In a new interview, Skylar Grey reflects on moving between genres without losing her own voice and finding listeners who can relate to her music.
Beyond the Eminem connection
Skylar Grey has long been known and loved by Eminem fans, ever since she wrote that powerful hook for “Love the Way You Lie”. Since then, fans saw her moving through different stages of her career, collaborating with the biggest stars, switching genres, and releasing solo records. Through every shift, her connection to Eminem has stayed intact.
Skylar appears on every Eminem album from The Marshall Mathers LP 2 to The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), with Kamikaze as the only exception. She shares the stage with him on tours, and he has produces some of her solo songs.
However, in a new interview with Australian publication Blunt, the focus is firmly on her, not on the stars audiences often associate her with.
Writing for herself
Still, the journalist wanted to compare the emotional toll of writing for others with creating songs for yourself. For Skylar, the difference is clear: “It’s way scarier to write for someone else because you’re setting yourself up for potential rejection… when someone passes on a song I wrote for them it stings. I much prefer to write for myself and express myself creatively without that judgement barrier”.
While rejection is part of this career, it is difficult to get used to it, even after hearing “no” dozens of times. Yet Skylar learnt to live with it. Back in 2020, she even held an online listening party, playing songs that other artists and producers had turned down.
Playing with genres
Discussing her recent album, Wasted Potential, Skylar noted how musically it blended two genres she grew up with: 1990s pop and grunge. From hip hop records to that bubblegrunge and then to her most recent collaboration with metal band Motionless In White – this change of scenery could have given some other artist a whiplash. But Skylar has never seen music as something divided into genres.
“It’s always been a big creative playground for me”, she explains. “The thought of genres only started interfering when I really got into the industry and realised it’s a huge challenge to market a chameleon. That’s why it’s helpful for me to do all these collaborations in different genres. But also, I feel like we are in a time in music where genre is mattering less and less… there’s so much genre blending happening and people only really care if it’s a dope song or not”.
Refusing to be boxed in
Although the music industry often ejects those who do not follow its strict rules, that refusal to fit neatly into one category may have become a blessing in disguise for Skylar. She has carved out a niche where she can be herself, earn respect from world-class artists, maintain a loyal fanbase, and do what she loves without struggling financially.
“I just think about wanting to continue being able to have fun making music and keep making a living doing it”, Skylar shares. “I never want to be forced to make music I don’t enjoy just to survive financially”.
Read the interview in full on the Blunt website >>.