Texas is breeding some of the most exciting women in hip-hop, all of which are rapidly rising to viral fame and triumph—insert Sally Sossa. Born and raised in Houston, the rising rap starlet discovered her love for music at an early age but faced a number of obstacles in pursuing it as a career. Ultimately, Sally Sossa learned how to sate her own appetite. In her 2020 debut project, Life of Sossa, she showcases the high and lows of her thrilling journey. Although far from where she wants to be, Sally Sossa is carving her own path when it comes to music, fashion, personality, and female empowerment.
Growing up, Sally Sossa played basketball during her high school years before getting injured which ultimately caused her to stop. At that moment, the life around her began to feel like it was tumbling down and all she had was music. Not one to give up, she worked night and day until getting her big break and signing to Interscope Records last year. Then there’s the fact that Sally Sossa is a woman in a male-dominated industry. “I feel like this period we’re in right now, it’s the best time to make our mark and shine,” she shares.
We got to chat with Sally Sossa about falling in love with music, hoop dreams, and her new single “Right My Wrongs” featuring Toosii to name a few topics. Read the conversation below.
Walk me through your childhood, where did your interest for music first begin?
I always had a musical family so my dad used to have rap battles between my sister, brother, and mama. So when I got a little older, I knew like damn I could rap. My mom put me in every activity you can think of to keep us moving around to keep us out of trouble but I was always getting in trouble still. I was playing basketball and my friends would always make me rap on the bus. I’m rapping on the bus, they record me and post it, then boom the video goes viral. I told myself if I ever stop playing basketball, I’ma rap.
I always thought I was going to be in the WNBA, but it just wasn’t for me. So I stopped playing because I got injured really badly my sophomore year. My foot was the size of baseball, but the big kind! So it really discouraged me to play again so I said fuck that shit and started doing music. After that, everything in my life had went down hill and the only thing I had left was music. I just knew if I put in the same hard work then I’m going to get the same success with music.
At what point did you realize that you could make a full-time career out of it?
When I was 16, I’m 19 now. That’s when I started, it’s been fast but it’s been a blessing. I don’t have to have none of this so I’m just very thankful.
You got a new record with Toosii called “Right My Wrongs,” what’s the story behind that?
I’m excited because the record actually came about because I always wanted to work with Toosii. My management went back through the mixtape and hit his team up. They hit us back like “yeah, he’ll do the record.” At first, I never spoke to Toosii but his cousin who I’m cool with gave me waste trainers. I was on FaceTime with her one day and he hopped in the camera and told me I was his favorite feature that he ever did. We were just talking shit about how lit the video was going to be.
Outside of that, your record with Lil Durk is doing extremely well. How did y’all two connect and was the energy like?
Durk co-signed me in the beginning after French co-signed me so we already had a bond. He saw me as someone who he could teach up in the industry and he didn’t look at me like every other female artist. My management used to be a bodyguard for Durk so on top of that, we already had this relationship. It started when I first FaceTimed him back in November of 2019 and then from there, he had a show out here in Houston. Anytime he ever came to Houston, he would always make sure I was with him.
The label got a hold of my record, “Star Song,” and it was just me on at first. Then they thought it was a good idea to add someone to the song so we put Smurk on it. We went to Atlanta and I got to watch him record his verse in the studio and it was crazy. He did his whole 16 as a freestyle so it was really a phenomenon, once in a lifetime moment. It’s not everyday that one of your favorite artist knock out a 16 for you and it’s a freestyle. I was just grateful to have that verse from him.
Do you remember everything that was going on in your life whenever you released the Life Of Sossa?
When I dropped my first project back in October, that was a really hard time for me in my life. I was still kind of lost, trying to find my way, and I really just wanted my friends and family to accept me for the path that I was going down. It was really rough, if it wasn’t one thing then it’s another. All I had was the music; I was going house to house to house until I ended up staying with my manager. It’s a lot that went on for me to get here and I just don’t talk about it always.
I feel like if all that didn’t happen to me, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I don’t even really look back and regret anything. I’m really thankful for it.
Women are dominating hip-hop right now, how does it feel to be a part of that movement, and do you see yourself working with any other female artists?
I’m not going to lie, I feel like we’re putting on right now. I feel like this period we’re in right now, it’s the best time to make our mark and shine. We already have everyone’s attention so we just have to keep popping our shit. I see myself working other artist for sure, for sure.
As far as your music goes, how do you want people to feel when they hear your songs?
When people listen to my music, I want them to feel everything. I want them to feel like they’re on top of the world and they can smack a bitch. They can be the smallest person in the room and still feel like they can smack the biggest bitch in the room. I want them to feel they can go out hustle, get money, and everything they want to do they can accomplish. I want them to feel a lot of different emotions through my music, not just one thing. I want my fans to feel motivated.
What direction do you want to go with your sound these coming years?
Within the next few years, I really plan on staying on the music route but I definitely know I have a lot of different things on the entrepreneur side that I want to get into. I want to continue to turn myself into the best female artist that I can be while also maneuvering through my path of becoming a successful entrepreneur and business mogul.
If you enjoyed our chat with Sally Sossa, check out our interview with Tay Money!
