Meet Highlyy, the UK Breakout Act We've Been Waiting For
With some of the cleanest vocals in the game, emerging UK songstress Highlyy has taken the internet by storm, easing her way onto playlists and rotations with only one single and a big promise of what’s to come.
What makes Highlyy so significant as an artist is her embodied fluidity. She’s able to transition from English to French to Yoruba in one breath, merging the different layers of her and the communities they signify. She’s a representation of culture and pride, which is simultaneously much bigger than music and yet exactly what it’s all about.
At only 18, she’s hit milestones many artists have yet to achieve, and she’s done so humbly. Collaborating with British rapper Tion Wayne on their breakout hit afrobeats-inspired track “Soldier,†amassing millions of streams is only the beginning for the young talent.
All it takes is a quick scroll through Highlyy's comments to see the growing impatience for her follow-up, but she hasn’t succumbed to the pressures of an industry with little regard for process and marination. Her pristine vocals aren’t a gift to be rushed, and judging by her glowing confidence, it’s assumed that whatever is being cooked up won’t disappoint.
Free-spirited and inherently jovial, there’s a light she has that radiates from within. She’s trusting in the journey unfolding before her and you can tell she’s having fun, which many in her lane fail at feigning. From repping Essex all the way to Congo, Highlyy is free and for the people.
