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Atlanta-based R&B up-and-comer Naini is one of our favorite voices. She's a sultry singer who oozes emotions in a way that make you want to listen at least twice. On her latest single of that name, "Twice," she lays down sugary lyrics over a wave of inviting instrumentals that had us pressing pause & rewind. Curious to dig into her sound more, Naini was kind enough to give us a chance to peel back the curtain on her process, influences, pronging & more:

OnesToWatch: Who are you? 

Naini: I'm Naini. I am an Indian-American pop and R&B artist. Yeah, I'm multifaceted. I'm just a creative being… that's a good encompassing word to describe myself. 

Why are you an artist? 

If I weren’t an artist, I’d be doing literally nothing. I mean sure, I could find something to do. But would it fulfill me like this? Probably not. Why am I an artist? It's because when you see something so clearly, why wouldn't you be an artist? I see it, so why wouldn't I be an artist? 

If all your musical ability was taken from you, do you have a plan B? 

I would still want to impact people in the same way as an artist does, but obviously that would be on a smaller scale. I'm really into yoga. I have my yoga teacher license, so I would probably teach yoga and the lifestyle that comes with practicing yoga seriously. I got the yoga license in India as well. It's the yoga capital of the world.

What kind of yoga do you practice?

So what I was taught was the traditional yoga called Ashanga, which is what basically translates to the eight limbs of yoga. But that is more of a self-practice. You don't really go to a class to learn it. So that's why they teach it to you when they're training in yoga. It covers pretty much everything, any pose that you would need to know. There's poses I still can't do that you have to keep training at for years to get. But that's what I was trained in, and then, of course, we learned how to teach Vinyasa. 

Was it very hot in India where you studied yoga? I feel like that would make for good yoga conditions. 

It’s always hot in India, especially in the summertime, when this was. Sometimes you have to be careful with hot yoga, though, because it warms up your muscles too much to the point that you might pull a muscle. 

When did you start writing music with the intent of sharing it with people, not a journalistic, therapeutic, just-for-me kind of thing? 

I want to build an audience. The concept was always there. I knew I wanted to do this, but I think when I first actually wrote a song and thought I should share this was in high school. My really good friend – he produced in high school and is still a producer now – we would hang out a lot. He had so many experimental beasts that I was interested in writing to. One day, I did, and he convinced me to put it out. And so although it was a SoundCloud drop, it was still my first drop. I still work with that producer, too. I literally remember putting that first song out. It was a school night, at like 12 a.m. and I was on the phone with him and one of his friends. I woke up the next morning and saw people at school listening to it. It was very experimental, I was just so surprised that people actually liked it. 


Perfect. Tell us about both upcoming singles, starting with “Temple.” 

I wrote “Temple” over quarantine. A lot of people were feeling this way, but I didn't really know what was gonna happen. I felt like my career was at a halt, I couldn't really go to sessions, couldn't really meet with people, couldn't do anything, I was just stuck at the house. 
And I don't know, something turned for me. This was when I started practicing yoga and mindfulness more. I was just kind of forced to turn inwards. I had been spending so much time comparing myself and looking outward, and I got to a point where I would drive myself insane if I kept it up. I learned a lot of gratitude. I learned a lot of patience with myself and how my life is going to play out. And so I wrote “Temple” as a reminder. I remember writing it very quickly, it felt like it just was flowing out of me. It was a reminder to myself that, I may feel stuck right now, but my path was in front of me. Coming back around to this year when I actually wanted to drop it, I just was listening to it in my archives, and felt, “Wow, this is what I need.” This is what I needed to hear. 

All right, let's talk about “Twice,” your most recent song. 


“Twice” is a love song. I love love. In any shape or form. I feel like that's why we're here. The song is basically me talking to my partner and reassuring them that even though they might have doubts or insecurities, I will reassure them over and over again. 

Let's get into your ambitions, what you want your audience to take from these songs. 


