Hailing from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Gabrielle Swanks is a Nigerian-American singer, songwriter, and producer with a story to tell. I chatted to her about her new single, Moon.
By Graeme Smith
Opening with a delicate mystery, Moon soon finds a percussive, R&B groove. When Swanks’ vocal comes in, it’s instantly arresting, emoting their story of the push and pull of love convincingly.
“I was in a relationship where I constantly felt like I had to prove I was good enough to be someone’s person,” explains Swanks about the track’s origin. “It often felt like I was trying to earn forgiveness or convince my ex that I could be a good partner. That kind of pressure gets heavy really fast. And I think it’s hard to stay present when you’re always both trying to catch up and stay ahead of the next perceived mistake.
“Moon was born from the space of wanting to hold on, partially because I still cared, and partially because I wanted to prove that the relationship unravelling wasn’t entirely my fault. But the truth was that both keeping or losing my person was starting to hurt the same. Moon is that emotional push and pull that left me exhausted. The song is me trying to capture that feeling.”
For Swanks, the song marks “the start of a new chapter.” She says the way she makes music has stayed consistent but “what has shifted is the experience I bring into the room. Over the past three years, I’ve grown a lot, both in my sound and in my understanding of what I want to create. That growth has naturally shaped the music, even if the approach stays familiar.”
It’s the next step on a creative ladder that started at a young age. She has always dreamed of being an artist and performer and grew up watching Kidz Bop and the Disney Channel. An encounter with a particular album saw her sound maturing.
“I discovered The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill around age fourteen,” she explains. “That album completely changed my perspective on what music could be. Up until then, most of what I heard came from Radio Disney or the Christian music station my parents played in the car. Miseducation was the first time I experienced music as something deeply personal, powerful, and layered with meaning.
“I studied that album front to back, trying to understand why it moved me the way it did. I watched every video I could find of Lauryn Hill from that time and was blown away by her lyricism, her storytelling, and the visual world she built around her songs. I knew immediately that I wanted to do what she did.”
And Swanks proves a worthy torch-bearer for what Hill started, bringing her own authenticity and story to her music. Moon tells a familiar story, but it’s one that feels fresh thanks to the lived experienced that inspired it.
Swanks also gives props to her collaborators. “Moon was made alongside two incredible creatives,” she says. “Shareef Taylor produced and engineered the first version and gave me the freedom to write over it in a really open, honest way. Later, Gamal Abdu came in and reproduced the track, helping it settle into a sound that felt just right and truly complemented the composition
“I’m so grateful to have other creatives to call on. Working with them is teaching me how to trust myself to convey my vision and invite others into the process. It has been powerful to move from doing everything on my own to working with people who not only understand what I’m creating but also elevate it.”
Looking to the future, Swanks is already hard at work with her next single and is “starting to think about a longer project.” Her ambition is that her music “becomes something that helps build community.”
“I want to start meeting the people who have been supporting me,” she says. “I want to be in rooms with them, sing with them, laugh with them, and most importantly, thank them in person. Live shows feel like the start of that. I’m ready to connect!”
She ends our chat by thanking “everyone who takes the time to listen to my music and show love.” And I can only reply by saying thank you for taking the time to create and share it.
Moon is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator