PinkPantheress has taken the music world by storm, and her new collaboration with Ice Spice is just the tip of the iceberg.
British-US relations experienced a significant improvement this February because of the event. And no, it’s not due to a new policy or financial investment. It’s because of music.
Following the release of a three-song EP, which includes Boy’s a Liar, UK native PinkPantheress released Boy’s a Liar pt. 2 featuring Ice Spice, a rising star in US rap scene. Spice is known for her hugely successful single Munch and EP “Like…?”. This crossover works perfectly not only on a sonic level but also time-wise, given that both artists have just started their careers. And while much is known about Spice’s life, her collaborator tends to shy away from the public spotlight. So who is PinkPatheress?
Early Life
Born in 2001, PinkPatheress was first raised in Bath before moving to Kent as a young child. Her Kenyan mother is a carer, while her English father is a statistics professor currently based in the US. As a teenager, she learned how to play piano and eventually performed in a rock band as the lead singer. They mainly performed covers of songs by Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and more. She eventually attended the University of the Arts London university to study film before later dropping out in 2022.
Music Career
PinkPantheress always had an interest in music stemming back to her childhood. But she eventually started to create her own music in 2020 and began to post the tracks on SoundCloud. She soon found it difficult to garner views on the site. Because there is no algorithm to introduce users to new music, it is hard for artists to be found by users. This led PinkPantheress to try TikTok, the newest platform at the time. While it primarily serves as a social media platform, it also doubles as a facilitator of music content and careers. Artists such as Doja Cat and Lil Nas X have used TikTok to garner more fans and expose more people to their music, which is what encouraged PinkPantheress to put out her first clips. Initially, she only included audio clips, preferring to keep her identity anonymous. But that soon became a challenge with fame.
In less than 18 months, she garnered attention for her songs Pain and Break it off. But her true breakout song was Just for me, released in the summer of 2021. Its release came after she signed a record deal with Parlophone and Elektra Records earlier that year. The song’s popularity inspired cover performances by influential artists such as Coldplay and Giveon. Following the successful summer, PinkPantheress finished the year with her first mixtape ‘to hell with it’.
Over the course of her career, PinkPantheress has been able to collaborate not only with great artists but firmly planted in various genres of music. Standouts include KAYTRANADA, WILLOW, and Mura Masa. She was even able to contribute to the album ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ alongside Ckay on Anya Mmiri.
Kaytranada, WILLOW, Mura Masa, Ckay. Image Credit: Youtube via Apple Music, Shutterstock, naffchiffchaff, TRACE France (L to R)
Her Sound
PinkPantheress sound is both specific and broad at the same time. She has managed to combine a multitude of sounds including garage, drum n bass/jungle, alternative, and Y2K pop. Some have even considered her music to be under the umbrella of bedroom pop due to her self-production, as well as hyper-pop due to her use of autotune.
While PinkPantheress’ music tends to be upbeat and energetic sonically, its content lyrically conveys the opposite. She often discusses general sadness, relationship issues, and loneliness as they pertain to the life of young adults today.
Her musical influences are just as varied as her collaborations and even overlap with each other. KAYTRANADA is someone PinkPantheress has appreciated for some time and was excited to be able to work with him. She also stated admiration for Nia Archives and Trippie Redd, a drum n’ bass and American rap artist respectively. But her biggest source of inspiration is Hayley Williams of the band Paramore.
So far PinkPantheress has only released songs under 3 minutes, which are often first manifested as 15-second snippets on TikTok. If it draws enough interest, then she’ll look to create a full song.
Personality and Aesthetic
As expressed in her lyrics, PinkPantheress gravitates towards darker subjects. Her interests also align with such topics. In general, she enjoys horror movies, haunted concepts, and emo culture.
PinkPantheress has also been a longtime fan of K-Pop, a popular genre originating in South Korea. She claims to be one of the earlier fans of the group BTS, which was formed in 2013. This interest in pop music perhaps informs her personal style in addition to her music. She tends to wear pieces inspired by the early 2000s and of course the goth aesthetic.
What’s Up Next
In the future, PinkPantneress would love to expand her sound even further. She is primarily looking to incorporate more house and R&B music into her music-making process. In general, experimentation is what she wants to embrace during her career. She hopes to achieve this through the evolution of both her own production as well as with whom she collaborates. So far in 2023, she has worked with Skrillex and most recently Ice Spice. This year looks to be an important one for PinkPantheress, and thankfully for us, she has yet to disappoint.
