Ifeanyi Elswith: Becoming A Cultural Bridge
Photography by Julian Carr
Few things matter as much as momentum when it comes to building a name for yourself as an artist. However, to make the most of it, especially over the long course of a career, artists must learn how to keep moving forward while staying true to their roots and grounded in what matters most. Ifeanyi Elswith embodies this perfectly.
Today we have the honor of premiering the music video for “Outside (Gyal Dem)” - a standout single from her 2024 EP GyalTingz, produced by Don Knock. Joined by ADIA & Dai, we get a glimpse of Chicago’s own version of the Cheetah Girls, as they live out their shared dream through the lens of Isaiah Shot It. After watching, learn about the making of both the song and the crossover sound she created on this EP which blends her Belizean roots & soulful Chicago point of view by reading the interview below.
With a new single coming soon & an event this Saturday, if you’re not yet keeping up with the moves of Miss Ifeanyi Elswith, this is the time.
“Outside (Gyal Dem)” Music Video Premiere
Directed by Isaiah Shot It
Hey Ifeanyi! How’s 2025 been for you?
I have been on top of my goals so far, so pretty good!
What were some of those goals?
To be more organized, making sure I'm writing things down and planning out my weeks, because I feel like the traditional planner hasn't worked for me. I tried the traditional planner so many times and it always happens where–even if I got to July, I would fall off. So, I just realized I'm a to-do list person. Now I'm just like making sure I plan out my weeks and just going by weeks and that's been way more manageable.
Another goal was to continue creating the habit of prioritizing fitness and being active, something I started to really do last year. This year has been about getting that habit ingrained into who I am, so I've been hitting the gym five days a week, so I'm proud of myself for that.
And then finally, me and two of my best friends who are also great Chicago artists coming up alongside me, Dai & ADIA, curated our own show, Soul Momentum, at Schuba's earlier this year. That was very successful, had great turnout and it was full circle for all of us because we had all come up watching shows there. So to go back and have my own set and also help curate the show felt pretty major. So, yeah, it has been great so far.
That's amazing, I love that venue. So what's life been like for you since Gyaltingz dropped?
It's been good! A lot of my listeners love the project, even though it was very different from what I've put out previously, it still hit for them, so that was great. I really wasn't sure how they would receive the new sounds that I've implemented into my style.
What song has gotten the feedback that has surprised you most?
“Come Back Home” has been a song that a lot of my people have been raving about. Especially my family, they love that song and my family has never really been a huge chunk of like my listeners. Or, moreso, my style has never been their style, so to finally have a song that they love is actually just really cool. I just didn't expect that song to be one of the ones that people love so much. That one is a fusion with a Garifuna genre of music called Paranda and growing up, my friends would hear my mom playing another Garifuna genre, Punta, and they'd joke like, “what the fuck is this?” [laughs]
So, I know that was all the way back to childhood, but even still, when I put this out, I think I just had like the subconscious notion where I was just like–”I don't know how people in Chicago specifically are gonna respond to that song”. So many of my listeners and supporters love me for R&B and for rapping, so I didn't think that they would then still love this sound too, so that's been really cool.
Talk to us about leaning into the more dance-forward style of music in this EP; how long has that arc been of you preparing for stepping into that sound?
That's a great question, it's been like three years. I want to say 2021 was when I started creating. “Come Back Home” was written and recorded in 2021, and that was the demo. I usually never put out my demos; I hate my demos. I always know that I could perform it way better, because for me the demo is just the beginning. When I'm in the first stage of my creation phase, I'm writing, I have the melody in my head and I'm really just trying to get it out on wax, but it's not supposed to be what I actually put out. Every other song that I've put out I had recorded so many demos for first, so that was a surprise, but I couldn't get that same feeling no matter how many times I recorded it.
Wahsan, who's another amazing artist coming out of LA who represents Belize and has been doing this fusion a lot longer than I have, was like, “you just need to put out the demo, I don't know why you're trying to rerecord it - it's amazing, the performance is good, the soul is there.” I was also in Belize when I recorded it.
