Safiyah Hernandez Announces Debut Album 'Homesick'

15-year-old multi-cultural newcomer Safiyah Hernandez will release her debut album Homesick on February 1 via BMG/Young Forever.

Safiyah has found songwriting as a form of catharsis in dealing with the overwhelming emotions of adolescence, the difficulties in navigating the culture of your upbringing while living in a Western society, familial bonds, loss, and the current state of the world. ​​This creative outlet provided a kind of stability throughout her developing years, especially as Safiyah shifted from homeschooling in the Bay Area to an arts school on the East Coast.

Written over the course of three years, Homesick weaves together influences of Arabic and Indian music, alternative rock, hip-hop, and soul, resulting in an album that effortlessly creates a collision of sounds that is as natural as it is innovative.

Not shying away from civil and human rights, alongside typical teen pastimes such as skating and listening to old-school tunes, Safiyah crafts a refreshingly compelling narrative that examines the disorientating task of trying to find yourself among the chaos through her music.

Alongside the announcement, Safiyah shares the cool and quirky, bass-heavy single "Pink Sunglasses." The track follows previously released singles including the urgent "9pm" which focuses on important societal issues, the groovy bedroom pop track "Skateboard," the heartbreaking "Hummingbird," the haunting ballad "Neon Lights," and the dreamy "Stardust."

"I got the idea for Pink Sunglasses after watching American Graffiti (1973), a film depicting a graduating class of high school students in 1962. I admired the naivety of the characters transitioning between being a kid and living the responsible life of an adult," shares Safiyah. "For the production and writing of the song I was inspired by the Cardigans and the 50s songs I grew up listening to."

Speaking on the music video, she adds "The music video was a fun idea because I got to feature many of my friends in it, the costume design felt realistic, and we got to base the fight scene on one of our favorite Bollywood movies, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. I wanted to bring a diverse cast to an era that is generally shown as only white or racially charged. Overall, the song and video add some playfulness and another side of my creativity to the album."

Watch here: