Faith And Practice: Fridayy Interviewed

The American-Haitian crooner on the power of manifestation, collaboration and his self-titled debut album...

Raised in an environment that lives and breathes music, it was inevitable that one day Franis LeBlanc, otherwise known as Fridayy, would become an artist in his own right. Growing up attending church from a young age, Fridayy put his latent talent to use playing a variety of instruments, refining the practice of being a musician-for-hire. Little did he know he’d be a Grammy-nominated artist. From uploading tracks on SoundCloud back in 2013, Fridayy’s success story didn’t happen overnight. Prior to music, Fridayy was pursuing a career in basketball with the hopes of one day playing in the NBA but an injury forced him to pursue an alternative passion.

Fast forward to 2022 with his breakthrough feature on DJ Khaled’s album ‘GOD DID, and a hook that has travelled the airwaves, the world was given a formal introduction to Fridayy. After grabbing the attention of DJ Khaled, hitmaker Lil Baby soon hopped on board and featured him on ‘Forever’, propelling Fridayy’s artistry even further. With writer, producer, feature credits and collaborations with the likes of Lil Tjay, Rod Wave, Asake, Chris Brown, and more, Fridayy unveiled his self-titled debut album earlier this year sending fans wild. Delivering a project of substance, integrity and soul, the American-Haitian artist was able to hit the pause button in a market that’s forever shifting. Enabling listeners to soak in every lyric and chord progression, the 14-track album is a refreshing dip in a world that’s constantly on the lookout for a new artist or project on the industry conveyor belt.

Following the successful release of his self-titled debut album, Clash got the chance to catch up with Fridayy via Zoom about all things music and creative practice. Tap in below to see what he had to say…

Take me back to the beginning, walk me through your earlier years and your introduction to music...

I grew up in a musical household with my parents. We went to Church a lot, so it was natural, I started playing the piano and singing from a very young age. That was my main introduction to music. It consisted of me singing and playing instruments whenever they needed musicians. I transitioned from that and got into the studio in ninth grade. I started producing and writing real songs. My cousin invited me to the studio and me being the musician I was, I produced and wrote the tracks myself.

I know production was a big part of your journey as an artist. Can you think of a beat in particular that might have inspired you to start making your own?

It was probably a Kanye West song, maybe ‘Through The Wire’ or something like that. I love everything that he sampled, there’s a lot of Kanye beats that I love.

At the end of last year, you did a track with both DJ Khaled and Lil Baby which really pushed you into the limelight. Tell me how these came about?

I remember DJ Khaled posting every day on Instagram saying, “God Did” and every time he did it, it touched me. I didn’t know the album was going to be called ‘GOD DID’ but I made a hook hoping that I could get it to him, but I didn’t know how at the time. Me and my manager sent it to my A&R Eddie and he had Khaled’s number. He texted it over to him, Khaled text back a couple of days later and said that he needed it on his album. It was all faith in me feeling the message that he was giving off at the time. With ‘Forever’ with Lil Baby, that was originally a song I had with an artist called Vory. I made the hook and Vory had posted it on Instagram, and it went viral. It was all over Instagram, SoundCloud and YouTube. Lil Baby heard it on Instagram and said he needed it on his album and Vory just let him have it!

That’s crazy! I bet you were in shock!

Yeah, it was crazy! *laughs*

Let’s get into the album. What were your intentions when going in and creating this project?

Just to produce real music – music that people could feel. I wanted to give people inspiration, make them feel something when they listened to it all the way through and hold on to it. I feel like a lot of albums that came out this year have been and gone, you listen to two tracks off it and move onto the next project. It’s like “Great. Who’s dropping next?” kinda thing.

How long were you working on it for?

It was only recently! I went to New York and locked in with two writers and a couple of producers and we worked on it for about four weeks. We started working on the album around four months ago! Before I went to New York I was trying to make songs at home, but I would get stuck. When I locked in with everyone else we were able to make it so fast. It’s harder to get stuck when you have help around you. I produce, I play piano, and I make melodies, after that I will know what I want to say. I’ll probably already have the hook in my head by then!

You’ve got some incredible features on the project from Byron Messia to Chris Brown, and even your Mum! How did you go about selecting who you wanted to be on the album?

Certain songs when I listened to them, I would think damn this person would sound so good on the track. But we got the features after the songs were complete. Everyone that’s on the album, I am a genuine fan of. I knew most of them prior, so everything happened in perfect timing.

I know you’ve got some visuals on the way for ‘Mercy’ coming this week – how hands on were you with creating these visuals?

A lot of the time I am hands on for example with ‘Stand By Me’, I was all over it. However, for ‘Mercy’, we had Benny Boom to direct the video. I let him send the idea over and I loved it! It’s a really raw video of the streets in New York and I am in the Church telling the story of the song.

Music aside, what do you like doing for fun? What makes you happy?

I go to the gym, play basketball and love just spending time my family. I’m a simple guy! *laughs*

How in touch are you regarding UK music, is there anyone over here that you like?

I mess with Central Cee, Dave, and Jorja Smith. I really love Raye! There’s a lot, London has some of the most talented artists at the moment.

Is there anything else we can expect to see from you before the year closes out?

A lot of live performances! I’m just focused on the tour and delivering live performance videos! I really want to showcase my talent on another level.

Words: Elle Evans

Photo Credit: Najee Ramsay