On a Saturday morning in June, Anycia arrives for soundcheck at Guardian Works on Atlanta’s west side. She’s makeup-free and wearing a black crop top with jogging pants. The Atlanta rapper looks tired but determined to get through the day. She has to go shopping, get glammed, prepare for a photoshoot and return to the venue in the evening for a performance at SelectCon, a music conference hosted by UnitedMasters.
During the rehearsal, Anycia, 26, sifts through songs from her debut album “Princess Pop That” with ease. There’s no choreography or gimmicks. She’s just walking around and flexing her bars like schoolyard taunts. “I know you wish you had a b---- like me,” she recites from her song “Type Beat.”
It’s around 10 a.m. — perhaps too early for some to be inundated with profanities. But for Anycia, there’s never a wrong time to spread her infectious confidence. Service workers bob their heads while preparing for the evening. Other onlookers seem mesmerized by Anycia’s effortless authenticity. One of them, actor and R&B singer Trevor Jackson, swayed to her set from his car as he arrived at the venue. “I’m a huge fan,” he later told her.
Indeed, Anycia’s power as an artist lies in her laid-back cockiness. She’s the cool girl who makes you want to be her friend. Her husky tone and penchant for “keeping it real” made her the breakout rapper to watch last summer after the release of her viral single “BRB.” (The video has 1 million YouTube views to date.) She enunciates her bars as if they’re mantras she wants her fans to adopt. It’s what attracted the ears of South Carolina producer JetsonMade (notable for his work with Da Baby), who’s now Anycia’s frequent collaborator: “She says what she means.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
But roughly a year after her viral success, Anycia (born Anycia Symone Edwards) is in a self-described era of transitioning. She’s focused on surrounding herself with love because, as an ascendant rap force, she’s encountered moments when she didn’t always receive it.
“I have been going through my own version of depression in a sense,” she said. “I’m definitely happy. I’m blessed. My family is comfortable. I’m good. But when it comes down to being able to trust people, [it’s hard]. When I was a regular girl and I was working a regular job, people didn’t expect anything from me because I had nothing to offer them … but nothing is really genuine anymore.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Rooted in love and laughter
Raised by her mom and grandma, Anycia grew up in different parts of metro Atlanta and briefly lived in New Orleans. She went to barber school, worked at a daycare and was a bottle girl at a club before settling into rap full-time a few years ago.
Inspired by a breakup, she dropped her debut single “Kimora Lee” in 2022. It’s a flashy track backed by hard-hitting synths that introduced listeners to the braggadocios flair of Anycia, aka Big Nene.
Since then, she’s garnered the attention of stars like Drake and Kevin Durant, toured with Detroit rapper Veeze, dropped her debut album, ”Princess Pop That,” in March and reached 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Her breakthrough single, the Latto-assisted “Back Outside,” is a bonafide summer anthem for anyone wanting to enjoy all that the season offers.
When read aloud, Anycia’s career trajectory sounds incredibly swift. Especially for an independent artist. (She distributes her music via UnitedMasters.) But Anycia is animated and authentic enough to convince anyone that she’d be just as successful at literally anything else. Faith and family ground her. I ask her if this is the life she thought she’d have.
“I was definitely like, ‘What if nobody likes me?’ I was putting out music in the beginning not knowing where it would go. I did know that I was going to be doing something in entertainment. But as far as rapping, I didn’t think it was going to be my career.”
At her family’s home in metro Atlanta, Anycia’s laugh-out-loud personality takes center stage. She plays with Rocko, the French bulldog she got as a Christmas gift, and hugs her mom and grandma, Andrea and Narvellette. She introduces me to her “diary room,” aka her childhood bedroom.
”When I come here, I feel like a little girl again,” she says.
