Fresh. Funky. Glam. Hip-Pop. Just a few words that sum up the greatness that is Pearl Future. Her smile may be sweet, but make no mistake. From working with Nicki Minaj to Baby Bash, this chica is slowly making her waves in the music industry one base drop at a time. This rising star that will surely make her presence felt this summer with her promotional album dropping sometime in the coming weeks.
WTU: So how did you come up with the stage name Pearl Future? Pearl was my great grandmother’s name. She was a bad ass. As for the “future” part, I just believe in not looking back, having no regrets. Make what you’re doing NOW count because it creates your future. Stay focused. That’s my attitude in life. Your attitude can change the world, so you better make it good! WTU: What is your nationality? American, born and raised. WTU: What part of Cali are you from? Northern Cali. I was born in Las Vegas but grew up in Sacramento and moved to San Francisco when I was 17. I dropped out of high school in Sac because my father died and since I didn’t have anywhere to live I figured I might as well move to the City. I found a place to live in a crazy communal artist loft for almost free, and got a job in a recording studio. I could be around music and record my own songs easily. It was perfect for me. WTU: Can you tell us a little bit about your current up and coming music project(s) right now? I have a slappin promotional album coming out in a few weeks which will have a bunch of wild jams from the last several months. Lately I’ve been experimenting, traveling, writing and recording lots of different material, co-writing with all kinds of amazing musicians and really defining my sound. I will be following the promo release with an official album and single later in the year. WTU: How would you describe your sound? Supercalifuturistichyphyglamidocious. I usually set out to make pop, but it comes out sounding like that. WTU: Who are some of your musical influences? Elvis, Prince, Mariah Carey, Bjork, Dr. Dre, Diane Warren. And many, many others that are similarly hot.
WTU: Have your friends/family always supported your decision to be an artist? No, never. But you can’t blame family & friends for not understanding, it’s not like there’s guaranteed job security in being an artist. When I started making money their attitudes changed. There are a lot of things you can do as a musician, you just have to be proactive. You have to take major risks. You can’t wait for approval and hand-holding, that’s for sure. Anyway, I’m doing it forever, so now what bitches?! WTU: What would you say is the single most important trait to have in order to make it in this industry? Optimism. It’s so important and it will get you through everything. In the music business there’s always ups and downs and you’re gonna need it. WTU: How was it working with Nicki Minaj? Are you surprised by all of her success? Nicki is great. I wrote a song called “Lookin’ At Me” and wanted another female to collab on it. A friend, who is a Warner rep, told me about Nicki. This was before she was signed and we were both talking to Warner about business. I was feelin’ her a lot and sent her the song. She loved it and recorded her frickin dope verse on it. I love it, the song turned out super hot, so it was really fun. I’m not surprised by her success, she is the best rapper in the world. WTU: What’s in store for the future of Pearl Future? I launched an independent label with other musicians recently and we are growing it. It’s a jump off point for new, developing projects and songwriting. The project has been embraced by some great community leaders and they help make it possible to award scholarships to students as part of our grassroots effort, and we do that twice a year. It gets the word out about our label but it also gives back something worthwhile to the students, who are all so ambitious and positive! There are some serious go-getters out there and I’m all about that. Also this summer I am mentoring a couple of aspiring artists, one singer and one producer, and building my personal, 100% solar powered luxury recording studio. It’s gonna be so dope. After I put out the album, I will tour again so I’m working hard in the studio. And I’ll have some hot collabs coming up too. Now, the last time I said that it was Nicki Minaj, so stay tuned! 127 wetheurban