Jorja Smith Talks Admiring Amy Winehouse And Ripping Mos Def Albums From YouTube

At the tail end of a breakout year marked by her critically acclaimed debut album, Grammy nomination, along with a Coachella debut, Jorja Smith added one more accolade to her list: being named MTV's Push: Artist to Watch for the month of January.


The 21-year-old sat down with MTV News to dissect her serene R&B sound, which was add onto a foundation of fiercely truthful songwriting and inspiration from some iconic artists. Among them is Amy Winehouse, whom Smith fondly remembers listening to with her parents.


as soon as I listen to her music, I can imagine being in a room with her and her musical group playing, and I really love that," Smith mentioned. "That's what I like [to do] with my music: to prepare it sound like you're in a room with me and I'm playing live."


Smith's other key influences include Damian Marley, whom she's dying to work with someday, and Mos Def, whose album Black on Both Sides she once ripped from YouTube to listen to on long train rides. All three artists helped the English language singer find her sound and her songwriting voice, which is something she's excited to keep honing in 2019.


"The way I want people to perceive me is that I'm sincere. I just know I'm me, that's it," Smith said.


That honesty shines on songs like "Blue Lights," a slinky slight against stop-and-frisk policies. Smith mentioned she wrote the song while creating a documentary for school about the connection between grime music and police. While interviewing fellow students, she found "they were all like, 'I hate the police, they're routinely immediately after us, they're routinely on to us," she mentioned. "I was like, 'what have you done?' And they're like 'nothing.' I was like, 'OK, that's interesting.'"


But it isn't just young people who can relate to her debut album, Lost & Found. In her words, it's "everyone."


"My song 'Teenage Fantasy,' I wrote that Whenever I was 16 and I was babysitting, and people that are a lot older than me can relate to that," she mentioned. "So I think I'm rather good at just writing for everyone."


Check out Smith's interviews with MTV News above, and visualize an intimate, exclusive efficiency of "Blue Lights" below.