song released january 22, 2017

video released october 24, 2017

when i was seventeen, a senior in high school, i wrote pine & ginger on a whim. valleyz, my producer, made the instrumental on a whim. even when his roommate at the time and featured artist, tessellated, showed interest in being apart of the song because he saw something in it... i never in a million years thought that it would have done what it’s done for me and my life. i am so, so grateful for the love that i’m still getting, daily. pine & ginger still feels new because people are still discovering it and tagging me on social media every single day. i can’t believe that i’ve made something—on a whim—that brings so many people joy! my parents are jamaican; dancehall and reggae were the most prominent genres they played growing up, but i guess i’d never felt confident enough, or called, to explore that side of myself in my own music. i’m so, so, so glad i did. i’m grateful that my younger self tapped into that side of me.

i’m not gonna lie, it was frustrating after a while being just the “pine & ginger girl,” because i felt like i was so much more. though i’d already built up my following and had accrued tens of thousands of streams on my soundcloud independently before it came out, none of my other songs had that cultural influence or major impact, and i was being pressured to make a follow-up single with the same sound. that whole idea felt fake and forced to me, hence the major delay in new music. eggs aisle was recorded the same day as pine & ginger, so it’s just as old. i have sooo much new music that i am SO excited to share with all of you who show me genuine love and support, regardless of how long i’m taking. most of y’all have taken the time to check out my other, non-pine & ginger-sounding stuff after first discovering pine & ginger, and you STILL love me + alllll that i am able to bring to the table! so i have happily accepted the title of Pine & Ginger Girl; that song is a bop and i take hella pride in creating it. yes, i am more than just one thing, but not everybody knows that yet. and i have no problems with taking my time proving it :-).

all of these images are from august 2017, my very first time in JA, shooting the pine & ginger video. i definitely wasn’t as confident as i am now and i, personally, feel like it shows. i needed to take the break i took from music/content releases to get to know me and how i’d like to present myself to the world. when i did the p&g vid, i felt kinda awkward and, like, my mom was there and i was surrounded by SOOO many men on set. but it still came out beautiful and i’m glad my culture is undeniably present in that visual.

i hope y’all are enjoying the remix, i’m so happy it’s finally out! stream here.