With a Debut Album This Good, Being a Nepo Baby is Not Laila!’s Problem
The pandemic encouraged much of the world to pursue new (and likely temporary) hobbies — kitchen chemists experimented with sourdough starters, homeowners convinced themselves to be home renovators, and binge-watchers got really into Tiger King. For a then 14-year-old Laila Smith, it was GarageBand. Experimenting with Apple’s free music production software turned into posting her first song, “Like That,” to TikTok in 2023 as Laila!. The 32-second stop-motion clip of herself posing under blue and red lights holding a stuffed Pikachu pulled a million views but reached an algorithmic fever-pitch when a TikTok trend paired the music with slow, sensual, slow-whine dance moves inspired by 2018’s viral Apple Store Girl video. After countless iterations of creators mimicking the hypnotic hip gyrations to Laila!’s trance-inducing voice, her internet earworm entered Billboard’s TikTok charts at Number Four in May.
Weeks later she beat the one-hit wonder allegations with “Not My Problem,” a freestyle about “niggas talking shit, bitches talking shit” and yet, remaining unbothered. “Not My Problem” followed the same viral pattern as her first song but further swelled as the reference track for maestro Cash Cobain’s eight-minute-long cypher with several rappers including Big Sean, Flo Milli, and Rob 49 as they freestyled about their problem-free sex lives and lavish lifestyles.
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This was accomplished with Laila!’s biggest fun fact mostly obscured by her overt talent: Her dad is Yasiin Bey, or Mos Def. Despite her paternal musical lineage, Laila!’s rise has been gardened by women close to her including her sisters, grandmother, and mom-ager, who all call her their baby genius. “My family really encouraged me, like my sisters and my mom were just like, ‘I like this. Like, this is good,’” the 18-year-old self-taught producer tells Rolling Stone. But her co-signs haven’t only come from the living room — on social media she’s been praised by Tyler, the Creator; peeped by Kaytranada; and encouraged by Snoh Aalegra.
With the anxiety of the looming release of her stellar debut album, Gap Year, Laila! talks to Rolling Stone about putting herself out there without fear of being perceived, wanting to work with Frank Ocean and Brandy one day, and how she’s navigating those nepo-baby allegations.
So you’re two days from the album; walk me through how this week has been and how you’re feeling this morning.
This week has been just crazy because it’s the first time I’m ever putting out a body of work like this and people are gonna be listening to it, and I don’t know, it’s just like, it’s just kind of weird. I’ve kind of felt a little bit anxious about it all week. So I’ve just been trying to enjoy myself as much as possible.
You produce all of your songs, and you’re a producer first. Tell me a bit about how you started with music.
So I pretty much was always making music as a kid. I was in band in elementary school and middle school. I was always in the vocal programs. I was in the mix with anything that had to do with music. Then during Covid, I didn’t have anything to do other than just Zoom school…. So I just picked it up.
I didn’t really continue taking it seriously until my sophomore year. When I was 14, there was so much I didn’t really know how to do. So my beats back then were pretty interesting. But I think by the time I turned 16, I was like let me really focus on this and really, start figuring out what my sound is.
And I saw that you play piano. Did you do piano before you got into production?
I’m not classically trained or anything. I just played by ear. But yeah, I would make songs on the piano. And that’s kind of where I got my start just building songs from the ground up. Because I just loved being able to create something from the very beginning and make it something real.
I think about how when I was in high school. I was developing my own music taste outside of my siblings and my parents. What were some of your earliest memories of developing your own music taste?
I was always listening to a lot of stuff my mom would play in the house. Just like Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey — just everything good. Around middle school is when I started developing my own new taste. I listened to a lot of SZA and a lot of Frank Ocean. I must’ve been 11 or 12 because that’s when I started making my own playlists and figuring out what I liked. I listened to so much Brent Faiyaz — they were just my favorite. I feel like I built such a connection with their art, their artistry, and I wanted to be able to create that kind of impact.
So, you posted “Like That,” your first song, in 2023. How did you get over the perception anxiety to go, “I’m putting this out there. I don’t care how it’s received.” How did you decide to just click “post”?
Because at some point I was just like, “What am I doing? Why should I let the l fear hold me back from doing something?” I feel like a lot of that just comes from the fear of embarrassment, people being like, “This is bad” or “this sucks” and like it’s just like, “Why should I let that stop me?” I also just feel like my like family really encouraged me, like my sisters and my mom were just being like, “I like this. Like, this is good.” … I would rather do something and do it bad versus not do anything at all.
A perfect segue to my next question. I listened to the album, and found some common themes of being a teenager and learning from mistakes and just doing life and learning from it. You’re doing your first press tour and putting out your first album — are there any mistakes from this first go around you’ve learned from?
