TheARTI$t reveals ‘Who I Am’ on EP (INTERVIEW)
Most fans fell in love with TheARTI$t for her breakout hit “Sober” in 2022, but fans are staying for her authenticity in her latest release, Who I Am.
The New Jersey-bred R&B singer released Who I Am in June on the heels of “Ghost,” which acted as the lead single for one of the singer’s most vulnerable projects.
“Sunset, ridin' through LA/I close my eyes, I see images of your beautiful face/Coachella nights under the stars, you should be right here on this stage/Why you go ghost on me? No calls, no text, no signs, no trace,” she sings.
The melancholic, calm, and smooth expression that TheARTI$t brings fans in “Ghost” sets listeners up for the rest of the EP, which delves into love, heartbreak, reflection, and resilience.
In a conversation with Beyond The Record, TheARTI$t shared that she is inspired by other R&B innovators such as Summer Walker and Brent Faiyaz. She credits her mother for introducing her to artists like fellow Jersey native Lauryn Hill, gospel icon Anthony Hamilton, R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, as well as exclusively telling the podcast that Justin Timberlake was an early influence for her as well.
“I'm not going to lie, this is one that I've never said before. So you get an exclusive,” she says, laughing. “Timberlake. I was certainly on YouTube, as a little girl singing Justin Timberlake songs.”
TheARTI$t on the success of “Sober”
“Sober” served as the introduction to many fans to TheARTI$T, and according to the R&B singer it was not in her immediate plan to release the song when it did in 2022.
“I just really went in the studio and I recorded that song. I did a song called “Love Is” right after. I was just in there having fun, just doing my thing,” she recalls the relaxed studio session.
Due to some issues with the release of another unnamed song, TheARTI$t decided to drop “Sober” instead.
“I wasn't supposed to drop ‘Sober’ yet,” she revealed. “I was supposed to drop a different song, but I just had some issues with people who were part of the song, and I didn't want to keep waiting. So I'm like, ‘yo, let's just go with ‘Sober.’”
“Sober” is still one of TheARTist’s biggest hits til this day after amassing over 38 million streams globally.
“‘Sober’ ended up being the one that God chose,” she explained.
TheARTI$t on the making of new EP Who I Am
Since “Sober,” TheARTI$t has released ARTchives in 2023, which was followed by ARTchives: The Gallery in 2024. Now, fans are seeing an even more vulnerable side of TheARTI$t with Who I Am, which she notes is a current reflection of her life and her musical journey.
PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF THEARTI$T
“I feel like I'm just in a space where I'm letting people know who I am and the things that I like to deal with in real life,” TheARTI$t explains of her latest project, Who I Am, which was released in June. “I’m just continuously opening up and giving people a front row seat to my take on love, my take on life, and the things I've been through.”
She adds, “It's like, you know, this is who I am, man. Like it or love it.”
On Who I Am, TheARTI$T collaborates with fellow emerging artists, Kaliii on “Red Light Special” and Honeybxby on “Risk It All,” both of whom she has had growing friendships with throughout their budding careers.
“I've known honey for some years now,” TheARTI$t said of the fellow Jersey native. “We was in the studio one day and ‘Risk It All’ was a demo.” After liking the demo for herself, she decided to enlist Honey on the track, something that was a long time coming for both of them.
“We were already trying to figure out how we could come together on a record, and I just feel like that one right there, it was still my lane, but it was also her lane too,” she explained.
As for Kaliii, close proximity was a major play in getting the both of them in the booth for “Red Light Special.”
“I had a studio session, and she had a session in the same studio next door to me,” TheARTI$t explained. “I'm leaving, and I see her in the hallway. So before I leave, I said I'm about to just try.”
TheARTI$t proceeded in asking Kaliii’s A&R for an introduction, and after they got to talking, the Jersey singer was able to convince the rising rapper to hop on “Red Light Special.” However, that wasn’t all TheARTI$t was able to accomplish as she revealed she was also able to hop on two of Kaliii’s tracks after meeting up again in the studio later in the week. TheARTI$t said that their interaction was great and “we got like a good relationship now. I even went back to the studio again and did a third song with her,” she said. “The relationship is cool. I got so much love for her, and she welcomed me for real.”
Besides the two tracks that feature Honey and Kalii, TheARTI$t is all on her own for the rest of the seven tracks as she navigates through the transition of relationships.
“Baby, this is oil and water, can't go no further/We reached the bottom, my one love wonder/Don't make this harder, we buried under,” TheARTI$t sings in the opening track, “Better As Friends.”
The navigation of coming to a mutual understanding with a former love rings true in “Better As Friends,” but there are more lessons in Who I Am in relation to love.
In “Back & Forth,” the relationship hits a peak where former relationships still hold weight in future decisions, but on TheARTI$t’s part, she wants to push forward, “That's why I'm quick to put my guard up/And you so quick to build your walls up/This ain't a game I wanna play anymore.”
While TheARTI$t sings about wanting more as she navigates these relationships, she leaves fans with a cliffhanger at the end of the EP with “Darling.”
“But you left me in the dark/With no instructions on how to mend my broken heart/I'm in for destruction,” is one of the last lines TheARTI$T sings on the record before whispering the outro, “In too deep, in too deep, in too deep.”
TheARTI$t wants fans to not only get to know her personally but also to remember to give themselves grace.
“It's okay to literally go through hell and back. It's okay to find yourself in situations that are meant to break you and look at them in a different light, because that's really what it was for most of the songs,” she explains. “In my song Better as Friends, it came from a situation where I thought that was the better part of my situation, but truthfully, it wasn't. So, looking at things in a different perspective can definitely help bring the change necessary to your lives for real. I really am just understanding that I'm human at the end of the day, you know, like, don't hold me to any crazy standards, man. I'm just like you. You feel me?”
It’s not clear where TheARTI$t will lead fans thematically on her next project, but with the vulnerability in Who I Am, listeners are in for a ride.
WHO I AM TRACKLIST
BETTER AS FRIENDS
GHOST
GRAVITY
BACK & FORTH
RED LIGHT SPECIAL FT. KALIII
FIVE STAR
SOUL ON FIRE
RISK IT ALL (HONEY BXBY)
DARLING
What is TheARTI$t up to now?
TheARTI$T just released her latest single, “I Need You,” on Friday, Nov. 7. Take a look at the new track below: