© Jeffery Trapani
The singer-songwriter is redefining success in the music industry with a clear vision for wellness-centred performances.
On an icy winter’s day in December, Aisha Badru greets me from her apartment in Adams, Massachusetts. She tells me they’ve had six inches of snow overnight, and it’s her twins’ first time seeing real snow. “I’m excited for them to experience the cold weather, hot cocoa and everything else that comes with it,” she explains with a smile.
The talented singer-songwriter always loved the seasons growing up in the hustle and vibrancy of New York, and with a recent move from sunny Florida to the serene Berkshire County of Massachusetts, her life reflects a rich blend of experiences.
In an exclusive interview with Injection Mag, she speaks about resilience, authenticity, and dedication to her craft. She shares candid insights into how a pivotal opportunity with Volkswagen ignited her career, the healing power of her songs, and the grounding influence of nature and family.
You started making music about 10 years ago. What was the pivotal moment when you knew this could be your passion and that you wanted to be a singer-songwriter?
I've always loved music. I've always loved singing, and I've always loved writing. But it didn't seem feasible for it to be a career. I was just in college because that's what you do. You finish high school, then you go to university, then you graduate and finally get a job. But when I was in my first few years of university, I suddenly asked myself: “What am I doing here? Am I just here because this is part of the script? Or am I truly doing all that I can to pursue my heart’s dream?” And then the realisation came: “I want to be a writer. I want to be a singer.”
It was a scary thing to ask myself because my father is a college professor with two doctorate degrees. He's very academic. He's always wanted me to go on and pursue higher education. But I couldn’t see how university could help me achieve my dream.
And so I stopped going to school. I didn't tell anyone, but I made a promise to myself. I was going to take a year off of school, and I was going to give this a try. And if it didn’t work out, I was going back to college.
What happened next?
I got this big piece of paper and wrote down all my goals. Like a vision board. I wrote: I want my music to reach a million people. I want my songs to play on TV.
I bought a guitar, and that whole summer, I just watched different YouTube videos on how to play the guitar. It was then that I wrote some of my first songs and I put out my first EP called Vacancy.
A few months later, someone from Volkswagen reached out to ask if they could use one of my songs “Waiting Around” in an advertisement. That was the moment when I felt like this could be a career. This could be a viable life path. It was such a healing moment in my life when I realised that I am valuable and what I have to say, my point of view, is important.
I just need to trust that more and stop fearing that I have to believe what other people say I should be doing and just trust what I feel called to do. So that was really the moment where I realised, I love writing. I love speaking about emotions.
I love exploring relationships and the concept of healing. I gave myself a year and it happened the way that I intended it to go. That Volkswagen advertisement was the moment where I was like, this is going to work out.
© Jeffery Trapani
What did your father say?
My father had been living in the US for a long time, but by then he was retired and had moved back to Nigeria. So he didn’t know that I had quit school. The Volkswagen advertisement was for their South African section, and one day my dad called me and said: “I just heard one of your songs on an advertisement here in Nigeria!” I think this was a moment when he realised he was really proud of me.
Perhaps my initial reaction to the lack of support that I felt from my father specifically was to be angry. But then also I have to understand that my father grew up in Nigeria and he came to the U.S. for an education. He came to better his financial situation. And so I understand that some people are just so practical in the way that they think.
But when you do what’s right for you and it works out, you can show others that they can choose a different path, too, and it can work out.
Especially on your new album, you talk about music being medicine, a means of wellness - where does your passion for wellness come from?
I think there are just some things about our personalities or the things that we gravitate towards that are just innate. Some people believe in astrology and I'm a Capricorn, so I'm a very grounded person and I've always been very observant of my surroundings. And it's hard not to notice that we live in a time when depression is at an all-time high, anxiety is at an all-time high, and different illnesses are at an all-time high. And you have to sit back and wonder: This is not normal!
And if I can shed some amount of light or have some type of impact to make things better for someone, even if it's in a small way, even if it's just one person that I can reach, then I’ve done something well. We're in a very strange time in the world right now and there's something in me that also wants to find that healing for myself.
You wrote “The Sun Still Rises” at your grandmother’s house. It’s a song about hope. Do you remember what you felt that day when the song came to you?
A major thing that I have been healing from is attached to self-worth. Years ago, I had a relationship that made me consider how I feel about myself and realise that I don't necessarily have the highest self-esteem. My music is about my journey to self-love and self-worth. When I wrote that song, it was a reflection on that, no matter what happens, the world's gonna keep going, the world's gonna keep spinning. It's almost inspiring in a way to know that the sun is going to rise, there's going to be another opportunity to work on yourself, and to heal your heart.
