Skylar Grey explains why Travis Scott is a 'legend' and how he's inspired her new solo music

• We launched the Stay Insider Sessions to connect with artists while the world practices social distancing.
• Next up, Skylar Grey explained why she decided to cover Travis Scott's 2016 single "Goosebumps," and how the "legend" has inspired her solo music career.
• "I'm grateful that Travis Scott kind of paved the way to opening people's ears up in the popular music world to more experimental stuff," she said.
• Grey, who has written hit songs for artists like Eminem, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj, is planning to release more solo music — but isn't building towards a traditional album release.
• "I don't really believe in albums anymore," she said. "So I think it's more that, yes, I'm working on a project, but I'd like to call it more of just an endless playlist that I keep adding to."

Insider launched the Stay Insider Sessions to connect with musicians while they, like many of us, are grappling with isolation and unprecedented downtime. Next up: Skylar Grey.

When you hear Beyoncé crooning about humanity and humility on Eminem's "Walk on Water" — "I don't think you should believe in me the way that you do / 'Cause I'm terrified to let you down" — it's actually Skylar Grey's soul that she's bearing.

"I think I found out a week before it came out that Beyoncé was the one who cut those vocals," Grey shared during a recent Zoom call with Insider, "and I was just stoked. Beyoncé is singing my music, something I wrote. It's just crazy."

Of course, Grey was already a seasoned songwriter, having famously written Eminem and Rihanna's Grammy-nominated duet "Love the Way You Lie" — in addition to more hits like Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go," Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor," Nicki Minaj's "Bed of Lies," and Macklemore's "Glorious."

But Grey said this time felt different.

"To be honest, I thought that that song was really good and I did want to keep it for myself," she revealed.

"But I have this thing — there's a little bit of a safety zone for me in giving songs to other people because I know that I can make a living doing that," she continued. "And so I thought, 'Well, this is a good one, and I think somebody is going to cut this one, and I can keep my life going by giving the song to somebody who's going to make it big, versus me just putting it out.'"

More recently, Grey has made a point to defamiliarize herself with her comfort zone.

She left Los Angeles for the open space of Napa Valley and freed herself from label restrictions; now, the ability to sing her own emotions, ideas, and innermost thoughts has felt more accessible and urgent than ever.

"I set out to be an artist. I didn't set out to be a songwriter for other people, that just kind of happened by accident," Grey explained.

"I'm totally free and clear of a label, and it's actually been really liberating creatively for me to just really focus on what I want to do and not have to please the label or please anybody else," she continued. "It's just making the music that I really would want to buy and listen to."

'I don't really believe in albums anymore'

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter, born Holly Brook Hafermann, released "Dark Thoughts" in May — an intimate, atmospheric introduction to her new self-produced sonic landscape.

She told me she's been feeling "super productive" during her self-quarantine. Her home studio offers comfort, solitude, and freedom, rather than the "pressure to deliver" that creeps in during studio sessions with collaborators.

"I'm going back to the stuff that has always inspired me, which is kind of dark, and interesting chord changes," she explained. "And then I'm incorporating more current things that I've been into, which is heavy 808s and a nice sub, with vocals that are very soft and beautiful."

She plans to release more music throughout the year and beyond, but isn't building towards a traditional album release.

"I don't really believe in albums anymore," she said. "It's just such a different industry than it was when I was growing up, buying CDs and stuff."

"I see people put out albums now, and it feels like they put a ton of time and energy into them. They drop their albums and then a week later, nobody cares," she continued. "That's the feeling I get from it at least. Or it's not that nobody cares, but people move on to the next thing because there's constant content coming out every day."

"So I think it's more that, yes, I'm working on a project, but I'd like to call it more of just an endless playlist that I keep adding to."

'Travis Scott is one of the more creative people in music'

Grey's most recent release is a moody, melancholic cover of Travis Scott's 2016 single "Goosebumps," featuring Kendrick Lamar.

"It's the first song that I heard of Travis Scott's — or at least, it was the first that I recognized as him and thought, 'Oh my god, that's dope,'" she explained.

"So I was listening to it one day and thinking, 'I would love to figure out these chords on the piano. I love these chords.' I'm a chord nerd. So I sat down and started playing it on the piano and started singing it. And it just felt right to record it."

Grey called Scott a "modern icon" and "one of the most creative people in music." In preparation to release her cover, she wanted to honor the rapper's artistic vision.

"I decided to recreate a bunch of pictures of Travis Scott and pay homage to him as an artist," she said. "Because I just figure, why do we have to wait for legends to pass or whatever before we decide to honor them? He's a legend now."

"And I just want to show my appreciation and not only cover his song, but cover some of his visuals too."

(Insider followed up with Grey after she provided us with a preview of the photos. It shows the white artist in braids, similar to Scott's. We asked if she viewed the photos as problematic, especially given the ongoing conversation in music and pop culture around cultural appropriation. Grey declined to comment.)

Grey also cited Scott's 2018 collaboration with Drake, "Sicko Mode," as a major inspiration.

"When I first heard that song, it feels like there's tempo changes and there's just total vibe switches in the song," she said. "I was like, 'Wow, that's so ballsy because it's so against the formulaic style of pop music.' And yet, it's very popular. And so it kind of encouraged me and gave me the courage to be more experimental in my own music."

"In some of the songs that I have coming out in the future, I have some similar vibe switches, not necessarily tempo changes, but just drastic vibe switches happening," she continued.

"It's the sort of thing I've always wanted to do, but I just felt like, 'Nobody is going to get this.' And I'm grateful that Travis Scott kind of paved the way to opening people's ears up in the popular music world to more experimental stuff like that."

Grey spoke with Insider weeks before George Floyd's murder sparked international outrage and Black Lives Matter protests, but she's been vocal about her support of the movement online, sharing resources and links for her fans to donate.

"To the Black community including all of my friends, collaborators, fans, and idols... I LOVE YOU. I am so grateful to have you in my life. Every day I am so incredibly inspired by your talents, creativity and artistry," she wrote in an open letter posted on Instagram, signing her real first name.

"I stand with you to fight this injustice and I pledge to be in this for the long haul."