Since the arrival of her early demos and mixtapes, Justine Skye has come of age in the spotlight. Navigating internet fame, launching a musical career, and finding time to date boys can be tricky, and the 19-year-old singer is still learning to conquer those three worlds simultaneously. On her just-dropped EP, Emotionally Unavailable, Skye documents the rise and fall of young love with diary-entry accuracy, turning gushy feelings and sticky truths into brutally honest R&B songs. "When the first EP dropped, I was in a relationship,” Skye told The FADER. “I was like, Nothing can go wrong, I'm so happy! And then I broke up with that person. Now I'm figuring myself out, getting what it's like to be on my own." Emerging stronger for the wear and tear, Skye’s writing and vocal skills reflect the specific, hard-earned wisdom that comes after a freshly broken heart. The FADER asked the new, smarter Skye to share some of the lessons in love and lust that fueled Emotionally Unavailable.
Keep it on the low, for now
“Don't tell your friends. Because then when you're not talking to that person they're gonna be like What happened to that? You don't wanna hear that. Keep it on the low until you know you’re ready. You gotta make sure that you wait until that person is serious before you start claiming them, or even taking a picture with them. Because people are crazy. They are crazy. And they'll switch it up in two seconds.”
Be your own hypeman
“The most important lesson that I've learned is to have self-confidence. I used to get confident because guys were like, You're so beautiful, you're so this, you're so that. I’ve learned to tell myself that. You are a star, you are beautiful, and you're killing the game right now. I had to learn how to be confident in myself and not let other people's words influence my confidence.”
