Meet SassyBlack

Singer, songwriter, producer, aspiring comedian, ambassador of good vibes. SassyBlack is all that and then some. Her innovation and empowering approach to life mesh seamlessly with Seattle’s vibrant music culture – all in a pioneering style that transcends the ages. SassyBlack’s doing it her way, on her terms, in a cool, collected fashion. There's no telling what she’ll do next.

The many sides of SassyBlack

An eclectic trailblazer, she’s ever unique in all her style-bending, label-defying superhero glory.

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Early inspiration

SassyBlack was mesmerised by the artists and songs on the video compilations her brother sent her.

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Jazz stance

She absorbed the world of jazz in college and weaves its frenetic power through her captivating soundscapes.

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Seattle influence

She didn’t know much about it before moving there, but Seattle quickly became her muse for unlimited inspiration.

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Who is SassyBlack?

Maybe she’s that kid still listening to Mariah’s “Butterfly”. Or the jazz singer-songwriter charting her course through university. Today she’s one to watch as she transforms Seattle music with her multi-layered musical flow and genre-defining cool. SassyBlack’s fully stepped into the spotlight and she’s never been more self-assured.

“It’s taken a long time, like, pretty much all my life to be this empowered and comfortable,” says SassyBlack. “But yeah, I’ve always probably been this person internally to an extent. I’ve always been someone who likes the spotlight, someone who wants to be on stage, someone who likes to talk.”

“And so now, with this persona as SassyBlack, I’m able to be all of the things. Be someone who’s acting and writing, and singing, and producing, and telling awkward jokes and dressing as I want. I get to be all the sides of myself at once, by myself.”

Literally wearing her influences on her sleeve (check out the reference to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” tattooed on her left forearm), SassyBlack draws inspiration from musical giants as diverse as Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones and the Eurythmics. Blending silky-smooth vocals with a mesmerising sonic landscape, she casts her spell from uniquely curated genres she calls hologram funk and psychedelic soul.

“I say psychedelic soul because I am going to take you on a trip, a spiritual and physical and emotional trip. When people attend a SassyBlack show, sometimes they think they’re gonna get hip-hop, or R&B or soul, not realising that I have my own interpretation of that. You might get a song that's more of a bossa nova and then you might get something that’s definitely like more Cameo funky.”

“You could get anything from me at one of my shows. It really depends on my mood and where I’m at, but it will always be soulful. It always comes from my spirit and my soul, no matter what kind of music I’m amplifying.”

Identifying as queer also gives SassyBlack a confident calm that keeps her grounded for whatever life throws at her. In her words, queer is about being “unique, and weird, and beautiful and outside of understanding”.

“I identify as queer because it embodies all of me, every single side of me,” she says. “For me it works perfectly. It works perfectly for my orientation, my identity – it just wraps me all up.”

Process and tools

Power and possibilities

SassyBlack taps into Surface to amplify her creativity, using it for everything from running Ableton music production software to orchestrating her live shows.

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