Meet BAYLI, Rihanna’s Future Pool Girl

Bayli’s having a moment. Originally the frontwoman of the Brooklyn thrash rock and soul band The Skins, the Brooklyn native struck out on her own to craft a new sound out of her early-aughts pop and hip-hop influences. Following the release of her debut EP Stories from New York last fall (the single “Sushi for Breakfast” had a viral moment), the 24-year-old has been collaborating with the likes of Jesse McCartney and Giveon, and can be heard on Mura Masa’s forthcoming album, demon time. Recently, she released “think of drugs,” a moody pop single that signals the imminent arrival of a record. To mark the occasion, Bayli sat down with Interview for a chat about working hard and working out.

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INTERVIEW: Where are you now?

BAYLI: Brooklyn.

INTERVIEW: Who do you work with? 

BAYLI: My most consistent collaborators are my good friend Brody Myles, who produced my first EP with me, and my baby brother Reef Cole, who is a gifted multi-instrumentalist.

INTERVIEW:What gives you energy? 

BAYLI: Alone time. Being home. Seeing art and going to museums. Traveling and getting off the grid. Being in nature of any kind.  

INTERVIEW: How much stamina do you have?

BAYLI: Lots.

BAYLI: Meditation, taking care of my mental and physical health, being compassionate but also having boundaries. Living intentionally gives me lots of stamina. 

INTERVIEW: What is the hardest you’ve worked? 

BAYLI: Definitely during the creation of my first EP, “Stories from New York.” I was traveling a lot between New York and LA, and being very intense about finishing the songs—we tried multiple arrangements for each song. Looking back, I probably was trying to distract myself from the passing of my mother, who I’m still grieving over, by working so hard. 

INTERVIEW: What makes work fun? 

BAYLI: Getting to listen back to old tracks of mine and seeing how much I’ve evolved as an artist is really fun. I do that every couple of years. 

INTERVIEW: What’s your motivation?

BAYLI: My motivation is to one day stumble across my own masterpiece, a song that stands the test of time. I want to break generational curses and take care of my family for generations to come.

INTERVIEW: What holds you back?

BAYLI: Overthinking and people-pleasing.  

INTERVIEW: What’s your dream job?

BAYLI: Working with Beyoncé or Rihanna in any capacity. Literally I would be their pool girl.  

INTERVIEW: What got you in trouble at work?

BAYLI: I’m a very detail-oriented person, and I can sometimes be micro-manage-y. *sigh* 

INTERVIEW: How long can you last?

BAYLI: As long as I’m committed. When I’m working out in a class, I never give up. Even in hot yoga, which gets brutal.

INTERVIEW: What gets you up?

BAYLI: Sometimes the sun, sometimes my phone alarm.

INTERVIEW: What keeps you going?

BAYLI: Knowing my family and ancestral history and wanting to live up to it. Also my niece, Knight, who will be two years old in August. 

INTERVIEW: What makes you tired? 

BAYLI: Socializing with certain kinds of people. 

INTERVIEW: What keeps you awake?

BAYLI: At night? Anxiety.  

INTERVIEW: What makes you sweat? 

BAYLI: Having confrontational conversations. 

INTERVIEW: How do you endure? 

BAYLI: By knowing I have a bigger purpose that will one day reveal itself. 

INTERVIEW: How do you unplug? 

BAYLI: I very rarely do. I’m working on that. 

INTERVIEW: When do you crash? 

BAYLI: When I pour too much energy into other people instead of preserving myself. 

INTERVIEW: What’s the atmosphere like at work? 

BAYLI: It’s very passionate. There’s an element of sacredness around the music and creative process in the studio.

INTERVIEW: What do you need? 

BAYLI: I need compassion. 

INTERVIEW: What gets you down?

BAYLI: People who are constantly negative. 

INTERVIEW: What keeps you up?

BAYLI: Surrounding myself with brilliant minds who share similar values. 

INTERVIEW: What do you want to create?

BAYLI: Rare and impactful work. 

INTERVIEW: What do you want to leave behind?

BAYLI: An impressive legacy and lucrative assets. 

INTERVIEW: What’s worth fighting for?

BAYLI: Humanity. Preserving the health of our planet. 

INTERVIEW: What’s your reality?

BAYLI: My reality is that life comes in waves and you got to learn to surf ‘em! 

INTERVIEW: What are you made of?

BAYLI: All the magic the universe has to offer.