In Conversation With: Macy Kate

A product of Tampa, Macy Kate is a rising pop singer-songwriter who explores different forms of art to express herself. The Florida-raised songstress rose to popularity via uploading covers on YouTube, offering up renditions of well-known songs that would often amass hundreds of thousands of views before putting out her own original work.

For Macy, her musical talents began with instruments such as piano and eventually evolved into her putting her vocal skills on full display. She further kickstarted her career by joining a girl group that never came to fruition, although that didn’t deter Macy from moving forward as a solo act. Through television appearances and co-signs, she managed to build quite the name for herself, and fast forward some years later, the songstress unveiled her debut EP Cry For Help in 2019. The title track rose to become one of Macy’s most successful records to date, catching wind on TikTok and across streaming.

Fast forward to today, Macy Kate is still on the journey of cementing herself as a nationally recognized artist across the pop genre while also venturing into fashion and other creative arts. Her latest single, “Sugar,” serves as Macy’s first release in 2021 since her one-year hiatus. It showcases her growth and fluidity musically and the acceptance of growth within relationships and the growth coming out of them. With more to come from the songstress in the near future, she is preparing the release of her next EP in addition to dropping off a few more singles.

We spoke with Macy Kate about navigating through social media, gaining popularity on TikTok, and venturing into fashion with her womenswear label MASÉ. Check it out below!

Walk me through your childhood, what was it like growing up and what ultimately gravitated you towards music?

I actually grew up as a competitive swimmer when I was five and it was pretty serious, I did it up until I was 13. I ended up getting super-fast so it was an intense training lifestyle for a while which gave me the discipline I have now. When I turned 13, I took piano lessons and I grew this love for music which, none of my family was musically inclined, so it was different.

My mom put me in vocal lessons and I started in a girl group in Florida, it was a dance group of 28 girls and we performed across the state. Then I started a duet with my friend which is when I moved to Atlanta and I was also swimming at the same time. At a certain point, I had to decide between music and singing. It was a crazy childhood!

You were extremely active during the YouTube era of social media and now things have somewhat shifted to platforms like Instagram and TikTok—how have you been able to stay connected with your fans throughout these different stages of your career?

YouTube has been a big part of my life and journey; it put me on the map as far as connecting with fans and being personal with them. It has just been awesome to me and even the Google team, putting out weekly videos takes consistency and it’s changed so much because of TikTok. I’m still going to do more tutorials and stuff like that, but I think the way I stay connected with them is just replying to every message. A lot of singers follow me too so I love giving advice and I loved when other artists and YouTubers gave me advice when I was coming up.

Did you feel any pressure when you started your career in the music industry because of your appearances on television and former collaborators, whether that be Rising Star or working with Flo Rida?

I get in these creative funks so much, I feel like there are slumps that I get in and people don’t see it from the audience. Everything looks so perfect from the outside and there’s so much that we go through as artists, and there are so many times when I wanted to give up. There’s definitely pressure for sure but in reality, when COVID hit, everyone was going through the same stuff and everything worked out now that we’re back performing. At the same time, it changed the way people look at music and the world.

“Cry For Help” is arguably one of your biggest records to date and despite the song being out for a bit over two years, it recently gained a lot of traction on TikTok. Tell me about that record and how does it feel to see people picking it up?

That’s one of my favorite records for sure and two years ago TikTok was this new thing then. My label told me to do this video on this platform and I was trying to figure out how to work. About five to six months later, it just took off and it wasn’t an instant overnight type of thing. It took a minute for people to catch on but once all these cool creators started doing videos to it, it started rolling like a domino effect. It was definitely a stepping stone in my career and gave me insight into what my audience wants to hear.

Fast forward to now, where do you want to go musically?

I think music will always be a part of what I do. When you have a gift, it’s hard to stop it and I think for artists, breaks are necessary but it will never leave your life. I do want to brand out into the fashion world, I want to start collaborating with different brands, and I would love to just hone into my music. I want to fill the gap of being an artist and designer also, so a lot of that in the future. A lot of new music, I have content that I come up with every day.

How would you describe your style and aesthetic? Where do you get inspiration for your closet and how you dress?

Definitely, streetwear is a huge part of my aesthetic. I love glam, I think I portray that in my music videos. My everyday style is definitely inspired by streetwear and all of that.

You also launched your womenswear label MASÉ by Macy last year, what drew you into the fashion scene, and do you have any plans for the brand?

I wanted to create a brand that I could call my own because as an influencer, I would always get clothes sent to me. It was really because my audience would ask me where I got certain pants or certain tops, and I still work closely with other brands. Definitely having my own line makes me feel like I have something of my own. I’m just trying to build up my fashion brand as well as paralleling with my music.