Now that songwriter/singer Skylar Grey is no longer in the backdrop, we all want to know why it took so long for her to get in the limelight.
With the recent release of her single “Dance Without You,” there’s no doubt that Skylar is a breath of fresh air to the hip-pop scene.
The success she has obtained writing songs like Diddy-Dirty Money’s “Coming Home” and Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie,” has sparked the interest of many, including us here at GlobalGrind.
We got a chance to catch up with Ms. Grey to find out more about her years behind the scenes and her rise to the top.
Click the jump to read this exclusive interview and see what one of the most mysterious and exciting artists in the game had to say.
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How did you get into song writing?
I’ve been songwriting ever since I was a little girl and it just kind of happened naturally.
What do you tell other songwriters who want to get into the business?
Just keep doing it. It’s really difficult, but if you’re meant to do it you’ll persevere.
What’s the #1 piece of advice you’ve received?
Never give up because last year I almost gave up. I was this close to giving up and then the Rihanna/Eminem song came out and my whole life changed.
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Tell us about your Grammy performance?
I performed with Dr. Dre and Eminem the song that I wrote called “I Need A Doctor” and I’ve been working with Eminem for the past year. I also wrote “Love the Way You Lie” for Rihanna and I actually worked with Lupe Fiasco recently. We did a song called “Words I Never Said.” Now I’m just working on my solo album and that’s coming out this fall. I have a single coming out on Tuesday that’s a free download and then another single that’s coming out in a month. The one on Tuesday is called “Dance Without You.” I’m not giving away the names of the other things yet (laughs).
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Tell us what you were going through?
I actually had left L.A., left the music industry and moved up into the woods. I lived in a little hut. A one-room thing where I had to go outside to use the bathroom and chop wood. I just took my whole life back to the basics and used my basic survival skills just so that I could feel strong and independent. I was feeling super weak and like I didn’t have any control over my life. I was financially, completely broke. Music was just not working out for me even though I had come out to L.A., gotten a record deal and then I left my record deal. I went through it all and I was so ready to give up and then suddenly wrote this song “Love The Way You Lie” and it blew up and so I got sucked back into the music industry, so that’s why I’m here today.
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What is “Love The Way You Lie” to you?
When I wrote that hook it wasn’t necessarily about an abusive relationship with a person. It was actually my relationship with the music industry because no matter how much love I give it and time and effort and energy, it always beats me down at some point. It’s this kind of love-hate relationship that I have with it.