I feel like I’m learning so much about like … oh, there you go … saying, “like.” That is just my biggest like … Oh, my gosh.
Well, it’s the title of your first song. So I think …
That actually works. But yeah, I think just not using so many filler words, and being more poised with my responses. I feel like I also watched so many interviews of Whitney Houston and Aaliyah and Brandi and Janet [Jackson], and the way that they talk in their interviews is so gorgeous and poised. And everything they say is just — it just sounds musical, like even in their speaking voice.
??Gap Year feels really communal. We hear from your mom a little bit. We hear from your grandma, Mami Nelly. Your sister freestyles. How important is family in your work?
Family is the most important thing to me because my biggest pride is being able to make them proud. That’s my biggest award. Every time I see my grandma, she just can’t help but say how proud of me she is. That just makes me feel on top of the world.
It went semi-viral when the internet found out who your dad is. How do you navigate people calling you a nepo baby? How do you maneuver that title?
At first, it felt kind of difficult because I just didn’t want people to diminish the fact that I’m talented and I really care about what I’m doing. I work very, very hard. I can’t control what everybody thinks or says, and I know how hard I work, and I know how much I care about what I do.
And my dad is extremely proud of the fact that I have been able to do everything completely on my own like just posting stuff by myself. And I think that that’s always how I wanted it to be. I wanted to do it on my own and not need to say anything else but show my art.
Your album has several references to writing notes and sending letters. Do you write or do you journal?
I do have a journal. I feel like it’s interesting the way that I journal because it’s not very linear. It has a lot of stops and starts, but I do keep a journal, and I actually just started a new one.
Journaling right now, in this period of life, is gonna be wild to look back on.
It already kind of is like, I was reading stuff from like, a year ago. My first journal that I sat down completed, I started while I was still in high school. Just to see how much I’ve like accomplished since then, is really, like, amazing.
Anything specific that you feel like you manifested?
Oh yeah. Doing shows and interviews, I wrote that down, and it’s happened.
Another thing I’ve noticed, with the album and just your whole vibe, is that it’s all throwback, retro or analog — things that you probably never experienced in its original essence before. Really, a lot of your generation is into old-school stuff; why do you think it’s so popular?
I think we’ve been completely stunted by technology. Not just the evolution of technology in itself, but the social distance that technology has created. I don’t think that our brains are made to process so much information in such a short amount of time. What’s appealing about all this old-school stuff is the false reality of a time when there was actual community between other people, and people knew how to talk to each other. I feel like now everyone’s so awkward, everybody is kind of to themselves and maybe that’s just New York, but it shouldn’t be that way.
What is your favorite New York City thrift store?
I can’t tell you guys, because everyone’s gonna start going there, and they’re gonna bump up the prices, and it’s gonna be bad. I’m sorry. I don’t wanna gatekeep, but I can’t believe people haven’t already ransacked it. And if I tell people, then it’s gonna … I’m sorry, it’s gonna be bad.
You have a song on the album, “Blackberry,” and there are a few samples I noticed. You got a little of Frank Ocean’s “End” in there, and then “Blackberry Molasses” by MISTA. Why did you choose to pull from these songs for it?
I think that “Blackberry Molasses,” I have a connection with that song because I was listening to it during a certain time, and it was just a really beautiful song. It’s a very raw song, and it’s really beautiful. I just heard so much like potential, not potential, but so many possibilities.
And then the Frank Ocean piece?
I really think that interpolation just came from … I love Frank Ocean so much. ??I don’t know … I got the whole wide world in my hands. I just kind of wanted to sing that and talk about that. There’s so many extra hidden meanings in “Blackberry.” I feel like Frank is really good at that, and I was able to do that through his melody.
Speaking of Frank, you have a photo of some Tyler, the Creator album covers on your bedroom wall. And Tyler, the Creator has co-signed you and shared your music. How does that full circle feel?
It’s so lit. Tyler’s just super cool. He’s really, really, super cool. And it’s just exciting because it feels good to know I’m being seen by people that inspire me. And like, they think I’m cool, and good at this.
I feel like there’s so much noise. So many people that will say anything to you and try to make you feel like you’re not as good or not as special. But first I have this amazing foundation in my family. And then like, people like Tyler, they’re like, “Yo, I see you.” I can’t help but feel like I’m like I’m nine again.
Have you thought that Tyler might show Frank Ocean this interpolation?
I think about that, and I hope he does because I want to work with Frank really badly. Like, I’m just, I’m speaking that into existence now. I just have so many ideas that I’d really love to show him.
Who is your dream collab to produce for?
SZA, for sure.
What about to sing with?
I would just love to be in the same room as Brandy. I would love to just talk to her. I don’t even know what I would do. I don’t think I would be able to stay on my two feet.
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