Ashnikko was born in the United States, before her parents opted to move to Eastern Europe just as her teens dawned.
Left to come of age in a strange, unfamiliar environment, she poured her feelings into music, pinching from the latest Stateside rap and hyper-real pop in the process.
Moving to London to pursue her dreams, Ashnikko got caught up in a blizzard of hype, with major labels on her trail.
New EP 'Unlikeable' is out now, and it might just be her most potent, most visceral, most outspoken document yet.
It's a stellar return, with Ashnikko also penning a full track by track guide. Now, we don't normally post something second hand, but this guide is definitely worth exploring…
Tune in now.
‘BLOW’
“The song starts with ‘Take it off and show them how much you want it’, which is calling out the culture of women being exploited in music. I’m tired of being brainwashed that my body is my biggest asset. And it’s me saying to myself that I will never exploit myself in a way that doesn’t empower me, I will stay authentic. Me having my tits out is my choice, I’ll do it if I feel like it.
It’s a motivational speech to myself, a ‘fuck you’ to the people who treated me like I didn’t exist, and a reminder that I need to love myself. Recently I’ve had people tell me that I’m really lucky to get to where I am now. Obviously I am lucky – I’m a healthy girl and I’ve lived a relatively comfortable life – but in music, I’ve been busting my ass for eight years.
It’s been a long uphill struggle, as I left my whole family to move to the other side of the world on my own. It was absolutely terrifying. That wasn’t luck.
‘NICE GIRL’
It was about my ex and not wanting to be someone else for someone else. I’m not a nice girl that you can make into your perfect wifey. The waves I’m making aren’t big, yet, but I still get little boys in my inbox telling me to kill myself, calling me ugly– just for having the audacity to speak my mind.
Any woman with opinions is going to be hated by someone. All of my role models are unapologetically vocal with their opinions and I want to do the same. I will not be nice and lady-like just to make the patriarchy feel comfortable with my existence.
‘INVITATION’ – FEATURING KODIE SHANE
When I’m on the street at night alone and some guy blows kisses at me and follows me all the way to my door, I wish I could just take a knife out and cut his dick off… but I know I can’t even stand up for myself verbally in that situation because he probably has a physical advantage over me. He could overpower me, assault me, or worse.
There’s always a sense of panic when a man is inappropriate and harassing you in public because the situation might escalate. The fact that women have to fear for their safety on a day-to-day-basis and are altering their lives to exist in a male-dominated world makes me want to be violent.
Whenever I have to walk an alternate route home to avoid the group of guys who are harassing me I get so so frustrated. I want to regain my power the only way I know how, which is through music. I'm sick and tired of our female experience not being believed. The clothes we wear, the makeup on our faces, the drinks in our systems, the tits on our chests, OUR BODIES ARE NOT INVITATIONS FOR OBJECTIFICATION AND HARASSMENT.
‘NO BRAINER’
I wrote ‘No Brainer’ during a really emotionally tumultuous period of my life. I'm pretty sure I was crying while writing it. I'm so emo I love it. I've never written a song quicker. The song is about me finally FINALLY coming into my own and not letting a partner hold me back. It's me telling myself that it is an absolute no brainer that I'm going to fucking smash it in my career. I have no other option. It's all I'm good at. There is no Plan B.
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