Recently got on the phone with one of my favorite artists right now, Soraya Cinema 💎 Raised in the Paris suburbs, he grew up around rap before falling down internet rabbit holes that led him to French electronic music, Daft Punk, niche SoundCloud scenes, and video game soundtracks. In fact, he says the biggest influence on his music isn’t an artist at all, it’s discovering random songs on GTA Radio while driving around Los Santos 🎮 That genreless mindset became the foundation of Soraya Cinema. He started making beats as a teenager, teaching himself entirely by ear and blending references that normally wouldn’t belong together. Kid Cudi’s willingness to break genre boundaries became a major inspiration, and today Soraya makes bright, uplifting music that often hides much heavier emotions underneath. The mystery is intentional. He rarely explains his lyrics, avoids over-sharing, and wants listeners to build their own meaning from the music. At a time when artists are expected to exp...