has never been particularly interested in staying in one creative lane. The Atlanta artist has built her identity around experimentation, moving between sounds and aesthetics without allowing any one of them to become a permanent fixture. Her latest project, ‘N5ON’, takes her further into electronic music, an influence that has quietly threaded through her catalogue for years. But the shift isn’t an attempt to keep up with changing musical tastes. Rather, it reflects an instinct that has become central to how she approaches her artistry. “Electronic music was the first genre of music that I discovered on my own,” she tells CLASH. “Throughout the years, throughout my projects, you can hear that there’s heavy influence from the electronic genre.”
For BKTHERULA, the attraction has always been there. This time, however, she found herself more drawn to exploring it allowing the sounds that had long interested her to take a more prominent place in her music. Even its title carries a personal touch. Originally conceived as Neon, the album became N5ON after fans began replacing the E with a five in the comments of her announcement. The alteration connected with her recurring references to Level 5 and the fifth dimension, a concept she describes as the ability to see the unseen and the unknown. “They honestly helped me,” she says. “It’s almost like they knew me more than I knew myself at that point.”
That openness to change also informs the way she thinks about her sound. BK allows her interests to develop naturally often finding herself drawn towards something before she can fully explain why. “I don’t pay too much attention to the changes, but I just know that there’s a change,” she says. Returning to electronic music felt like reconnecting with a younger version of herself. “I felt like it opened up the kid version in me. I channelled my inner child, and then N5ON became the obsession.”
Beyond its electronic influences, N5ON is driven by a desire to recapture something BK feels has been missing from contemporary party culture. For her, going out should be about freedom, movement and enjoying the moment. Rather, she feels that the experience has become increasingly concerned with appearances and what others think. “It isn’t as free or just about partying,” she explains. “Now, everyone cares too much about things and it ends up not being fun.”
Her answer is to make music that brings the focus back to the dancefloor. “This is real party music,” she says. “I’m bringing that real party music back.” BKTHERULA wants the energy of ‘N5ON’ to exist beyond the music too. She hopes to bring the project to life through raves and parties, giving fans the chance to experience its sound together.Having previously taken her music to the streets, she sees these experiences as another way of allowing fans into her creative world. “I just want my fans to actually experience it. The raves are definitely going to be a part of it.”
The album makes room for different sides of her personality along the way. ‘Big Feeling’, originally released on ‘LUCY’, returns with a new energy, giving the track another life within the world of ‘N5ON’. Meanwhile, ‘Jevitas’ sees her explore Spanish, with her father joining her on the song. Its creation offered an opportunity to connect with her Haitian and Cuban background, something she had been wanting to explore. The album also makes room for a softer side on ‘Alisha’, its closing track. “I’m just a romantic person, to be honest,” she says. “I always have to have that one song on there.”
Growing up in Atlanta has also played a part in BKTHERULA’s willingness to move between sounds. A city with an expansive musical history, its influence on her has been less about adhering to a particular sound and more about having the room to develop her own. “Atlanta is home to so many creatives,” she says. “A lot of flows come from Atlanta, a lot of rap history comes from Atlanta, and the greats come from Atlanta.”
While the city has a recognisable musical identity, she believes its creativity extends well beyond any one genre. “I wouldn’t say Atlanta has just one sound. It does have a certain sound, but it’s also so different because of how creative we can be here.” Being surrounded by that range of expression has given her room to approach music on her own terms without feeling confined to what people might expect from an artist coming out of the city.
Her approach to self-expression is just as apparent in the way she presents herself. Over the years, BKTHERULA has moved through an array of hairstyles from big curly fros to bold colours and protective styles. For ‘N5ON’, she has opted for short hair, a change that happened gradually throughout the making of the project. “Little by little, while making ‘N5ON’, I was just cutting and cutting and cutting,” she recalls. The finished look has become her favourite yet. “It’s my favourite hairstyle ever. It’s perfect.”
For all its sonic experimentation, ‘N5ON’ ultimately has a straightforward ambition. BK wants people to have fun. There is no elaborate message she hopes listeners will decode or particular version of herself she is trying to establish. She wants the music to give people permission to let go. “This album is strictly, purely about fun,” she says. “Pure fun, bringing it back to those days, but making it ten times better.”
As for what comes after ‘N5ON’, BKTHERULA isn’t in a hurry to figure it out. Electronic music has her attention now, but she is happy to see where her curiosity leads next. “I’m just going to let life take me wherever I’m meant to go,” she says.
‘5NON’ is out now.