“Outside (Gyal Dem)” started in 2022. That song came about through cousins I have in New York that have a Dancehall platform and throw parties in Brooklyn called It’s Gyal Time. They've built a whole following of people that come to their parties and the founder is my cousin Nikki Antics.
We actually found out that we were cousins just before the show through my other cousin, Kiara, who is a member of the It’s Gyal Time team and my main connection to the New York sector of my family. We had to ask our elders and they confirmed it. [Laughs]
I saw that they were doing these parties and I was like, “Oh my God, this is so cool and let me come throw a concert with you guys.” It was the first time they had a live performance at one of their parties and it aligned with my 24th birthday. I brought Dai to be the opener, ADIA to be a part of my set, and then I reached out to a Nigerian artist based in New York, Dap The Contract, that Chris Robbins referred me to, Chris is another great artist coming up in Chicago.
Then I asked my cousin to find a Caribbean artist, because I wanted to make sure the line up fit with their Dancehall parties and at the time I was releasing only R&B and Hip-Hop, in order to have that cultural bridge for the party goers.
That artist ended up being Don Knock, who would go on to produce “Outside (Gyal Dem).” Upon meeting him through the show, we all clicked, there was a synergy there and literally from that trip, he's become like our brother.
Tell us a bit more about how that song came together..
Basically at the end of that trip, we missed our flight and we had to stay an extra night. We were trying to figure out what to do with the extra time, and we were at brunch and ADIA was like, “ We should get in the studio with Don.”
So I called him, we got in the studio, when we were basically telling him what we wanted the song to sound like. I was like, “I want it to have a Dancehall influence.” because I had just been on this journey of wanting to be taken seriously as a Caribbean artist as well, so that means my music has to appeal to the Caribbean audience.
So he started playing us different loops and we found that “[sings the audio sample]” and we loved it and started building around it. But after that, that song was like a two year process. The mixing and mastering process ended up taking a while, Don had added a bunch of stuff to evolve the sound from the original beat into the one that you guys hear on the EP. It was finally ready around the time towards the end of 2024.
“Foe Festyle” I wrote in 2024, “Single Girl Era” also in 2024. That came together because Washan has a song with the same title, and it was actually getting me through life at the time. I had just gone through a situationship breakup and I was like “Bro let me release the female version of this.” In his version he was interested in a girl who wasn't interested in him because she was in her single girl era. And basically, in my case I wanted a relationship with this person, but they were cool with just the situationship. So I just really wanted to put out a remix giving the woman's perspective of being in that place.
So once all of that was done, I was like, “Wait, I think I have an EP on my hands. All of these songs would sound great together.” Originally I wanted to put out my sophomore album last year, but that was nowhere near ready. But I did have these crossover songs, so it just all kind of came together on its own.
When I started this journey in 2021 of creating that fusion, I knew that the EP would be called Gyaltingz because that’s what the playlist of all my Dancehall, Reggae and Caribbean songs I listen to was called. I thought it would be like an album, a mixtape or more of a longer form thing, but I didn't know what it would sound like because I didn't have the songs yet. So when all of these songs were done, I was like, “wait, this is it!”
The type of fate that turns a missed flight into a studio session that creates a song that ends up being a catalyst for a project really speaks to this understated part about the magic of how things end up coming together. All the best projects that we all know and love have their versions of what those stories were for them. It’s cool to hear about it from a fan perspective & hopefully as an artist, it helps you trust the process or divine timing of it all a little bit more.
I'm curious, will this crossover sound continue with what you're gonna do next musically?
Definitely! I will always have those songs that are pure R&B, pure hip-hop, because I do have fans who listen to the songs where I'm singing primarily and then of course, those who love to hear me rap, so I'm never going to leave that behind, but I want to find a fusion.
If you think about Bob Marley, he is who he is because he studied music in the States first. Not fully, but he spent some time studying more jazz and R&B based music, and then he took that back to Jamaica and created a lot of art that became the forefront of reggae and part of the Blueprint. It was his fusion that allowed for reggae and for Jamaican art to become international and I want to see that for Belize. The culture is just amazing, but it's a sound that has not been able to transcend beyond Belize, or the countries where Garifuna people reside at least, just yet.
