INTERVIEW BY: IRVIN RIVERA

As Yuna started strumming her guitar during one of her intimate live shows in Los Angeles, she told the fans her recollection of how she used to record Usher’s songs from the radio using cassette tapes back in the day and incorporating her own vocals on “My Boo” (Usher’s song with Alicia Keys). “Fast forward to several years later, I made this song with Usher.” The beats to her collaboration with Usher “Crush” started playing. Then she said, “Never give up on your dreams.” It was instantly one of those inspiring moments from her show. It’s magical. 

Throughout the years, Malaysian, Hijabi singer Yuna has been inspiring people with her journey as an artist - creating smooth, relaxing and sexy R&B music that hits your soul while also sharing her love for unique fashion. Since her self-titled 2012 debut album and her Pharrell Williams-produced breakthrough hit “Live Your Life,” Yuna has released three studio albums and two EPs, and collaborated with artists like Usher, G-Eazy, Tyler the Creator, Sweat$, Jhene Aiko and Lil Simz. Having released albums through both major and indie labels, Yuna found the creative experience of her recently released album, Y5 very liberating. You can tell how much effort and care she puts through her music by listening to the tracks of the album.  

A BOOK OF caught up with Yuna during the middle of her tour and the release of Y5 and spoke about her journey as an artist so far, the woman that she is today, finding her own way, her experiences in creating an album independently, life experiences, and more. Read on and discover more about Yuna’s music and magic in this Collector’s Print Issue.

How excited are you that all of these things are happening right now - the tour, the new album, new visuals, etc.

It's exciting but also, it's kind of like, you know, not sad but what it really is, is that we're coming to the end of the year. It's very surreal to me. When I started this in January, going into the studio working on music, you know what I mean? And then in March we dropped the first EP.

So, in fact, it was just the beginning of the year, and now the album is finally coming out. It's like, oh, it's the end of the year but it has been an incredible journey, I have to say, because I learned so much from dropping these four EP's, and then working on the entire album, and the amount of work and effort and love that me and my team, that we've put into this project is incredible. To see that is great. Yes, this is a team effort. I wasn't on my own, even though this is an independent project. But you know, it's kind of like a fun project with friends. So yes, I'm really happy that it's finally coming together and it's going to tell this whole story and then after that, I don't know, I just want to see where it goes, see where it takes me.

Speaking of story, what's the story behind Y5?

Let's see. I guess, after the pandemic, I think I was kind of, not struggling, but very anxious to go back into writing new music and finding inspiration, finding my angle. But I think what it is, is just like me writing - just this woman that I am today. I feel like every time I try to explain my music or my new album, it's like yes, it's the person that I am today, which is true but two years ago, I was a different person and now I'm a totally different person. The pandemic really taught me a lot. It changed me and my outlook in life - the way I see my work and career is very different now.

So yes, I write about that and you hear it in the music, you hear it in the lyrics. On some songs I'm talking about something very personal to me like death. I talk about a topic that's not really like a song topic - like I talk about death, because we always avoid that topic in music because music is supposed to take you away from all the pain. But for me, losing someone really close to me like my cousin during the pandemic caused me a lot of pain, and I really miss her, and so I wanted to talk about it. Also at the same time, I wanted to talk about love and my relationship with my husband, and also me becoming this woman that I am today - embracing my womanhood. You know, some songs, I feel like a lot of fans were saying, oh, she's very sexy now that she's married. I've always been like a sexy person, I guess, but I just probably never show it to people. But in this album, I just felt really free and I didn't want to hide. I just wanted to be real, I wanted to talk about my true feelings, about heartbreaks that I've gone through, and hoping that it will kind of reach out to people who are going through the same things and hopefully they don't feel alone. So, yes, that’s Y5 with all the 15 songs. This is like, the most songs that I've put out, in an album.

Wow.

So yes. Yes, I'm really happy about it. I have to say I'm proud of every song that I put out.

This album feels like it's very grounded on feelings and emotions and connecting with how you feel and connecting with people. Yuna, where do you get your inspirations from?

I guess, mostly from meeting people. I'm an introvert so every time I meet someone, or I talk to someone, it's like immediately I’m connecting to them. I'm not constantly out there and talking to people and talking nonsense. I'm not that kind of person. If I want to talk to you, I'll talk to you about something meaningful, and something about my background or how I'm feeling that day. So mostly, it's like, from conversations that I've had with friends or the people that I meet. I guess that's my inspiration. And, you know, once in a while I watch movies. I love films so that's also where I draw inspiration from. And I have to say, my personal experiences - that's like, my number one. You have to write about something you know and what you've gone through, so yes, it's personal experiences.

