Not gonna lie. Almondmilkhunni’s kinda fly. The Philadelphia native just dropped her self-titled EP, seven tracks fortified with all the essential grooves and vitamins R and B that does a body good. It also contains a healthy amount of shade, demonstrated by its latest single. “Bandana” drags an ex for moving on past Almondmilkhunni (born Brandy Schwechler) to find…someone that “kinda look(s) like me, just like me.” While Almondmilkhunni can appreciate that “kinda fly” girl rocking her similar style, she can’t stand an ex for having a certain “type.”
Almondmilkhunni also contains her 2019 breakout hit, “Grapefruit,” which racked up over 830k streams organically. Not bad for a woman who got her start signing in a church choir. “I can remember being as young as 8 years old, and I would make up songs in my head I was always very musical,” she says in a statement. “As I got a little bit older, around 13, I started singing for my church, and that was a very different experience–it was my first time singing in front of other people. I was very shy and stuck to writing songs and poetry for a while after that.”
That poetry would one day find a beat and an audience. It would also find a message, with Almondmilkhunni using her platform to advocate for sex workers and body positivity. She talks with HollywoodLife about this cause, how she’s “annoying” her ex with her EP, and what she’s going to do once the quarantine gets lifted.
HollywoodLife: Your new single, “Bandana,” samples Usher’s “U Remind Me,” which happens to be one of your favorite songs of his. If he were to ask you to join him on remixing one of his songs, would that be it? Or is there another track that you’d pick?
Almondmilkhunni: I would literally do any song Usher asked me to, I love him. But I think “Confessions, Pt. II” would be super fun to do, too.
“Bandana” was a fun way to cast shade at an ex who decided to get with someone who looked just like you. Have you heard from that ex? Or are you certain they know this song is about them?
I have no idea if he knows “Bandana” is about him, but I’m pretty sure he just thinks I’m annoying with how many songs I may have written about him. We have each other blocked.
A lot of people are taking this time to watch shows they’ve meant to watch, read books they’ve always wanted to read. Have you discovered anything during quarantine – like, have you done a deep dive into someone’s discography, or realized you like to cook?
I’ve been listening to more music than I ever have, which is cool because it’s usually tough for me to get into new music. But I usually just read, meditate, write, and pole dance. Sometimes I play Animal Crossing when I have the attention span for it.
Your EP just dropped. How does it feel to have this project out? Were you working on these songs for a while, and you’re glad to finally share them?
I was so excited to have people finally listen to all the tracks on the EP, and the most exciting part is seeing how everyone reacts because you can never really predict that. I made the EP back in January/February, so it was cool to be able to put them out relatively soon.
As a former dancer, you’re an advocate for body positivity and destigmatizing sex work. Do you see your music as a way to help spread this message?
I think my music gets that type of self-confidence across, but if it doesn’t quite do that, then my Twitter definitely does. I’m sex worker positive, and I love to uplift and encourage that community.
What’s the first thing you’re going to do when quarantine lifts?
I just can’t wait to see my friends, and probably the first thing I’ll do is go visit my crush and then get back to the studio!
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Almondmilkhunni is out now.