Jorja Smith is Going to Extremes
Whether she’s falling or flying, Jorja Smith is soaring through the charts.
Photography by Alan Gelati
Styled by Sarah Cazeneuve
It’s been more than seven years since Jorja Smith, now 26 years old, dropped her debut single “Blue Lights” in 2016. She quickly followed up with “Where Do I Go?,” which received international exposure after Drake singled it out as one of his favorite songs of the moment. Since Smith’s explosion onto the music scene, the British artist has continued to blend her soulful voice with R&B and hip-hop beats—citing legends such as Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill, and Adele as influences. As she prepares for the late September release of her second studio album, Falling or Flying, Smith speaks to L’OFFICIEL about the emotions that inspired the record.
L’OFFICIEL: In the album bio, you say, “I don’t really have an in-between.” Is this a summary of how you live your life?
JORJA SMITH: I don’t have an in-between. If you know me, I’m either happy or sad. I’m either obsessed or completely unfocused. I’m going from one extreme to the other. That’s why [I’ve called my album] Falling or Flying, because that’s how I’ve felt since I put out Lost & Found. I can’t tell if I’m doing good or bad, or if I’m falling or flying. It’s that type of thing.
L’O: You recently moved from London back to your hometown of Walsall in the West Midlands. What does home mean for you?
JS: Home is where I feel like myself, and I actually feel I have a life. I’m able to differentiate between crazy work life and just doing things that make me happy for myself–and I get to see my family more. Everyone lives close by.
L’O: As you’ve grown into a young woman, do you think you’ve found yourself?
JS: I think [I’m] still figuring it out. I’m definitely a lot more sure of myself and more confident than I was when I first started, but even though I’m more confident [now]…back then I didn’t care about everyone’s opinions. Now there are a lot of opinions and eyes on me. But I still know myself a lot more. I guess that’s what happens when we grow.
“I don’t have an in-between……I’m going from one extreme to the other.”
L’O: Tell us about Falling or Flying.
JS: I feel like I’ve stepped into womanhood, and I got to make [the album] with my friends DAMEDAME*, who are an incredible production duo. There are some songs on there with [producer] P2J, and then the last song is [produced with] Blue May and Jodi, but it’s mainly put together with DAMEDAME*. I think it just takes you through a journey of loads of emotions. Each song has a different feeling, a different world. But sonically, it’s flying and then falling. Kind of begins really up-tempo then crashes.
L’O: Is there one song that is more representative of you?
JS: I think that they all are. They’re all different feels, different moods. It’s funny. Songs I’ve tried to write about other people, I’ll sing them and I’ll be like, I’m talking about myself.
L’O: The first song, “Try Me,” is really strong, and you created it with DAMEDAME*, so it was a family affair. How was it working with them?
JS: It’s fun making music with your friends. We laugh, we cook, we chat for ages, we’ll cry, and we’ll sing and jam. It’s just great. And I feel like I just tapped into something. I think I was just more myself working with them.
L’O: One of your songs, “Little Things,” has been a hit on TikTok. How do you feel about this new world, where social media is influencing what songs become a hit?
JS: It depends on what mood I’m in. I could be super happy to be making a video for social media to promote my music, and then one day I don’t want to use it at all, but that doesn’t really work if you say, “Okay, yeah, I’ll post,” and then I’m like, “I don’t want to.” I’m a bit funny with social media. I don’t like it. I do and I don’t; it just depends.
L’O: The sound [of “Try Me”] is really different from the album’s other songs.
JS: I feel like each song’s just a bit different. There was no agenda, no plan. We just made music. Put it together.
HAIR Danielle Igor
MAKEUP Carol Lopez Reid
MANICURE Pria Bhamra
STYLIST ASSISTANT Amad Kamagat
Special thanks to Anette Collins and Arielle Renwart
