Black Music Matters: On the Horn With Vietta

To celebrate Black Music Month, KXSC’s Elle Davidson sat down with five Black artists at USC to talk about their musical journeys, and what being Black in music means to them. Junior Vietta shares how finding Black Student Assembly influenced her confidence, as well as her sense of belonging at USC. Her honesty and vulnerability show through in this interview and in her music. You can stream her single “Let Him Go!” and more of Vietta’s music on our Black Music Matters Spotify playlist. Check out our interview below:

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Elle Davidson: How long have you been playing music?

Vietta: I’ve been singing since I was little, and I played flute in the band. I started performing my freshman year. That's when I first started singing covers on stage in front of people and doing open mics.

ED: Who are some of your inspirations?

V: One of my biggest idols is Halsey. I remember when she started coming up. I felt like we were similar. We are both biracial, and she is so cool and confident. I wanted to be just like that. And then, because I am majoring in music industry, I'm taking classes about the history of music. Like how it’s developed over the decades. I've been looking into the stories behind a lot of old hits. I just took a class about the Beatles.

ED: I’ve taken that class! It was amazing. It’s really cool to be able to contextualize the music you’re hearing with what was going on in an artist’s life, and just in general. How would you describe your musical style?

V: I am all over the place. Music has always been something that helps me find my identity, so when I go through different phases of life, my music changes too. As of now, the songs I’m writing would fit into chill or indie pop. I know a lot of artists are sometimes hesitant to use the word “pop”, but it’s the category that encompasses different tastes. It’s a jumble of everything. 

ED: What are some of your long-term goals?

V: Quarantine definitely put a little bit of a hold on everything, though it's opened doors in terms of having time to work on things. Just before [Coronavirus] happened, I was going to work on a music video. So that's going to be pushed for later. It's only been maybe a year since I dropped my first little mini EP. Even though I've been doing music my entire life, that's kind of when it started picking up speed and I felt the reality of being a musician. I'm taking it one step at a time. I have heard that you should enjoy the journey and not try and speed everything up. I like finding more things about myself as I go along. 

Right now my goal is to put out more music, and to push myself to work harder on staying motivated. Taking music industry classes, I feel like I'm learning more about the structured side of the music industry; all the business aspects of it. I just want to sing and do that for a living. 

ED: How has your experience at a predominantly white institution influenced your music or your journey?

V: I bounced around schools a lot growing up, because my dad is in the military. Every time we moved someplace new, my dad would find a place in the best school district. Growing up I've realized that most good schools always happen to be in a predominantly white neighborhood. Being biracial, I had a hard time connecting with either the white kids or the Black kids. I didn’t know who to identify with. When I came to USC, I remember getting an email about the Black Student Assembly, and I went. I was just really struggling with my Blackness and feeling like it wasn't validated. But when I went to the first meeting of BSA, I found my family. My first time performing in front of an audience ever was actually at a Black Family Dinner. You have to find those opportunities and really grab on to them first.

ED: Why do you think amplifying Black voices is important?

I think it's very important because since I've been a part of the creative branch of Black Student Assembly, I got to know about all these super creative and talented people. But honestly, around campus there are different little bubbles. When you're in the bubble, you kind of think that everyone knows [about Black artists] and then you're like, “Oh, nevermind.” We had Gearfest, and not a lot of people knew about it. Every year I’ll talk about it, and other people have no idea what it is. The people who know about it are the black sheep.

ED: Do you have any quick advice to other Black musicians at USC?

V: Yes! Join a whole bunch of clubs because that really helps your exposure. Especially if you want to meet other creatives. Then you're able to collab. I think it's really good to surround yourself with people who are also working hard. It takes more work, as a Black artist, to find your audience and really make it. No single Black artist at USC is the definition of success, so don’t get discouraged. Keep pushing yourself.

-- Elle Davidson, Director of Publications.

Our Black Music Matters Spotify playlist is linked here.