Zyah Belle: Unafraid, Unboxed, and Owning the Indie Stage
The Indie Issue cover star for YAMS Magazine is Zyah Belle.
Zyah Belle grew up dreaming of Showtime at the Apollo. The Vallejo-born, Sacramento, California-raised singer remembers watching the show’s kids segment as a little girl, imagining herself on that legendary stage –– lights bouncing off her smile, the crowd in the palm of her hand. “It just looked like the most magical thing,” she laughs.
Her earliest training ground wasn’t the Apollo stage, though — it was the church pews and choir lofts of her childhood. Zyah’s mother was a choir director, and participation wasn’t optional. “It was required that I was in the children’s choir, required that I was in the youth choir,” she says. “My love for music definitely started there.”
At home, she was the youngest of four, with siblings seven, eight, and nine years older who had their own singing group. “I was too young to be in it, but they’d try to add me in,” she recalls. “My sisters would teach me songs. My mom came home one time and they had me on a chair in the backyard, teaching me SWV’s “Weak” like it was my stage debut.”
Even then, she was absorbing a kaleidoscope of sounds. Her mother loved Anita Baker records. Her siblings were sneaking in Bay Area rappers like Too Short. There was Sly & The Family Stone and Tony! Toni! Toné! soundtracking their days.
“I was even listening to rock music growing up in the Bay. Being from the Bay Area really allowed me to have a melting pot of musical influences. “
Zyah notes Jill Scott as her biggest inspiration of all. She also discovered Missy Elliott early, and filed away her boundary-breaking creativity as a lifelong lesson: never box yourself in.
Cracking the Door Open
In high school, Zyah was a member of the choir. College seemed like a choice between theater and vocal jazz, but she was already certain of the truth — she was going to pursue music. That decision kicked off a decade-long independent grind that tested her resilience as much as it sharpened her artistry.
The first real turning point came with her 2021 EP Who’s Listening Anyway? Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became an unexpected bridge into a broader R&B world. “It was such a weird time in the world, but amazing for me as an artist,” she says. “All the artists were online — on Twitter, Instagram, because of the pandemic, and that was the way we worked then. I connected with so many people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
The EP’s reach landed her on tour with Alex Isley, which was a full-circle moment that made her feel like she’d stepped fully into the music space she had been chasing. “I was in the same room as folks I’d looked up to for years. And now they were my peers.”
The Yam Grier Era
If Who’s Listening Anyway cracked the door, 2022’s Yam Grier kicked it wide open. The title — a playful nod to Pam Grier — was more than clever wordplay. It was an “I’m here” declaration. “Pam Grier just radiated confidence and badassness,” Zyah says. “That’s how I wanted to step into the next chapter.” Yam Grier saw Zyah truly lock in on her sound, how to use her voice, and who she was as an artist. And that’s when I fully started to take note of this star on the rise.
She rented out a studio for two and a half weeks, brought in her favorite producers, musicians, and writers. They worked 12 hours a day, every day, creating music that sounded as bold as it felt. “It was about stepping into my confidence as a woman, as an artist,” she explains. “And doing it with intention.”
Are You Still Listening?
Her new EP, Are You Still Listening?, is both a creative leap and a deeply personal marker in her story. It began in late 2022, in the shadow of grief. That fall, Zyah lost her niece in a tragic accident. “I had no desire to write, sing, or figure out anything musically, but I was blessed to work with a lot of patient producers around that time.”
Her first session back was with producers ESTA and Mack Keane, recording the track “LYIN” which has since become a fan favorite. From there, the EP took shape in pieces — some in Atlanta with new collaborators brought in by Kei Henderson of Third & Hayden (long before paperwork was signed), others in sessions fueled by serendipity rather than strict planning.
The new project plays like a multi-act journey: the emotional roar of “LYIN,” the ache of “1-800-HEARTBREAK,” the raw groove of “Diamonds,” the self-assurance of “Deserve.” Her personal favorites are “Deserve” — “It’s a bow on top of the whole project, a very certain song” — and “Oh The Places,” featuring vocals from JANE HANDCOCK and Brik.Liam that still make her emotional.