Adorned with pink fur and grass walls, the room looks like it could be a Y2K time capsule. Bratz dolls are on the shelves. Jersey dresses fill the closet. A Destiny’s Child poster is near the door. She flashes mementos like older photos of her mom (whom she describes as her ultimate fashion inspiration) and pink-and-white Nikes with the word “Big Nene” on them, a present from blog-era Atlanta icon Trinidad James.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Anycia is looking for an outfit to wear for the performance later in the day. She contemplates a denim outfit (”You think that looks cute?” she asks.) before settling on something simpler: a white tee, jeans, Air Forces and a navy blue Atlanta Braves cap. In conversation, she becomes more transparent as time passes. Talking to her feels like talking to a homegirl on the phone after a long day at work.
“I really just want to be as personable as possible,” she said. “I just want everybody to know that, like, although what is going on for me is going on, I’m still a human. This is still real life. I feel like a lot of artists start going crazy and stuff because they lose sight of why they became who they are. It’s kind of discouraging. I’m not going to act like social media does not have a huge impact on everything. It does. And I feel like it sets a really high standard for a lot of people.”
For Anycia, the pressure and uncertainty that comes with being in the music industry often becomes overwhelming. For self-care, she’s started recording voice notes on her phone to express how she feels. With her hectic schedule, it’s a nice alternative to journaling. She’s also learned to separate friends from business and pleasure. Boundaries are gradually becoming her biggest ally.
“But honestly, on a good note, it’s made me more aware. I know how to channel things a lot better, and it’s made my circle that I have around me more genuine. It’s building character.”
Having a supportive family helps. Joking with her mom and grandma about getting in trouble at school, she said, ”Maybe if I had a blunt back then, I probably would’ve chilled.”
Her silly personality emerged early. She recalls her first rap performance: an Easter concert at Landmark Christian School in Fairburn, her alma mater. Anycia said teachers and students didn’t know she could rap but chose her because she was the most talkative in class.
”I don’t know what I was rapping about, but it was about the Lord.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Narvellette credits her daughter Andrea for Anycia’s sass. It’s the reason why Andrea likes watching her daughter’s interviews. She sees the same charisma she had as a child. But she notes that she’s always there even in Anycia’s demure moments — like the time a nervous Anycia called her to come for her performance at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles this past spring.
“I’m glad she’s happy doing what she wants to do,” Andrea said. “If she’s happy, I’m happy.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
‘Princess Pop That’
Before her call time at SelectCon, Anycia smokes and hangs with friends outside the venue. Her hubris is so naturally funny that an acting career in the near future would make sense.
“This weave ― I flew far to get this, baby,” Anycia tells her friends as she runs her fingers through her hair.
Minutes before her set around 7 p.m., she writes her track list on her wrist. Fans scream as she approaches the stage and recite her lyrics back to her, as if they’ve waited their entire lives to see her perform. It’s not a party until Anycia arrives.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
This is especially true when she performs “ATM,” another track from her new album. The song has a very simple hook: ”I don’t never see you b------ at the bank / I don’t never see you b------ at the ATM.” The repetition and fervor in which she says each line makes you want to have the same confidence (and wealth).
Anycia is still adjusting to being recognized in public when she’s not performing. She recalls moments at the mall or dentist when she gets approached by fans unexpectedly.
“I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody, I don’t want to take a picture. I don’t give a f--- what I look like,” she said. “In some type of way, you like me and are inspired. I think a lot of people fail to realize that you’re only here because of your fans.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
As for the future, Anycia promises more music. One of her long-term goals is to revive Bebe, the clothing line that was popular in the early aughts. As for her short-term goals? Staying grounded.
“It’s really a mental thing ... with any transition, it’s going to be like what the f*** is going on. It’s changing my way of looking at stuff. I’m not depressed. I’m adjusting.”
In meantime, she joins Grammy-nominated singer Kehlani on their world tour next month.
And she’ll remain authentically Anycia.
“I’m still being myself, but I’m learning to accept who I’m becoming.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
CONCERT PREVIEW
Kehlani’s Crash World Tour with Anycia and Flo. 7 p.m. Sept. 24. $54-$330. Lakewood Amphitheater. 2002 Lakewood Way, Atlanta. 404-443-5090, thelakewoodamphitheater.com.
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