This feature appears in V133 now available for purchase 

The path to success is never quite what you’d expect—just ask singer-songwriter and guitarist Fousheé. In 2019, her hypnotizing vocals blew up on TikTok after the rapper Sleepy Hallow plucked a sample she’d uploaded to royalty-free music database Splice for his single, “Deep End Freestyle,” Fousheé’s uncredited vocals blew up on TikTok. It took a month for her to find out about her viral success. Once she revealed herself as the voice behind the song—through a TikTok, of course—demand for a full version was overwhelming. Fousheé’s own version of “Deep End,” released during the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in 2020, was a salve for the tumult of the time. “If [people] were angry or sad, as I was during that time, I wanted them to feel empowered. So that was the angle I took,” she recalls, in a September Zoom conversation from L.A. The song reached the top 10 on alt radio, making Fousheé the first Black woman to do so since Tracy Chapman, 32 years earlier.

Now, Fousheé is rounding out the year strong, joining James Blake on a nationwide tour. Growing up in central New Jersey, Fousheé’s earliest exposure to music came from her family. Her mother was a drummer in a Jamaican all-female reggae band. “She kept the house filled with music and was very supportive of any musical initiatives that I took,” Fousheé recalls. At age five, Fousheé began writing songs, counting Bob Marley, Céline Dion, and Toni Braxton as early influences. After graduating high school, she spent time honing her artistry in the New York scene.

While TikTok success stories are often written off as one-hit wonders, Fousheé has demonstrated her staying power with a stream of exciting releases since inking a contract with RCA Records last fall. Her debut album, Time Machine, released this June, was powered by her evocative, raspy delivery and heartfelt lyricism. From the ethereal love song, “my slime” to the playful Lil Yachty collab, “clap for him,” the project showcases Fousheé’s talent across R&B, hip-hop, and alt-pop soundscapes. Yet she has only gotten more ambitious, diving into a deluxe album and accompanying visuals. “I want to mix genres more,” she says of future releases. She’s also turning a year of whiplash-inducing change into a source of creative fuel for her artistry. “I feel like I’ve evolved so much,” she explains. “I want the new music to be very cinematic, and maybe a little darker. But dark in a good way. Dark doesn’t have to be bad.”

Listen to Fousheè’s latest album, time machine,  below:

This feature appears in V133 now available for purchase