Co-Founder, Artist, DJ: Napoles speaks on Swedish Culture and The Ladieslovehiphop Festival

Napoles is the definition of an artist who expresses herself through various cultural forms to share her thoughts, feelings and world view. She has learned how to expertly pivot between singing and Djing, as well as other commitments, and now she is in the stage of her life where she’s trying to figure everything out to find balance.

Our zoom call starts as she is in on the metro in Stockholm heading to the studio to work on some new music. Straight away I notice that Napoles is someone who always has something going on and is constantly challenging her musicality. When talking she emphasises that a big part of her musicality is the need to experiment with sounds and styles. She confesses that “ there’s so much more that I want to do. The next track that I am releasing is an amapiano song."

The singer is also releasing a new single later this month and is planning to perform in a few live shows before the Ladieslovehiphop festival.

The Ladieslovehiphop festival was first introduced in 2019, but did not run last year due to the Covid pandemic and as we dive into the journey of how the festival came about.

Speaking to Napoles about the origins of the festival, she said “I think that the whole journey with the festival began with us three childhood friends (Rebecca and Natasha) working together and throughout the years we have just learned that working with women is just so smooth."

"So, when we started, we did a lot of shows inviting hip-hop artists who were mostly males because at the time that’s what was aligned with what we were listening to in Sweden. But as time went by, we decided why not highlight more women.”

“When we first started booking artists in 2017, I think we booked Ms Banks and that’s where the whole UK connection began because we’ve been to London a lot and we know people there. It’s an easy thing you know, Stockholm London the connection just grew.”

She continues: “I feel that I am at the level I want to be for this festival, and I'm going to do my best to create a special moment because it feels that I’m performing at home. I’m still apart of the festival even though I’m not arranging it.”

Napoles has been singing her whole life, at 15 she joined a gospel choir but stopped during school to focus on studying. However, she “felt that something was always missing” during the period of time when she wasn’t singing or dancing.

“That was when I started djing, so me and Rebecca started DJing together, but the thing that we lacked was the whole organisation element. We were great when we were booked but we didn’t know how to arrange our own club nights and that’s where Natasha steps in with her skill set and network of people.

The songstress started pursuing a music career in 2017, explaining further she said “That’s when I decided to write my own music because for me it’s always been important to write my own lyrics and make sure that everything feels hundred percent.”

In the past the state of the Swedish music scene felt like an obstacle for Napoles because it felt “very commercial and there has always been a lack of understanding when it comes to R&B and soul music because the people in the industry don’t know what to do with it.”

“But by having a foundation with the ladies I felt that I could grow, create my own thing and get the support that I need. That’s how I got into music I didn’t plan it, it was natural.”

But now there has been a shift, Napoles feels that “currently we have a lot of developing artists that have an international sound. We also have artists who are just stepping into the game, we’ll see how it develops but it’s looking really bright. There are more R&B singers like Shenie Fogo who’s working in London.

But it’s still very fresh (the scene) and very young because we don’t have the platforms or the culture yet. Right now, we have a lot of different alternative movements that are progressing and hopefully won’t give up.

“We have our own little culture in Ladieslovehiphop, when we through an event we know what the vibe is going to be like no matter who comes.

Speaking further on the movements in Sweden, she says “These movements sometimes just quite because something just isn’t working you know? But what we want to see more of is more people doing their thing, collaborating with others to create this platform and to feel a part of something.”

“I want to bring my sound and create music that I love. I love all types of genres because I’ve been dancing and I’ve been exploring through djing, so my taste of music is quite versatile.”

Asking whether her preference in her own music and DJing are similar, she pauses before saying “It depends on the club, but I always manage to finish with one of my songs because it’s the perfect end to a night before you go home

Ending the conversation, there is a note of optimism that has been felt throughout the interview about Napoles and the talented younger upcoming artists in the Swedish and international music scene. We cannot wait to experience their growing culture and stories told through their music.