In terms of self-expression, I just want to touch on this as well. Fashion - it seems like you really love fashion and expressing yourself through clothes and photoshoots because all your shoots are just beautiful. So, how did that come about?

Thanks to you.

Oh my God. Thank you. It’s also the whole team, we created it. But how did that come about? When did your love for fashion happen for you?

Oh my God. I've always loved fashion. I remember being a kid and loving my mom’s skirt. She had this red flared skirt and when she wears it, it's like a midi skirt. But when I wear it, it'll be like this huge, princess-y skirt, and I just remember that moment. Oh, I love clothes. I guess growing up in Malaysia, there’s always limitations when it comes to clothes that I want to wear because I know I like unique things. I like different things. When I see trends and other people dressing up a certain way, I always feel like ah but that's weird to see that they like that. It doesn't look flattering. So, from the beginning I've always known what can look flattering on a person. Is this like a natural thing that I have? So, when I first started wearing the Hijab, it really was just, I wanted to wear a colorful Hijab. I wasn't like oh no, I wanted to wear like black.

As a teenager, I wore shorts and short skirts and I wore earrings and platform heels. The day that I started wearing the Hijab, I'm like, how can we make this fun? How can I still be me? So, that attitude has always been a part of me and I just like to experiment. So now that I have to cover up, what’s a fun way to cover up and also look cool? Of course, here and there I like to experiment and sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes it looks weird, but it's all just practice, I feel. 

I remember going to Chicago for the first time and I saw some Hijabi girls who were super stylish and they had their turbans out like that and I was like oh wow, that's so cool. Okay, I'm going to try the turban as well. So, that's how I started wearing the turban, I started wearing the hijab in different ways. So yes, I guess it's just like an instinct. Okay well, I want to try and wear this and see if it works. But, if you're asking me about what fashion is like, I guess, on my first magazine shoot I thought it was really funny because I was such a rock kid. I was nineteen, I had sneakers and jeans and a denim jacket. And I don't know, it was just a simple thing and I had to learn how to pose as well. The photographer was like okay, you do this, you do that. It was so awkward. I still have that photo; I can share it with you. Oh my God! It's still on the internet, it's still awkward but from there, I started doing fashion magazines, local fashion magazines in Malaysia and that's how I got introduced to designers. You know, Balenciaga or Louis Vuitton or Chanel and these are like all the brands that I grew up not knowing anything about and for me, fashion is like art and I love art so I kind of learned the history behind all these fashion houses and it was fun. It's just like another fun thing to do. Now, thinking about it, it's pretty crazy that I work with Chanel a lot - Chanel Malaysia and I never in a million years would think that I would be a friend of Chanel, representing Malaysia. So yes, it's pretty cool.

It really brings out the artist in you as well because fashion is art. You're creating, you're expressing so it's really cool that you're doing that and incorporating everything that you do.

Yes, because it comes hand in hand. Music is also like style and I grew up listening to someone like Gwen Stefani from No Doubt in the 90's. She had such a distinct style. She's stylish now but when she was young, I guess when we were all young, we were more carefree and you see that in her in the 90s and early 2000s. You know that's her styling herself and I've always wanted to do that from the beginning. From when I was young. I really wanted to just have something that no one else can wear. You know what I mean. So, this is unique, I found this at an antique store or whatever, I'm going to wear it. So, I've always been that kind of girl who really would look for something unique and different. And in terms of styling too, that's what I look for. Like when I work with stylists, I look for that as well. People who have a distinct style but also understand my style and know how to mix it together and make me look nothing like any other artist out there. You know what I mean? So, it's important. Like you said before, if you have a distinct, unique look, people will remember you and that's also very important for me because my whole life, my whole career, when it comes to styling, I've always done it myself and I work really hard to create this Yuna look. So, yes, it's very important for me to look different from everyone else.

And you nailed it. Final question. Yuna, if you were a book, what book would you be and why?

Oh my God. Wow. If I could be a book, I would be... I don't know. It's like a combination of reality and fantasy. I would say, maybe Harry Potter. I don't know... Maybe Harry Potter but I also love Life of Pi. Like not realizing that it’s real but it's actually a real story. I love something like that. It's kind of like a fantasy but it's actually real life. I don't know what you call it.

Magic-realism

Magic-realism?

Yes, I think there's a literary term about that. It's like Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It’s magic realism because it's grounded on realism but then magic just happens there and they act like it's just normal. So, magic-realism.

Ah okay. Interesting, I like that. Okay cool, now I know.

Yuna’s magic-realism.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YUNA, VISIT YUNAMUSIC.COM