Abby Jasmine Offers Insight on the Six Songs That Define Her Career

Define Me
Interview: Peter A. Berry
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of XXL Magazine, on stands now.

Armed with smooth vocals and the musicality to slip between R&B and hip-hop as seamlessly as any young artist, Abby Jasmine is carving out her own space in New York City’s explosive renaissance. Since dropping her debut project, Trap Mom, in October of 2018, Jasmine, 22, who first shot to fame as a social media personality, has been steadily leveling up in the rap game by releasing three additional projects including Who Cares?, her EP dropped in April. Here, the Staten Island, N.Y. artist, who's set to release the deluxe edition of Who Cares? soon, talks about the songs that have been important to her career, so far.

“No Hook”
That was one of the first singles I dropped that gained a lot of traction and actually got people to like, fuck with me. It would be kinda like coming into my own. I just felt like that was something different and something I was used to doing. So, it was kinda just me like, branching out and just realizing that I can do different genres and different types of music. That was my first rap song that I put out like, actually rapping, not melodic rapping.

“Groovy”
My favorite song that I made would probably have to be “Groovy” because it’s just a feel-good song. I had a lot of fun making it and doing the video. We had a bunch of fun shooting the video. We had some Henny on the set, me and [Guapdad 4000] was getting drunk, good vibes, lots of fun.

“Stay With Me”
I was inside. I was in my house and nobody was here and I just had the mic. I had to finish that song, and I was just doing some crazy harmonies that ended up being really dope sounding. And that’s when I was like, Damn, I’m on some other shit right now

“Twenty/Twenty”
I feel like that song is just me in a nutshell. That was the intro track to my album, but it was probably one of the last songs that I had written. I think that’s the closest description of who I am. I can be…I’m all over the place sometimes and I just gotta focus.

“Courvoisier”
We were drunk in the studio like, off of Courvoisier. I just started bullshitting, freestyling and everyone was like, “Yo, this shit is fire. Let’s put it out.” It’s probably the most random song/media combination that I have right now. It was the most fun [song] to make.

Check out more from XXL magazine’s Fall 2020 issue including our 2020 XXL Freshman Class interviews with NLE Choppa, Polo G, Chika, Baby Keem, Mulatto, Jack Harlow, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay, Calboy, Fivio Foreign, Lil Keed and 24kGoldn, a Hip-Hop Junkie conversation with Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, read one of Pop Smoke's final interviews, the making of Young Jeezy's classic album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, find out what's going on with T.I.'s upcoming album and movie roles, take a look at where the 2019 XXL Freshman Class is at now, dive into social justice organization Until Freedom's politically charged and much-needed conversation with the 2020 XXL Freshman Class, how hip-hop has taken over TikTok , an inside look at Cinematic Music Group giving the major label machine a run for its money, Juice Wrld's manager sheds light on good artist management, Freddie Gibbs talks about being a G.O.A.T. and more.