by mariah estran
photo by dametreus ward
Turn on Shuba’s “Icon,” and your ears are blessed with a playful number. One that opens with a warm “Hi,” as she tells the world who she is and what you might know her from. specifically referencing her covers of Shakira or Britney Spears on TikTok. Yet, also letting us know she’s here to follow her dreams and push through the glass ceiling one single at a time.
Joining Swedish pop with an effortless hint of Bollywood flair, she's building her sound. Additionally, a community she hopes will represent the once unrepresented. She was the little girl who couldn't relate to the stars on the screen. Now, she’s working towards being the difference. Whether you're streaming her songs or watching her TikTok, she’s set to leave her mark.
Shuba took time to tell us more about “Icon,” being on TikTok, connecting with listeners, her musical inspirations, and what she’s working on next.
Your single “Icon” shares a little background on who you are. You have a line that says you’ve been singing since you were three. Tell us more about what inspired you to get into music.
Shuba: “I think I have always been exposed to music. My parents played a lot of Bollywood, country, Disney music, Mariah Carey — all the greats. I think we’ve kind of always been into music.”
What I love about this track, outside of its catchy nature, is that we get to learn who you are in a matter of three and a half minutes. You mention your immigrant mother and fusing those Bollywood sounds with Hollywood pop. How have you developed your sound and continue to integrate this diverse musical background into your work?
Shuba: “I think for me, just keeping an open mind to trying snippets of new things but staying true. At the end of the day, it’s not the shtick of like, western music with a Bollywood twist. It’s more so that the Bollywood music happens to come out in a lot of my songs. Those melodies are also important to me, as are western and Swedish pop melodies.
I’m always trying to experiment with new sounds, creative themes, and topics.”
Who would you say are some of your musical inspirations?
Shuba: “I call it ‘The Holy Trinity.’ We have Freddie Mercury — our lord and savior. We have Rihanna, and then we have Eminem. That’s it for me — that’s all I need musically. It teaches me something new about being unapologetic with my music, being a little bit daring with my music, and telling my story.”
What inspired you to find a way to tell your story through your track “Icon?”
Shuba: “I think, at the time, I hadn’t written a song like that. I was ready to try something new — it was just a clean beat. There was a lot of room; it didn’t seem like the kind of song you straight-up rap to. It was this bouncy, little playground-type sounding beat. It reminded me a lot of ‘My Name Is’ by Eminem.
At the time, I was going through this transition. I had amassed this good following on TikTok and social media. I established various identities like the Indian Ariana, the Eminem girl, the Shakira girl — these different series that started. I think I wanted to claim all those things and address those things, but also be like, ‘Hey, this is actually who I am.’”
You’ve gotten quite the love on TikTok. How do you feel that platform has helped you as an artist?
Shuba: “I think TikTok needed to happen in my life. I don’t want to say everything happens for a reason, but everything that’s meant to happen happens. I think, until TikTok, I didn’t try to creatively put pieces out where I was trying different things. TikTok is such an accepting platform. I learned that people liked my rap, that I could write pretty clever lines. I found that trying these things out on this platform — that so many people responded to these things.
I think TikTok is an app for our inner children. The reason people go viral now is not because of flashy things. It’s because of their relatability of things they have at their core, who they are as children. I think TikTok released my inner child that had been covered up. Now, I have her back.”
You are giving the presentation that you did not get to see when you were younger. As an artist, what do you hope to keep doing with your music and platform?
Shuba: “When mentioning Eminem, Rihanna, Freddie… My goal in life is to make people feel the same way I feel when I listen to those artists. Empowered, resilient, and sexy. I think anytime I listened to their music, they were all coming up in different parts of their lives. Through their music, I just feel different things (even though we are very different people). I want people to feel that way about my music.
What I love about Freddie, Rihanna, and Eminem, is all three of them are like this paradox. They’re always surprising us. I like them because of who they are and how they own their culture, but they don’t force it. I don’t want to be like, ‘Listen to me because I’m Indian.’ Listen to me because you like my music. Any person who’s invested should feel represented by me. It’s not just immigrants — it’s for anyone who feels like an outsider.”
What can we expect from you next? More music, a larger piece of work?
Shuba: “I think number one is more live shows. I’ll be touring in the fall. I just wanna see people, keep making songs, and keep making content. It’s doing the same thing, just at bigger levels.”
Do you have any singles you’re currently working on?
Shuba: “I [just released] this new one called ‘True Colors.’ So, look out for that one. I’m excited for people to scream that in their cars.”