Can you tell us a bit more about the roots of these sounds?
There’s these genres that are original to the Garifuna people that you hear in Belize, and you might only know them if your family plays it and that's what you hear at home. There's never been this type of crossover like we’ve seen with things like Selena and Cumbia music. I don't think Cumbia was as international as it is now when Selena started doing her music, you know? So I definitely want to find that fusion because our culture is just beautiful and there needs to be a bridge to that gap between the rest of Caribbean music and Belizean music as well as American music, R&B, hip hop, and so that like Belizean artists and Belizean music can be on the same stages. I just want to see that because it's so good!
Paranda is more like a soulful side of Garifuna music and Punta Rock is a more upbeat dancing sound. Learning how to dance Punta is another thing.... Not specifically saying that my music will have Punta sounds, but in terms of being able to expose the world, at least to Paranda music, because it's a soulful sound, it still feels like world music even though it’s specific to Garifuna culture.
And the fact that I'm a vocalist, I grew up in Chicago, I've studied jazz, I studied musical theater, I studied music here, so I have that soul from that. Then this is my culture and these are my roots, my family’s roots, so that's why “Come Back Home” sounds the way it sounds. I will say that I'm figuring that out, but it's definitely going to continue. I definitely still have songs that are purely the other sounds, but I just want to continue building on this fusion.
I think the world and how interconnective we are now, allows for these regional sounds to transcend and connect elsewhere. We're in a place now where new parts of the world's sound are getting more attention and received more globally. Closer to home, I think we’ve seen this in Chicago with artists like Chance early in his career where it had been a while since there was an artist to make out of the city and I think like a big part of what gave that initial boost, paired with like talent and work ethic and, everything that he was bringing to the table, was that Chicago was so thirsty to champion somebody. Like it had been a long time since Ye and Lupe. Chicagoans are so proud of the city and to not have an artist in that conversation, for a minute was as soon as we had the opportunity to, there was a huge wave of support that like was a was so helpful and utilizing or like we utilized it so much to that initial foundation, you know what I'm saying?
That's definitely affirming to hear, especially you explaining your experience seeing that with Chance and I love that. I thank God every day that I'm from Chicago, because I can't wait to be able to bridge that gap between Belizean music, R&B, hip hop and just like the other sounds that I create and still get to have a win for Chicago. I just can't wait for that.
How do you feel about this Chicago scene now, or like, how would you say you've like how would you define the eras that, you know, you've kind of got to exist within?
I would say that the space my and my friends exist in within the Chicago music scene, I feel like we are the generation behind Chance, Noname, Jamila Woods and those artists.
When I was nominated for Best R&B Artist by the Chicago Reader, and won first runner up behind Jamila, I don't even think that people understood how big that was and how that represents our scene because Jamila has that soul and she comes from that YCA space as does Chance where poetry is so important. Not that you have to be a poet, but having that focus on the art of rhythm and poetry, and the space of being writers, you know?
So to get first runner up behind her, I just felt so proud of myself and it felt so full circle because I was a part of Louder Than a Bomb in high school and that's how I found out about YCA and Word Play where a lot of Chicago artists were going to as they were coming up and as they were starting their career, so I definitely feel like myself and my peers are the generation behind them.
The fact that the art of writing has been a huge part of Chicago for so long historically leans into the soulful side of what is coming out of here. Even thinking back to Chicago's black arts movement that was happening in the 60s or 70s and the writers that were standing out during that time. I think that scene still needs someone to champion, just like when Chance came out, this generation definitely still needs more people from that scene. Chicago is known for, and right now is more popular, in terms of drill music. That's great, but Chicago also is such a soulful city and always has been. I still want the soulful Chicago to get more shine, because it kind of feels like we slipped a little bit under the radar.
So I just want to see more of that side of Chicago reflected, because our reputation in the country is defined by the violence and that’s where the popularity of drill comes from, but Chicagoans will tell you all the time that that reputation is not a full reflection of our city. We're actually very community based and we love on each other and we really take care of each other. There's just so much art and soul here, and I want to see more on the forefront for sure.
