“My parents were into their soul, jazz, and blues. They used to play James Brown, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Otis, Jimmy Hendrix, and so much more.”
“I remember when I was little, stealing a Billie Holiday record off my mum—I was mesmerised by her voice and her look. I felt her pain when she sang. Actually, all of the singers I latched onto had that lived-in voice, tortured soul, and raw emotion, that’s that shit you don’t get a lot of nowadays. Raw honesty, real life.
I think life forged these amazing singers’ voices and I feel that, looking back on my life, I’ve probably had the same crap happen in mine—hahaha! Someone once said to me, “Girl you gotta have lived the blues to sing the blues,” and I guess it’s true ‘cause life’s thrown everything and the damn kitchen sink my way. But, oh well.
I also love my hip-hop and Motown. An ex of mine was a DJ and he used to play all these amazing records on loop and showed me records I’d never heard off. I’d sit there smoking my J thinking, “How is this shit not on the radio, mannnn!?”
Wu-Tang’s 36 Chambers, Tribe Called Quest, Mobb Deep, Soul Sisters, Boombox 1, Nas, Notorious B.I.G, etc. He got me into ’90s hip hop and I got him into ’60s soul. If you look on my iPhone, it’s basically a mix of rap music from now to the ’90s, and sounds from the ’60s.
Everywhere I go, I wear these huge headphones that are nearly the size of my head and lose myself in sound.”
—Alex Hepburn
Alex Hepburn’s current single, “I Believe” is in stores now.
Alex Hepburn Official | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
PHOTO: PETER NEILL
