Written by: Oliver Heffron
Emerging Atlanta singer Akia is quickly establishing herself as a magnetic new face in the R&B space. Combining a versatile, distinctive voice with playful, charismatic songwriting that offers a fresh take on sensuality, her music evokes the early 00s golden age of infectious rhythms paired with sincere, engaging lyrics.
Her new EP DUMB, the final installment of her three-part EP DUMBCRAZYSTUPID, showcases AKIA’s signature style and range. On tracks like the sultry “Love or Waste,” the introspective closer “How Much Can A Woman Take,” and the irresistible lead single “Side Bitch SZN,” she balances vulnerability with confidence, and throwback vibes with a contemporary perspective.
With a recent Freedom Songs collaboration with APPLE MUSIC to celebrate Black Music Month, a show-stealing performance at J. Cole’s Dreamville Fest, and a deal with SinceThe80s, the same label that launched Atlanta rap superstars J.I.D. and EarthGang, Akia is primed to make a run to the top of the wide-open R&B landscape.
Akia’s unique mix of talent, humility, and charisma could be attributed to her hometown, Forrest City, Arkansas. “It's a really small town,” Akia explains. “Everybody knows everybody. Everybody’s damn near family.” Raised in a trailer park, her earliest relationship with music didn’t come from industry ambition, but simply proximity. Her grandmother was a DJ, and she spent weekends at skating rinks watching crowds move to the sound. “That’s really where my love for music grew,” she reflects.
At home, music wasn’t optional. Church was non-negotiable, and that’s where others soon recognized her talent. Even when she resisted, her parents pushed her to sing, knowing that she had a gift. “Some Sundays, I'd be like, ‘My head hurts. I don't want to go to church.’ And my momma would be like, ‘God is gonna fix it,’” she remembers. “I had to sing at funerals…When your people know you got it and they make you do it, you kind of just grow a love for it.”
Photo Courtesy of Ross Hook
Looking back on the artists and music that drew her in most growing up, Akia says it was the emotional honesty of late 90s/early 00s R&B, a sound that still inspires her music today. She shares, "When I was young, I really liked Keisha Cole's 'Love.' That was one of my favorite songs.”
While Akia performed at talent shows through school, her first real breakthrough came via singing covers on Facebook Live, and she quickly found an audience. “It used to be like 5,000 people on there once,” she says. “My mama and I used to be in our living room, and we would just do karaoke all night.” She remembers it was her audience online that first pushed her to write and record original songs: “People would just be like, 'You covering songs, but we want to hear you make your own songs.” At 15, Akia went to the studio for the first time.
After steadily building an online following, Akia got the opportunity to move to Atlanta to enroll in the Playlist Academy program. She took her small-town Arkansas work ethic with her and soon found herself at the top of the class. After winning the program's ticket sales competition, Akia was approached by the Atlanta label SinceThe80s (J.I.D., Earthgang) and signed a record deal.
Reflecting on her experience as a young artist, Akia preaches perseverance as the most critical piece. "I feel like for any artist, it's going to be rough in the beginning. So all I can say is just to keep going,” she says. “That's the reason why I'm here. I kept going, like, even when it’s giving me lemons, I still make a way to squeeze."
That persistence shines through on DUMBCRAZYSTUPID, a project that doesn’t shy away from emotional chaos. The title itself feels like a thesis. “A lot of us go through dumb, crazy, and stupid things,” she explains. “Whether it’s relationships, family, or just life.” The goal wasn’t confession for confession’s sake, but to be relatable. “I wanted to get that message across in a way that both women and men could feel.”
Reflecting on her Freedom Songs collaboration, Akia explains that the Facebook Live sessions inspired her song choice. "I used to sing 'I'd Rather Go Blind' a lot in my live shows,” she explains. “So when Apple hit me about doing, like, a Black freedom song, I immediately just thought of like Etta James, 'I'd Rather Go Blind.' It's one of those songs that I just really love, and I grew up on."
Thinking back on her performance at Dreamville Fest, Akia is nothing but smiles. "Dreamville Fest was so fun,” she remembers. “The crowd, I can say they did what they needed to do, for it being my first time, and like nobody really knew me there, and they showed me love as they did know me."
On what fans can expect in the future, Akia says, “Just expect more great music and more performances. They’re coming."