicals. When I was a kid, my mom took me to my first concert, it was Nickelback, but Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace were opening up for them, and I became obsessed with rock music and the scene. Eventually, because I lived in Virginia, my parents got me into country music, and I went around to local talent shows singing Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw. You could say that a very eclectic music bug bit me. After trauma entered my life at around 17 years old rap became a huge part of my life.
You have been given the title of the CEO of “Traumacore” can you share with us what the meaning of “Traumacore” and its importance?
Traumacore was originally an art form. Kids suffering in silence make edits of Hello Kitty mixed with undertones of the truth of the pain they’ve endured. It’s a coping mechanism, and that’s exactly what the genre is. It’s a way of coping without harmful tactics or abusing substances. Traumacore helped me deal with alcoholism, self-harm, and more, if I didn’t have it those things would have added to my trauma. But because of this genre, I feel so much love for myself and my self-worth. I’m finally writing my own narrative, and it feels so good to finally value myself for my brain, art, and creativity.
You seem to have built a huge community on social media and in reading posts and comments they almost feel more like friends and family than “followers.” Can you share with us why you think that is and how it evolved?
We connect so deeply because of these songs. This is more than music to me, and I believe it’s more than music to them as well. Trauma is something that affects everyone’s life and having a support system and friend to lean on is so important. We can rely on each other. It’s really beautiful honestly because I didn’t have many friends growing up and now I have so many that I can truly open up to and vice versa.
In 2023 you launched your first cross-country tour and played to full rooms with crowds singing along. How did that experience feel, and do you have a favorite tour or show story you can share?
Surreal. I still struggle with imposter syndrome to this day if I’m being honest. It’s hard to feel like I deserve this. There are so many survivors, so many people that have gone through trauma that it’s kind of like…why me? Why do I deserve this? And then I hear crowds singing all my lyrics back to me. And it reminds me that I’m just a storyteller. It’s that simple. I create art, and people absorb it. That makes things a bit easier. I feel grateful that I get to live this life, and my favorite show would have to be Denver Colorado, it was a packed show. And the crowd was unreal! They cheered for so long. After every song and every speech, I cried so much that night. It was so beautiful. I poured my heart out to them… and they heard me. Every show is special in its own way, but that one, that one will stay with me forever.
If your music were a cocktail what would be in it?
It’d be a Dr. Pepper cause I’m sober now and so unbelievably proud of that.
Connect with SkyDxddy online:
FACEBOOK: / themisfitmanor
INSTAGRAM: / skydxddymusic
