Jun 16, 2021
When at the age of 16 Emily King decided she wanted to dedicate herself to music, she was in some ways picking up the family business – her mother and father were working musicians, and Emily and her brother grew up watching them play.
Success came early – at the age of 19 she was signed to J Records, which was founded by the legendary Clive Davis. She was nominated for a Grammy for her debut album, East Side Story, but found the major label experience soul destroying, and was dropped several years later.
Bowed but not broken she set about finding her true voice and rebuilding her career, and has since released three more albums and earned another two Grammy nominations, the latest being for her 2020 single, “See Me”.
We talk about the roller coaster ride of Emily’s career and what she learned along the way, as well as her upbringing in New York, her memories of recording on Nas’s album Street’s Disciple, what it was like auditioning for Clive Davis and much, much more.