Moving to Los Angeles was a defining moment for Naïka. It is something she always wanted to do since she was young and it was a positive move for her career. The experience allowed her to discover self-love, confidence, and acceptance. She translates this beautifully in her new EP, Lost in Paradise Pt.2. The five-track project follows, Lost in Paradise which was released in early July last year. The first project is centred on her feelings of anxiety and figuring out who she is as an individual and as an artist. “I was feeling really lost in my own body. I was insecure and I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself. I was also going through a major identity crisis on top of that. So, the music really portrays these emotions and the journey that I went through at that time,” the Miami-born singer states.
Both projects hold incredible sentimental value to the singer/songwriter as it is her official introduction into the music industry and shows her versatility. She adds, “It’s my first baby so it represents so much to me. It’s the first body of work I’ve ever put out. It basically encompasses the journey of my personal growth and finding self-love as well as figuring out who I am, individually and as an artist.”
The project opens with “Sauce” which has a Cuban vibe to it, accompanied by a hard 808 beat. The song was an internet sensation and it was used as part of the iPhone 12 commercial. It is followed by “For Gerard”. In a viral TikTok Naïka shares the special story behind the song. In summary, her great-uncle Gerard was a musician who had the unique ability to make beautiful whistling sounds that set him apart from his contemporaries. Her mother found a rare recording where he is singing in whistle tone. Naïka sampled it and wrote the second track of the EP. It is a love song where Naïka uses her higher register in the chorus to match her great uncle as she sings: “I feel so lucky in your arms/Oh baby, oh baby/ Telling me it’s all calm/Oh baby, oh baby.” The 25-year-old musician states, “I had the whistle recording on my phone for four months and it was just a matter of finding the perfect people to work on it and to create the song with me. And when I did, it just happened so fluidly and the song basically wrote itself.”
The EP enters more sultry and sexy territory with “Ma Cherie”. The song has a Spanish guitar and she uses a mix of English and French words in the chorus which gives a taste of her multicultural background that informs her music. Naïka has Haitian and French roots and her father’s job brought her up in a nomadic lifestyle. The singer grew up moving often, from Guadeloupe, Kenya, South Africa, and Vanuatu. This gives the talented artist a rich palette to tap into musically. For this project, she worked with an array of songwriters as well as producers like Cody Tarpley, Jonas Kroeper and Jason Strong. She dives into different sonic pockets but can maintain continuity because of her authenticity. Naïka states,
I think the music is just really who I am. I don’t really try to go out of my way to establish continuity, it’s mostly just a matter of again working with the right people who understand the vision and who want to dig in with me. More importantly, I really understand myself because the music is just who I am so it happens pretty organically.
The project ends on a sensual note with “Burn Slow” and it encapsulates the confidence that Naïka exudes throughout the EP. Speaking on the song, she says, “I think it’s just fierce and sexy. I liked the mood that it had and I think it was a good way to end and kind of tie that EP together.”
