Jon Ali is In The Know’s music contributor. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram for more.
Itās time to get into Almondmilkhunni, the girl who makes you want to get a little mean.
The singer-songwriter-producer has been making waves within the indie pop scene, on the streaming services, on social media and beyond over the past year ā and sheās only just begun having her fun.
The artist, whose real name is Brandy Schwechler, comes from humble beginnings in Philadelphia, PA, and got her start in music as a kid. Raised in a devoutly religious Latinx family, she was influenced by her father, who kept their home lively with music, and she began singing in the church choir at the age of 13. With a basic understanding of guitar and piano, but no formal vocal training, Brandy took it upon herself to learn how to sing by harmonizing with the music of the late Aaliyah, who serves as the main source of inspiration in her music crafting.
However, the birth of Almondmilkhunni wouldnāt happen until college, when she was working as both a dancer and as a Starbucks barista to pay her tuition. What started as an inside joke would later become the pseudonym she uses for her music career.
āIt originally started as a funny username because Iād always drink almond milk in my lattes when I worked at Starbucks. I thought it was stupid, I didnāt even think it was a cute name,” she said. “Iām like, ‘This is funny, whatever.’ Making fun of myself. Over time, my Twitter started blowing up. People would see me on the street and call me Almondmilkhunni, it just stuck.ā
After making the decision to drop out of college to pursue music ā and many months of quietly working on her craft later ā Almondmilkhunniās debut, āGrapefruit,ā would be independently released, and the rest is basically history.
āMusic was always in the background, but I was always really self-conscious, and thatās what prevented me from pursuing it. Iāve had a lot of friends pass away very young and around the time that I dropped out, I was dealing with some feelings about grief. Short way to describe it, I was going through a midlife crisis, questioning if this was the right path for me,ā Almondmilkhunni said in a statement. āThis was something that was very present for me in starting the musical journey. Iām the type of person where I need to feel like what Iām doing has a purpose or I just wonāt do it.ā
Good thing she paid attention to her intuition. āGrapefruit,ā a chilled-out ā90ās-leaning ābad b****hā anthem, would quickly catapult the young starletās name into the mainstream, organically accumulating thousands of streams, catching the attention of industry elites and eventually landing her a deal with Electric Feel Records.
Since then, Almondmilkhunni has kept us plenty fed in her 2020 debut year with her self-titled EP, which she released earlier this year and includes āGrapefruitā and other standout singles “Henni Heartbreakā and āCherry,ā which later spawned a remix with fellow up-and-comer Flo Milli.
Over the summer, she continued to build momentum with the thoroughly nostalgic yet modern R&B throb ādamnboy,ā a critically adored look at her experience as a bisexual woman, presenting lyrics about the men sheās dated while the accompanying visual featured a woman as her love interest.
“‘damnboy’ is just my experience as a bisexual woman, and I thought it was cool to have lyrics about a boy but to make the video with a female love interest,ā she said about ādamnboy.ā āAs an artist, I want to show more about who I actually am in my personal life, and I can love a person no matter their gender identity.”
And now, to round out a year chock-full of impressive output, Almondmilkhunni has dropped āMean To Youā off her upcoming EP, Enjoy The Ride, due out early next year.
The track showcases the more sensual and mature side of her sound, as she sweetly croons some playful come-onās to her special someone: āAnd I could be sweet, but you like when Iām mean to you/ yeah you like when Iām mean to you,ā she confesses across the tripping beats.
The lo-fi video comes studded with Easter eggs that wink at Almondmilkhunniās prior relationships, allowing for eager fans to dissect every scene. Can you catch them all?
Though sheās only been releasing music for a year, Almondmilkhunni is already making her potential known with a collection of impressive bops and her clear artistic vision. As long as she keeps the goods coming, she can be mean all she wants.
If you enjoyed this story, check out Jon Ali’s spotlight on Claud, the first artist signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ music label!
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