Aliyah’s Interlude Is Doubling Down On Her Reign For Gen Z Supremacy
After releasing her recent single, “Fashion Icon,” on Feb. 21 and amassing nearly 500,000 for its video on YouTube, Aliyah’s Interlude has affirmed that she’s playing for keeps.
Born Aliyah Bah, the American and Sierra Leonean initially found success as a fashion influencer during the pandemic. She became known for her trendy “Get Ready with Me” videos and her maximalist approach to fashion, where she embraced a fine mix of Y2K and Harajuku fashion, which she called “AliyahCore” in 2022.
Her social media following grew after a photo of her wearing a pink bikini and matching Moon Boots went viral in November 2022.
By 2023, she became a household name on social media as #Aliyahcore garnered over 400 million views on TikTok.
While fashion is her primary passion, Aliyah’s always had an affinity for music and exploring the world of recording more.
“I’ve always been a music connoisseur since forever, but I’ve always been a writer. I used to write rhymes in my bedroom,” she told Blavity. “Looked up YouTube beats, but I never really took it seriously because I always thought fashion was all I wanted to do. But then I do feel like when I came into the music scene, I’ve been able to transcend that in a way to where music and fashion is kind of intertwining, and I think that’s how I wanted it to be in the very first place.”
Despite having many influences, the rising star spoke about some of her faves.
“I love Grace Jones; she’s like my No. 1 style everything icon,” Aliyah’s Interlude said. “I love Tracee Ellis Ross; she’s an icon in her own right. I feel like she’s still pulling out the looks, and every single day, it’s something different. And I would say Lil’ Kim too. She was the first woman in rap who was unapologetically herself and doing it back to back and getting so much criticism, but she pulled through.”
Since becoming a modern-day fashion icon, her name and brand have become more widespread. Aliyah’s Interlude participated in myriad fashion shows and made a cameo in Doja Cat’s video for her hit single “Agora Hills.”
In conjunction with everything she has going on, TikTok included her in its list of Black Visionary Voices for 2024.
As far as her future is concerned, she is just getting started.
“I wanna release a couple of singles and then an EP. I’m definitely working on so much music; it’s actually crazy. I’m actually going to the studio every week, almost five times a week,” Aliyah’s Interlude told Blavity. “Y’all are gonna be gagged, so stay ready for sure. For right now, music is something that I’m so focused on and creating more fashion moments.”
