It’s been five years since Toya Delazy burst onto the scene, signing her first record deal with Sony Music on April 19 in 2011.
Five years, multiple hit singles and multiple awards later, Toya is now making music on her own terms as the owner of her very own label, Delazy Entertainment.
Besides having already signed her first act, the all women rap group Klutch Kollective, of which Toya forms a part, on April 11, the 26-year-old is gearing up to release her first solo single, Nu High, as a totally independent artist on June 10.
“I wanted to grow as an artist and challenge myself musically,” Toya tells Grazia. “I was not the same artist they signed in 2011 and I did not want to have to keep trying to be that same ‘Toya Delazy of 2011’. I’ve grown a lot in the past five years. I want to be able to express my life changes musically without being restricted.”
And that’s kind-of where her group Klutch Kollective comes in too, “We felt there was a need for a conscious hip hop movement. To give a voice to issues through hip hop. Hip hop has become about cars, popping bottles and money and there was a gap to take hip hop back to a time where it was the voice to more conscious issues,” Toya reveals.
As scary as being her own boss might be, she could not be more excited about the future, “It’s never an easy decision to leave your comfort zone, but it was a necessary move for me to grow. There were people that tried to talk me out of it, but those close to me understood where I was coming from and gave me great support.
“Being the boss ensures that I’m able to be authentic with my music offering and not try fit into a prescribed mould of what is expected of me. I know I can’t do everything myself so I have a good team around me that allows me to focus on the creative side of my music, which is important and other aspects of the business don’t become my day-to-day tasks.”
And creativity is all around, “I’m inspired by my travels. Meeting new people and interacting with different cultures. It’s great to get a different perspective on life and experience life in such a colourful way.”
While Delazy Entertainment might only have a roster of two for a while, Toya has her eyes peeled for the kinds of artists she knows will be the perfect fit, “Artists that are truly authentic and aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and challenge themselves and the status quo will always be appealing to me and I may feel that I want to sign more of such artists in the future.”