The talented Abby T. is a young 23 but uses the power of music to paint her world. Being born unto Ghanaian parents but growing up in Baltimore, the creative has always known a rich blend of cultural experiences.
Though from the DMV, Abby has moved around some in order to push her music. Before living in Los Angeles for the past five months, give or take, the artist was amidst the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. It would be here that she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the Clive Davis Institute.
“It was an amazing program. Like, it was a mix of engineering (classes), performance classes, writing classes, law classes, and quite literally anything you could think of.”
The artist described that the institute’s goal was about “shaping and preparing the artists of tomorrow”.
Abby credits her stay in New York as being the reason she was able to develop thick skin, which – according to her – is something every artist needs to make it.
So, what made her move all the way to the other side of the country to sunnyside Cali? An opportunity and a leap of faith.
Sawyer Music Entertainment (SMG Ent.) would be the answer to Abby’s calls of being signed to a label. She credits her manager, Anwar, as being the push she needed to make the big switch to moving to LA.
“...he was just like, ‘you know, you should move here’.” And moved she did.
If it weren’t for the move, she feels like she would have hit a “plateau” and grown too comfortable. Only California could have given her that extra push she needed to hit the grind hard.
The Ghanaian musician touched on how growing up, it was a struggle to express her African roots with pride:
“...when I was younger, (...) growing up being West African was not trendy or cool or whatever, so (I) very much got teased for it and bullied for it and so much so to the point where I had wanted to lighten my skin…”
The racism and xenophobia she experienced in school would leave Abby with no other place to enjoy Ghanaian music but her own home with her parents. However, this began to change when midway through high school, she would find a group of friends that accepted her for who she was:
“...I went natural and that was a whole thing with my identity. That was great to explore. I started wearing braids. I started like, really asking my parents questions about who they are, where they're from, and just like delving into it. And then when I got to college, I was just figuring things out.”
The artist honed in on her craft and found her niche: alternative R&B and trap pop.
And to all Black Women who want to be like Abby, here’s where she thinks they should start:
“...I would say there's value in what we already possess. We think that being black is an experience, especially being a black woman is an experience that quite literally nobody can understand the way that we see the world. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s sometimes, like, the truest way that it can be
seen. I think because we learn how to shape shift and how to empathize and (...) realize things, like, (we) carry out (our actual) manifestations (and that’s) what makes us so special.”
Abby truly believes that inspiration does not lie elsewhere, but is rather in the heart of every Black Woman inherently.
Whether it’s Doja Cat’s flow on a track, or Beyonce just being Beyonce, Abby T. feels that Black Women leave an imprint without even having to try; it’s the roots that speak for themselves.
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