Born and raised in Philadelphia, R&B songstress Noél Scales believes the city gave her the grit it takes to pursue music. “Picky,” a single off of Scales’ EP, Beautiful Bad, showcases her poetic lyricism that accompanies her smooth voice, and has reached over 100,000 streams on Soundcloud! Keep reading to hear from Noél on how she made the leap from poetry to songwriting, writing for other artists, and her virtual performance at Wawa Welcome America for the GIRLS LIKE NICE THINGS event.
PPRG: How did you begin writing and recording music? Have you always known you wanted to pursue music?
Noél Scales: I began writing poetry as a child. My poems eventually turned into songs and melodies. I used to participate in poetry slams as a way to hone my performance skills. I always knew I wanted to perform and create innovative and great music.
PPRG: What words would you say describe your music the best?
NS: In a few words, I would describe my music as classic, edgy, and innovative.
PPRG: You were featured as a poet on an HBO docu-series, which is a huge accomplishment! How does poetry influence your songwriting?
NS: Poetry has been the “gateway” to my songwriting. Being on the HBO series taught me to dive deeper into my writing. Watching poets and writers from around the world gave me better insight on how to approach creative writing and how to be a better writer. I didn’t always know I could write songs, but I knew I was a great writer. My mother took me to vocal and piano lessons as a way to keep me out of trouble. I took those skills and put them with my poems and raps, which is how I started creating and collecting songs.
PPRG: You’ve written for other artists as well, such as B Smyth, Asia Sparks, Killiam Shakespeare, and Beano. How is writing for another artist different from writing for yourself?
NS: Writing for another artist is like being their therapist and writing them a prescription in the form of a song. I love the process of listening to an artist explain a concept or life situation that they want to incorporate into the record. It’s like solving a puzzle or a math problem, and I love a creative challenge. Writing for myself is like reading back a self-help book to myself that I wrote. Writing songs help me understand the deepest parts of myself. It’s all therapeutic for me at the end of the day. Music is my sanctity.
PPRG: What has been your favorite memory from your performances?
NS: I would have to say I have two. My first favorite memory from one of my shows was at Pubb Webb in Philadelphia. It was my first sold out event premiering my second project and first mixtape. My second favorite memory was performing at SOB’s NYC. The energy in the room was beautiful–full of my friends, family and supporters.
PPRG: You were a part of the GIRLS LIKE NICE THINGS show during the virtual Wawa Welcome America. How did this opportunity come about, and how was it different than an in-person show?
NS: I was introduced to the Nice Things Music team last year. They were impressed with my second project, The Ugly Mixtape and invited me to perform for SXSW 2020. Unfortunately it was canceled due to COVID-19, so they invited me to perform for the GIRLS LIKE NICE THINGS EVENT. Filming was great because you could perfect certain things, however I miss performing live.
PPRG: Are there any Philly artists who have influenced you?
NS: Absolutely, I would say most of the artists I am inspired by started in Philadelphia. I love Meek Mill, State Property, Chill Moody, Jill Scott, Jazmine Sullivan, Beano French, and Dayn Jordan.
PPRG: How has Philadelphia’s culture shaped your sound and approach to music?
NS: I would say Philadelphia has given me GRIT! To say the least, it has given me the gritty, edg , soul that you can hear in Beautiful Bad (the 2017 EP), and some songs on The Ugly Mixtape. Being from a city like Philadelphia teaches you to be strong yet soulful. We have a good balance of Hip-Hop and R&B.
Keep up with Noél Scales on Instagram, Facebook, and visit her website.