100%. I think a lot about how much artistic cultivation was able to happen because of programs like YCA or YouMedia, these places that allowed young artists to sharpen their skills together and have access to some resources, some mentors, but most mostly each other in ways where everyone could make each other better. Looking around the city now though, it seems like we’re on the brink of another one of those waves. There’s a huge depth of talent here I haven’t seen since then, I’ve been saying it feels like those times again…
It’s affirming to hear you say that that feeling is back from when you started, because I started my career at the very end of that wave of artists like Chance, Jamila, Saba, Noname and even Ravyn Lenae.
My first song was during the SoundCloud era, so my very first single is still only on SoundCloud and stuff like that. So to hear you say that feeling is back and you’re seeing the overflowing amount of talent that's coming out of the city is affirming, because being an artist, it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes it’s like “dang, what's going on? I want this scene to shine more.” But to hear someone who has seen it from 2010, so like 15 years ago? That's crazy, like from someone who's starting 15 years ago versus being a part of that younger generation and starting. I started in 2017, so to hear that is affirming.
The journey of being a recording artist and pursuing your business kind of already has this exhausting nature, but if this is what you love to do, and if this is your calling, then it's not gonna stop you, right? And so, I'm definitely never gonna give up or let the “exhaustion” stop me from continuing to create and continuing to grow my fan base.
I know earlier this year you were a speaker at Better Me Mania so I wanted to ask you about how you would describe your mindset of the moment? Where’s joy coming from for you or what feels like it's giving back to you?
I can't take my eye off the prize, and not in the way that it is unhealthy. I had said at that event that “every little win adds up,” so I just feel like I’m going to keep going, and stay ten toes down. I'm always looking for the next opportunity.
I'm definitely at the point of my career where I need to stop saying yes to every opportunity. I need to start making sure I'm selective now. However there's this fear in the back of my head that’s like “wait but saying yes to almost every opportunity is how I've even built my name.” That’s what helped me launch my debut album and that album would lay the foundation for even being recognized throughout the city.
I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm definitely way further than when I started. Even to be recognized throughout the city, to win first runner up behind Jamila Woods and to have “Don't Call Me Baby Girl” placed on ‘South Side’ on HBO Max, to get my song on a big network like that, it's crazy.
Also, I'm now a voting member of the Recording Academy, but I did not intend for that. Like, I didn't apply for that, that was not a goal. I wasn't ever even thinking about a Grammy, but someone recognized my work and recommended me. That speaks to the fact that my work is seen even if it feels like it's not.
I love to create, it’s my greatest joys and just coming from that place and keeping my eye on the prize keeps me going and it makes me feel like I'm fulfilling my purpose. My songs are my lived experiences, things that I go through, and when people tell me that my song is helping them get through or that one of the messages just resonated for them, it just makes it all worth it.
So, I've had a lot of things that just affirmed that all of the work I’m putting in is gradually paying off and my work is being seen and I can't wait to just continue representing Chicago, especially as a vocalist, because we need more Chicago vocalists.
The last thing for now is: how can we best support you and how can the readers best support you for the remainder of this year?
I would say These Days can best support me by continuing to add the songs that you like to the playlist. I really love you all because you guys have always added my songs and even in the seasons where maybe my work wasn't getting as much attention, it's always been These Days that I've been able to count on.
Not even that I was ever expecting it for each song that was added, but to open my phone and see that on my Spotify for Artists, I'm just like, “oh, thank you!” I just feel like the work you guys have been doing has been amazing and it's been so foundational for so many artists coming up in Chicago. I really appreciate you guys for the support.
For the readers, definitely stream GyalTingz, follow me on Instagram and TikTok and wherever you are on social media, follow me there, because I'm always updating my followers on my journey through there. If you know any DJs, definitely let them know to add a song that you like to their rotation. Sharing a post, sharing the music, all that goes a long way. Thank you so much for having me, this has been great.