In today's entertainment industry, it's not enough to have just one job like actor, director, or singer — one needs to be a multi-hyphenate to succeed. The same goes for influencers, but many of them use the platforms that made them go viral to launch their subsequent careers.
Take Aliyah Bah, better known by her stage name Aliyah's Interlude. She exploded onto the scene with her effervescent personality on TikTok and shared her namesake aesthetic with the world — AliyahCore. This dressing technique is a blend of the artist's signature alt-emo style with Y2K and Harajuku street-style aesthetics. In 2023, the hashtag for her AliyahCore had over 400 million views across the videos that used it — and the moment was encapsulated in a mega-viral song she released called "IT GIRL," which showcased her rapping abilities and became a spectacle in its own right.
At present, the official video of "IT GIRL" has over 31 million views on YouTube; the song was used in over one million TikTok videos and has over 246 million streams on Spotify alone. But that song was just the beginning of Aliyah's meteoric rise to fame. Since then, she has been invited on stage to perform with Charli XCX and SZA during their most recent tours, and she made her acting debut in FX's The English Teacher, created by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez. Now, with a major acting credit under her belt, she put out her debut EP, Kuntology 101, just last month, and is in the middle of filming a new horror-comedy in South Africa when we get on the phone.
The 22-year-old pansexual multi-hyphenate is just as energetic in conversation as she is in her videos and music. In this conversation with Out, she talks about the plans she already has for a second EP and a full-length album, as well as a tour, and how content creation fits into her schedule, which is filling up by the second.
Out: Tell me about how your EP came together and the recording process was like.
Aliyah's Interlude: "IT GIRL" changed my life forever because it was first song. And for it to get as big as it did really just tells you how important community is, even when that really that community wasn't one that was familiar with me making music. It was really cool to become a musician through all of this, and it just flung me into a whole new direction. I learned how to make music, produce, write, all in like the past two years.
The oldest song on the EP is two years old, which I recorded in New York when I was still living there...it's called "404." It's one of my favorites on the record because when you listen to it, it's just me like mad as fuck, walking into the studio ready to just scream and shout, and that's exactly what I did. I love music that really shows you who the artist is through the lyrics, but also through just the energy, and "404" is the perfect example of that.
You worked mainly with 8AE as the executive producer and one of the songwriters for this project. Are there other producers/artists you want to get studio time with?
I want to work with Missy Elliot for one, GOAT-ed producer, fucking Kaytranada, Pharrell, I feel like those are all really big names. But also people like Arca and Eartheater. I just feel like all of those bitches are fab as fuck, and I really just want to get in the studio with them.
Is there a plan for a full-length album?
I definitely have plans for a full album. But before that, I actually want to release another project that is kind of like the part two of Kuntology101, so it would be Kuntology102. It would be an extension of me, really just discovering myself as a writer and producer. The bars are coming in even harder, the melodies are even crazier, hooks going insane, that's what I expect for Kuntology 102 then I want to release an album for real.
How does your identity as a queer person play into you making music? Does it inform any part of the production process?
Hell yeah, it influences my life in general. I feel like my POV isn't the same as a straight person's. When I'm speaking about women, obviously, I'm speaking about it in a self-empowerment sense. But I'm also just speaking about it in a way where it's like, 'That's bae too, like you could get it.' I just feel like, when you listen to music from queer women especially, it's always cuntier. It's just always inspired by queer culture like ballroom sounds or dance music in general. I think that my production is one of the things that, as a queer person, is very much inspired by my community.
How does social media play a part in making music for you? I always wonder this with artists who happen to have a decent following online before they start making music professionally. Do you make music with the intention of trying to make it go viral?
I feel like it's crazy because there used to be a very big difference between, what is an influencer and what is a musician. I feel like for musicians to blow up, they low-key got to be in their influencer bag too, which is insane, because it's never been like that in any point of history. I think that me coming from a social media background has helped me immensely, just with making content or my music and doing all this. But whenever I'm in the studio I'm never thinking of...a stance like, Oh yeah, they're gonna eat this shit up on TikTok. I make music that I like the way it sounds or feel like it represents me in a cool or cunty way.
[I] feel like the new girls are really the chronically online baddies, especially when i think about people like JT and PinkPanthress. I could tell this bitch to be online just by the stuff that she talked about in her music — that's cool as fuck to me.
Are there plans for you to do live shows?
Hell to the fuck yes! My dream is to open up for a baddie artist, for one, because I've never really done a whole tour — well, I did a mini tour, and I want to do some shows in different places in America first when I get back [from South Africa]. So we're working on that right now.
How does your influencer career play into all of the other things you're doing now?
When I really first started coming up, I always told myself I would make my fun little TikToks and whatever. But when you get busy, that shit is so fucking hard to do. But honestly, I just been making time to just talk shit on TikTok. I love making my talking videos, my fashion videos, and I feel like it really is just a great distraction from like, all the like work I'm doing, or if I'm in the studio for long hours. I've definitely had to start being more intentional about making time to do it.
What's the ultimate goal for your career?
You see Teyana Taylor and the way she's winning right now? That's what the fuck I want. A bitch who could release an album, get nominated for a Grammy, but still, on other hand, get nominated for an Oscar in the same breath, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe. I want to be just like the ultimate multi-hyphenate artist ever, while also just being like super fly and down to earth in the same breath.
Aliyah's Interlude's debut EP, Kuntology 101, is now available on streaming platforms.
