Following her swift rise to viral fame, Dréya Mac speaks to Noisey for the return of the quarterly cover story, an intimate guide to the most exciting artists in the UK.
Choreographer, writer, self-director and performer, West London native Dréya Mac speaks to Noisey about starting her musical career in lockdown, growing her global fanbase and how she’s much more than an internet sensation:
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On TikTok: “People think [my] success is purely down to the song that went viral. But the people who were there before… they’ve seen me blossom. From the ground work I was doing, it’s deserved. That’s what the OG fans are saying.”
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On her overseas fans: “They’re like this is new, whereas the UK are less overwhelmed by stuff. Until I’m world renowned, then they’re gonna say she’s one of ours. Everyone has the same story every time. It’s like, when is it gonna change?”
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On her musical inspiration: “I have myself to inspire me. I don’t even use my Spotify subscription that well. I use it to check my streams but I just listen to my demos really.”
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On being compared to other artists: “For me, personally, I don’t sound like anyone, so just say it sounds like me. You could say I could probably amount to what Missy has done and [we] have similar attitudes and that’s great – but it’s not Missy vibes. It’s Dréya vibes.”
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On representation: “We haven’t had a queer dark skin woman championed in the scene before – well openly anyway. But it doesn’t have to be ‘queer’ in the headline. Men can rap about the same thing and you won’t mention anything!”
The interview with Dréya Mac is now available to read on VICE UK.
