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Singer Jasmine Sandlas talks new EP 'Rude'

The Indian-American artist recently performed her hit songs in Dubai

Published: Mon 4 Sep 2023, 6:24 PM

  • By
  • Areeba Hashmi

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Jasmine Sandlas, the Indian-American singer and rapper, has a captivating strong voice that resonates around the room when she sings. She recently performed live for her fans in Dubai. The music was featured by Tushar, Karan and Manoj.

On her visit to the Khaleej Times office, she got candid about her journey, new music, and her women fanbase who motivate her songwriting.

“People call me rude all the time. So I said, okay. It is what it is,” the singer said while talking about her latest EP titled Rude, which is filled with the artist’s strong emotions regarding society’s stubborn ideals placed on women.

Jasmine was very small when she started singing, supported by her mother to perform on stage from the age of 5. “Back then I didn’t know that this would become my entire life. My mom is a huge reason for who I am today, as an artist and otherwise as a woman.”

Being a woman musician starting out, Jasmine faced a lot of bias and restraints by the people around her who would often tell her to behave and act in a certain way as a girl. Jasmine didn’t let any negatives hold her back from her dream and is extremely grateful for all the turns her life had taken, her loved ones, those that didn’t love her, and everything that has happened so far that brought her to this point. “I feel calm. I feel fulfilled. Overall, I feel really good. And it’s been a long time since I have felt this way. I am really cherishing every single moment, even my phone’s wallpaper says that this is the only moment that’s real, that’s why it is the present.”

A little bit of a romantic, the singer loves to cook during her free-time. One of her latest creations was a delicious pasta that she made during her visit to Mumbai.

Despite being in this career for almost two decades, Jasmine still feels nervous before every show. “I don’t wanna hear any opinions, don’t tell me anything about what's happening out in the world, don’t tell me anything a few hours before my performance. I have to protect my energy, because where I am going tonight, there might be a thousand people. I cannot afford to have anybody in my ears. People project their insecurities on me all the time. My team is always more nervous than me, so I play relaxing music. Sometimes I sip on coffee, a lot of things have changed in my life. My life has been whatever you would imagine a rockstar’s life would be like.”

When asked how Jasmine would describe her music in one word, she replied with 'honesty'. She said, “It’s honest. My music’s honest. I have done some songs, my biggest songs are literally talking about how pretty I am. But I have these days where I am for real, you’re talking about all of that on your music video, and here you are, looking in the mirror, facing all your insecurities, but that’s the language the world understands, it resonates.

"And it’s uplifting. It’s fun. It’s cool. However, underneath all of that, it’s like that is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re more than how we just look. But we are also how we look, this is true. That is true. This is me. Doing the part. But when I write my music, I don’t think about the audience. When I write my music, I think about how I can, as a human, express myself really honestly. I talk to women, I write for women. I love my women audience. I love them. I make my music for women. Boys love me, I respect that, but I write my music for women. And I always have and I always will. When we speak our minds, we are often considered rude. And with this latest EP I thought, you know what, I am rude. But so what?”

The singer also told us about her personal favourites from her discography.

“You might not have heard of them. My favourite songs as an artist, aren’t the ones that are really popular in the world. Musafira, it’s about being on a journey and realising that you have been alone all along; just God and you. There are a lot of beautiful people that come into your life and Musafira is about that. Another one of my favourites is, Baddal, which is about being heartbroken but still dancing. I am heartbroken but I am dancing. Isn't that a beautiful thought? My audience is growing to love songs that I put out ten years ago, they’re starting to love them more. All these fun bangers that I am putting out, are bringing attention to all the things that really mean a lot to me.”



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