I don't want to ever say something that I wouldn't want you to repeat. At least for me, when I like a song, I'm playing it over and over and over again, and usually there are songs that convey a message of not being good enough or things like that. I have songs like that too, of course, but I think I want most of my songs to be affirmative. I want you to feel like you can repeat every line of these songs and apply them to yourself. What you repeat is what happens. I don’t know if you believe in manifestation but you have to admit that if I'm choosing to believe that things are great, it has to eventually line up, right? 

What is the most beautiful place you've ever been? 

I don't want to sound corny, but literally, the place where I learnt yoga. It's in a valley between the mountains and there's a beautiful river called the Gunga that flows through it. I will remember this for the rest of my life. One day we were going to practice yoga on the beach by the river. When we got there, it was raining, so we couldn't really practice, so our instructor was like, all right, let's just chill. I was sitting by the river and could just hear the rushing of water, and I don’t know why, but I just started sobbing. I just felt so happy to be alive and I think that was the first time I was feeling that in years. 


When was the moment you felt the most loved?
Since you love love so much. 

Honestly, this summer I felt so loved by people who have been in my life for so long. These people have been in my life since I was a teenager, but I think when big life events happen and they’re able to get past it with you and still be there in the same capacity, even in a stronger way. I just felt like my friends this summer, they held me very tight when I needed it, and I felt really loved. 

What is the worst idea you've ever had?

It was probably when I was in middle school and I asked my mom to cut bangs. 

What's the best idea you've ever had? 

To stop being afraid. It is hard to do. And it's not like it doesn't come and go. It's an everyday thing… actually let me rephrase that. It's to be afraid, but do it anyway. I would say that about music, too. 
I would overthink myself out of dropping, releasing stuff. But now I feel like I'm at a point where I don’t care, I'm going to put it out. Best thing I've done for myself in years. 

Given your Indian background, what is the one thing you would do to improve Atlanta? 

I have such a soft spot for Atlanta. I feel like there's a lot of brown people here. Atlanta embraces and appreciates culture so well. So, if anything, I would want to honestly just have more of what we're doing, just doing it more. Atlanta does a great job already. 


Say everybody from the studio comes over, everyone's hungry. Can you whip up a meal? What would it be? 

So if it's a big party, you have to have rice. Rice is easy. You just put it in the rice cooker. I would make some lamb curry. And some panipuri, it's a street snack, it's basically a puff stuffed with chickpeas and potatoes and tamarind sauce. 

Amazing. If you could invent your most perfect concert, where would you perform and who would play with you? 


That's a lot of components. I would do the beach, a beach concert. Let's just eliminate the sand flying everywhere. Perfect sand, the water is flowing, there’s a big stage. The water is the background. I don't know why I keep thinking of the concert from the Hannah Montana movie. I’d want it to be like that. As far as the performers… imagine Michael Jackson, and Raye with an orchestra. The sun is setting and someone has set up candles. 

We could turn it into a three day festival. Let's do it. Last couple of questions. I’d love a non-music recommendation from you. It can be anything, something to read, watch, place to visit, activity, whatever you want. 

Lately I've been making these dense bean salads. The one I've been making is chickpeas, Northern beans, black beans, some roasted corn, and artichoke hearts. Pepperonccine, marinated chipotle chicken, a chipotle vinaigrette, cilantro, parsley, all these things. Avocado. You make a big batch of it, put it in the fridge, it will last you the week, but it tastes better as the week goes by. 

Well, obviously, after that, I need a music recommendation. 

There is this rap artist, his name is Velcro S. I love his music. He definitely makes music that makes the girls do a little one-two step. 

Last question isn't a question. Now’s your time to say whatever you want, so the mic is yours. 

I would say: it's really hard nowadays to be present and with yourself because we are constantly looking at this little rectangle in our hands. And it's hard to be where your feet are. I think with practicing mindfulness, practicing gratitude, turning inwards, one quote I think about is “be where your feet are at all times.” That's been working for me. Also brush your teeth. Go home and brush your teeth.