Adia Victoria appreciates the irony in launching a series of cross-country tours–the latest of which hits the Do Division Street Festival on Sunday, May 31–off the strength of her bluesy, slow-boiling debut single, “Stuck in the South.”
Growing up in a strongly religious home in Greenville, S.C., Victoria—who currently resides in Nashville and performs under her first and middle names—had limited exposure to secular music. It wasn’t until she discovered the likes of Lauryn Hill and Nirvana early in her teenage years that she came to appreciate the form’s power.
“I heard [‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’] for the first time when I was in seventh grade … and it was a story I could see myself in. I knew what it felt like to be hurt by someone. I knew what it felt like to feel alone. Already as a young girl I knew what it felt like to be a black woman and have people question your worth and your beauty,” said Victoria, 28. “Finding Lauryn Hill for me was kind of a life saver. It was like finding a big sister who was telling me, ‘These are the things I’ve gone through. You probably feel this too, and it’s OK. You’re still beautiful.'”
You’ve taken a very deliberate approach to your career, only releasing a handful of songs online. Is that by design to keep things from feeling overwhelming
I release songs when it feels right, and when I feel it’s time for the public to hear something else. I have been very deliberate in pacing myself so I don’t get overwhelmed. I never want to feel like I have to keep throwing content online. We live in such a fast-paced culture where people get bored easily, and I’ve noticed with the listening public they sort of have this sense of entitlement: “Where can I get more stuff? Where can I hear more things?” I’m not a song machine; I’m not just pumping them out. I do it at a pace I can keep up with.
Have you always taken that slow and steady approach in life?
No. It’s funny because in other parts of my life I’m totally compulsive and spontaneous, and I guess you could almost say reckless. I want everything right then and there. But with my art I’ve decided to take a more measured approach and see how that works for once.
Does it feel like you’re fighting against your nature?
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I do feel that sometimes, like, “Oh, man. I just want to have everything out there and share everything with everyone.” But I want to wait until it makes sense and be smart about what I’m doing here. And I feel like it’s paid off greatly.
The fourth sentence of your online bio starts off, “On the rare chance she divulges more …”
I have a few things I enjoy sharing with people that I find relevant to my art. I try and keep it all relative to what I’m making. No one really cares what my favorite cereal is. It’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
I read that as a child you initially leaned toward a more literary style of writing. Why do you think you ultimately gravitated to songwriting as that outlet?
You know, I don’t know. My friend left me a guitar when I was living in Atlanta. I was writing a lot of poetry at the time [editor’s note: Victoria recently released her first collection of poetry, “Lonely Language Vol. 1”], and it was just an ideal marriage of the two worlds. I loved music with a passion at that point in my life, and of course I loved writing. It just seemed like the next natural step would be … using sound to take all these stories and these characters that I had and bring them to life.
Do you appreciate the irony of a song called “Stuck in the South” being the thing that’s kind of allowed you to get out and tour nationally?
Yeah, I have a nice little laugh with myself sometimes when I think about the irony of it all. When I was writing that song I put myself back to when I was 17 and living in Greenville, South Carolina. I’d never been anywhere or lived anywhere else, and I’d never really experienced anything other than South Carolina. The art is what opened so many doors for me and has taken me so many places I’d never been before. It’s worked out really well for me. Maybe my next song will be, “I’m Really Poor and I Have No Money,” and maybe that’ll be the one to get me rich. [Laughs.]
Andy Downing is a RedEye special contributor. @andydowning33
Adia Victoria, 4 p.m. Sunday, May 31 at Do Division Street Festival. $5 suggested donation.