Tiffany’s playing a Pretty Game
Photo by Alz Creative
Australian RnB artist, TIFFANY, who is known for her soulful vocals and emotional depth, brings exactly that to her brand new release ‘Pretty Game’. The new track sees her team up with Wollongong rapper 4orttune to create a song that oozes an honesty you can't help but adore. We got the opportunity to fire some questions at the Western Sydney creative which saw us ask her about ‘Pretty Game’, her experience collaborating and where to from here for the rising star.
Congratulations on the release of your new track 'Pretty Game', tell us about the song. What does the track mean to you?
Pretty Game is a dark RnB track that discusses the feelings of 2 individuals in a toxic relationship. Themes such as love, desire and manipulation within relationships are explored within the lyrics. Within the verses, there is a constant tension between the desire for a genuine connection and the reality of playing games and making mistakes. I speak about my desire for this guy but also come to a realisation moment where I know the dude is playing games with me but I call him out as he displays feelings of wanting more and shows a realisation that she is the one for keeps. The hook underscores a sense of emotional detachment and resilience as I say, “I’ll leave my heart at home, cause I’m falling through the cracks”, I realise I’m falling for this guy and know that when I meet with him, I’ll have to come emotionless as if I’ve has left my heart at home. It is also the awakening moment where I realise that as much as the relationship is toxic, I know he could never leave me. I have that confidence where I know he is playing games, but I tell him that I could do it better, as I play “pretty games” with him because I know I have him hooked, even through everything he does to me. Overall, the song displays the games that people play in relationships, the struggle between genuine connection and self-preservation (the girl trying to avoid getting hurt) and the emotional toll of navigating these feelings.
What do you hope the listener takes away from hearing the song?
With this song, I hope people become aware of the toxicity that goes on between these types of relationships. I draw from real and relatable experiences and hope that people can recognise the games that people play but also acknowledge their own worth and resilience. Don’t let anyone play games with you, you’re worth so much more. Play them back if you must, but just remember to leave your heart at home if you intend to.
Did you face any challenges while you were making 'Pretty Game' and if so, how did you overcome them?
I didn’t find any challenges creating ‘Pretty Game’, it was quite an easy process, but I would say that’s because of the amazing people I worked with on this track, BeatswithSheph and 4orttune, they made this song easy flowing from the start to finish. It was great working with them.
“We knew we wanted something really dark that incorporated trap elements and created a moody feel for the listeners.”
'Pretty Game' features rapper 4orttune, how did this collaboration come about?
Both 4orttune and I met through BeatswithSheph. We always saw each other's music being shared by the team on their socials and that's when we followed each other as we both liked each other's music. Since the start of the year, we’ve had conversations where we’ve told each other that we really want to do a track together, but we never really planned anything. When I recorded my track ‘Attention’ I sent it to 4orttune after the session to get his feedback/opinion and he came back saying how bad he wanted to be on the 2nd verse and that he thought it would be sick to do something similar, very dark r&b. After this conversation, I invited him into my next session, and we experimented with the beats. We knew we wanted something really dark that incorporated trap elements and created a moody feel for the listeners. After the beat was made, we discussed potential storylines and the first thing that came to mind was a toxic relationship. We had both gone through really toxic relationships and we wanted to encapsulate the feeling of them but also be as creative as possible and tell a story. We then decided to write about a toxic relationship where you both fight and argue all the time, but at the end of the day, you’d never actually leave each other, even after the amount of games we play with each other. We both wrote our lyrics together and then pieced the song together with the team at BeatswithSheph.
Did the song take on any massive changes during the creative process or was the final product the original vision?
In my own artist career, I haven’t really gotten any artists on my songs as features, I’ve always been the one and only artist on the track. My normal process when creating a song is I would go home with a beat and come up with the story myself, write it and incorporate my own experiences within the lyrics. With this song in particular the creative process was different as it was a song that I had to construct with another artist. Both 4orttune and I had multiple calls where we were deciding the message we wanted to convey and how the storyline would play out. After writing some of my parts we would call again and go through what we had both written and then rewrite/restructure the song where needed to allow for the song to sound cohesive and sell this story to our listeners. We wanted people to believe this situationship was a real thing. We both spoke about our own experiences on the topic of toxicity and after many sessions and calls we pieced together ‘Pretty Game’.
“I had to get visuals to follow with it, to really convey the toxic cycle of these relationships”
The new release is accompanied by its own music video created by Alz Creative. Who came up with the concept for the video? Were there any standout moments from the making of it?