Your songs “Boundaries” and “A Little Mad” are about the impact of social media - how do you see social media and do you think it has changed the way art and music are valued and consumed today?
I think social media has been incredible in the way that it is an opportunity to connect with people that you may have never been able to connect with before.
On the one hand, for artists, especially, it's a way to directly grow, communicate and market to your fan base. And I think that's great. It can give artists more financial freedom when you can directly connect with your consumers.
But on the other hand, it feels like a popularity contest; who can be the loudest, who can be the most interesting. It can be damaging to check how many people are following you compared to someone else, and how many people like what you say and do compared to someone else. It can put you in this very unhealthy, unrealistic, competitive state of mind where you don't know the perfect formula of why someone else took off on social media or why their reel got 2 million plays. And you can drive yourself mad, thinking about that and picking yourself apart.
For me, specifically, social media has been interesting, because I've never been an extroverted person. And I think a lot of artists see art as a very inward activity. For me, I feel like I've never had a large following on social media, I've always had more support through Spotify playlisting and getting my songs on TV. And that's kind of been my comfort, that works for me.
“Thankful to be here” deals with the loss of your cousin. The deaths of loved ones change your perspective on life but also change life itself. How do you deal with that loss?
I always reach for the light in tragedy or the positive or the wisdom in a tragedy. My cousin left behind five children. And when I went to the funeral to see them sitting in the front row, with an open casket viewing their mother, it's knowing that they're never going to be able to interact with her in the same way again.
For me, what I took out of that is to do my best to be present with my children. Because I don't know how long I'm going to live. And so I think, thinking about death and dying is hard, but it's important because it's something that is going to happen to all of us and so I'm just really trying to live in the moment.
You say that you write a lot of your music on the go. How has your process of writing music changed over time and since your debut album “Pendulum”? And how do you combine your life as a musician and a parent?
I’ve always been a spontaneous writer and write whenever it comes, or whenever I can write something, and get an idea down. I think that's just how I am. That works out with having kids because I'm not someone who will sit down and say I'm going to write from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I can't schedule time for writing, because it just has to come.
The only thing that's harder is scheduling time to be away for recording. Because then I have to physically leave and get on a plane. That’s when the mom guilt kicks in. But I've been recording at the same studio since the first EP; we record in Brownsville, New York. And of course, it’s nice to get away, to have the freedom to do that and for them to hear the songs and understand that’s what I did when I wasn’t home.
© The Sun Still Rises Artwork - used with permission by Aisha Badru
You’ve moved away from Florida - is there anything you miss about it?
Florida is a very beautiful place. There are a lot of cold springs and different plants there. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to experience a different ecosystem, and different types of herbs to learn about. Now living in Massachusetts, I'm really excited to learn about the plants here and just fall in love with the geography here.
In Florida, I also loved our house. We made a lot of good memories being there. My kids spent four years, almost five years there and I do miss it. But I'm really excited to be back in the northeast because this is more or less the area where I'm from. I am excited for the future, to raise my children here, to get our land and have a homestead, maybe a couple of goats and chickens and then the garden, of course.
Do you have any plans to go on tour?
When first considered myself as a singer and songwriter, I felt like there was a blueprint for the things that I had to do. I have to go on tour, I have to do this, I have to do that. And I tried to do that. I remember being on my last tour and feeling this was not exactly what I wanted to do. I'm at a point in my life where I want to craft my career in a way that suits me.
I have a clear idea of the type of show and the type of atmosphere I want to create. For example, last June, I was invited to perform at a wellness festival, called Mycelium, in California. It was in a beautiful wooded area. And the way they set up the stage, there were candles everywhere. And it just really set the tone for the music. That is exactly what I want. I want to play more of a role in curating my shows and be more specific about the location and want to collaborate with people who can help me to create that.
As of right now, I don't have any tours, but I am in communication with different people who do things like the event that I just went to. I think that just speaks to my love for wellness and wanting to create an experience that supports the healing in the music.
© Jeffery Trapani
Aisha Badru’s journey is a testament to resilience, authenticity, and the courage to follow one’s dreams. Her music, deeply rooted in personal experiences and healing, invites listeners into a space of reflection and connection. Whether balancing life as a mother, crafting songs on the go, or envisioning intimate, wellness-focused performances, Aisha’s artistry shines with purpose.
Her passion for nature, family, and self-discovery mirrors her evolving sound—a soothing balm in today’s chaotic world. As she embraces the beauty of her new home in Massachusetts, her message remains clear: with authenticity and heart, we can all find harmony in life’s ever-changing seasons.
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