First and foremost, I want to give a massive shoutout to Alz Creative, he is a photographer/videographer I use in every single release of mine and his work is CRAZY. When 4orttune and I created ‘Pretty Game’, I knew I had to get visuals to follow with it, to really convey the toxic cycle of these relationships. Both Alz and I sat down together, and I told him about my whole vision for the song, we discussed different types of ways where we could display the tumultuous nature of toxic relationships. We both then started a shared document and added in specific scenes we would want to capture as well as images of inspo shots we would take. Following this, Alz and I sat down and used all these ideas to put together a second-by-second run sheet of how the music video would be set out, how long each scene would go for, what camera angles would be used etc. After that we scouted for locations, this part was pretty easy as with dark R&B we knew we had to do a nighttime city-type vibe. This music video was quite fun to film as both Alz and 4orttune are good friends of mine so I felt comfortable through the whole process as we just had fun with it, one thing I will say though is filming an argument scene with 4orttune was super hard! When you're friends with someone it’s hard to look them dead in the eyes and start yelling/arguing with them, we took so many takes of this one scene because I would just burst out laughing.
Is 'Pretty Game' a stand-alone release or can we look forward to a Tiffany full-length album or EP out soon?
Pretty Game is a stand-alone release however, the releases are nonstop after this. There will be releases coming out every month after Pretty Game, so stay tuned is all I can say! I do have plans and ideas for an EP but not this year, hopefully sometime next year.
“I like to combine emotional depth with contemporary sounds, which I think is the key to push the genre forward. I’m trying to create something new, not recreate what’s already been done.”
Your bio says you hope to redefine contemporary RnB and push the boundaries of the genre, is there a plan to achieve this goal?
Personally, I don’t like to stick to the norms in a genre, I like to be very creative and create sounds that people haven’t heard before. Within my tracks, I like to incorporate elements from different genres whether that be writing in a different style or adding an instrument known to the complete opposite genre. I like to combine emotional depth with contemporary sounds, which I think is the key to pushing the genre forward. I’m trying to create something new, not recreate what’s already been done.
Do you play a part in the production side of your music? Does the production process make you reassess your tracks and make you approach their development differently?
I’m always present in the sessions where the beat is made, and I love doing this as I always have specific visions when creating a song and being present in these allows me to be as vocal as I can in the process. When creating this beat, I knew I wanted it to be super dark RnB, so I brought in a bunch of different references of different elements I liked that I wanted incorporated within. When we started the beat both 4orttune and I were present and we got to decide specific sounds we wanted, including which hi-hat we liked best to give it that trap genre fusion. Beatswithsheph is amazing at what they do, and they really made our vision come to life. As the beat was getting made, both 4orttune and I sat back and assessed the specific storyline we wanted to go with, we saw the darkness of the track and that’s what sparked the ‘toxicity’ idea.
“a headline tour is something I’m working towards.”
Where would you like to see Tiffany in a year's time and five years down the road? What do you hope you have achieved?
I would definitely love to have grown my audience, have put out an album and be going on tour. I think being able to travel to different places and sing my songs to people would be an unreal feeling, currently, I have been doing local shows, but a headline tour is something I’m working towards.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout-out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
First and foremost, I have to thank God. He is the reason behind everything and is the reason why I’m on the path that I am, so I’ll always acknowledge the divine guidance and strength that comes from my faith. God’s presence is a constant source of inspiration and support, shaping the direction of my efforts and fortifying us all through challenges.
Additionally, I have to thank the team at BeatswithSheph, this includes Sheph, Barry, Uzma, Ubai and Rayven. This team is unreal, and I would not be where I am without them. They constantly push me to the limits and allow me to be as creative as possible as I explore areas out of my comfort zone. Their support and guidance are something I will forever be grateful for, and c’mon, we all know they are the best in the industry. Also, again a massive shoutout to Alz Creative, not only is he an amazing photographer/videographer but has been a lifetime best friend of mine. We used to create music back in Year 11 in my bedroom and he has been someone who is always in my corner supporting me and pushing me to be the best I can be.
Do you have a message for the Tiffany fans and supporters?
MY ANGELS. I love you all so much! You don’t understand how much it means to have the best people supporting me and listening to my music. It always warms my heart when you all come up to me in person, and when I see you all enjoying the music I put out, it’s a feeling that’ll never get old. Thank you for coming along with me on this crazy ride, and I promise there’s even crazier music coming your way. Do I hear house TIFFANY coming back??....
Interview by Michelle Symes
September 2024