For me, “Deserve” is a true standout on the EP, among several worthy competitors. The moment the bass starts knocking as Zyah begins the first verse, you know that you’re in for a ride. Your fingers are inching closer to the volume button to increase the levels. It’s an anthem without trying to be inspirational. It just IS that.
“I deserve to look this good/ I deserve to look this fine/ I deserve to talk my shit/ I deserve to spend my time.
Anthem records 8 times out of 10 don’t work for me. They come off as corny and too try-hard, but “Deserve” is the opposite of that. It makes me wish Insecure was still running on HBO, as it’d be a killer episode opener.
Another favorite of mine comes in “Diamonds,” which features JANE HANDCOCK (also raised in the Bay Area). Again, the beat knocks. It has an old-school West Coast hip-hop vibe to it, and we don’t get it too often in R&B songs. Think Jill Scott, but in Oakland. Zyah and Jane Handcock’s vocals mesh so effortlessly.
It’s a concise project, but one with range. And it keeps your interests piqued for the full ride.
The Indie Grind
I ask Zyah what it’s like being independent, and she laughs: “Ghetto.” The word lands with a mix of exhaustion and pride. “It’s been very educational. You learn through research, through your peers, through mistakes. But it’s also heartwarming. You depend so heavily on people believing in your art.”
That belief has manifested in tangible ways: producers who waived fees until she could pay, friends who toured for little to no compensation, and creatives who shot or edited videos just to be part of the vision. The power in building community has truly benefitted so many creatives in times when art has been hard to fund.
“When people invest their time and talent into your dream, it makes you feel like — how dare I give up?”
A New Home at Third & Hayden
That community has now expanded to include Third & Hayden, the creative development agency and label founded by Kei Henderson — someone who was advocating for Zyah long before any contracts existed. Third & Hayden is also home (in varying capacities) to artists like rapper Ben Reilly and folk singer Annahstasia. “Kei believed in me before there was any paperwork,” she says. “She flew me to Atlanta to work with people for Are You Still Listening?, just to see if I vibed with them and just because she thought it would help me grow.”
In a day and age where artists in the major label system often feel stifled by record executives putting profits and algorithms before artistry and creativity, we’re starting to see a shift to artists wanting to be independent. They want to work with smaller teams that believe in them as a human, and want to actually support them more so than profit off of them. And Zyah has found that in her new team.
Working with Third & Hayden hasn’t changed Zyah’s self-starter mentality, but it’s amplified her reach. “I still come in with ideas — which creative director I want, which platforms we should go on,” she says. “But Kei is always thinking, ‘Who do I know who can help make this bigger?’ The whole team operates like that. They’re small but mighty.”
Black Music’s Future
Zyah’s music exists outside the tidy borders of any singular genre, which is exactly the point. When I mention a recent tweet from singer Kenyon Dixon about “what Black music sounds like when it isn’t afraid,” she lights up. “I hope to see more of that: artists showing how vast and foundational Black music has always been.
“We’ve always been more than one genre. I want to see people make it hard to define them as anything other than themselves.”
It’s a sentiment that mirrors her own career – one where gospel sits next to Bay Area rap, where a Mary J. Blige nod can share space with a jazz-funk groove, and where house beats find a home on Zyah’s DJ’ing turntables.
Ultimately, the most important question I ask is straightforward: What do you want listeners to feel when they hear your music? “Seen,” she says without hesitation. “Whether it’s affirmation, nostalgia, or inspiration — I want the music to reflect your present self, your past self, or a future version of yourself you hope to be.”
With Are You Still Listening?, Zyah Belle answers her own question — and the resounding reply from listeners seems to be yes!
Credits:
Editor-In-Chief: Dante Nicholas (@allthingsdante)
Photographer: Ryder (@ryd.der)
Stylist – Khleo Armstrong (@khleo.a)
Makeup – Britney Chanel (@britneychanelx0)
Retoucher – Cynthia Villamil (@uypt)
Gaffer – Brandon Abreu (@_bandobrando)
Well done. Adding Zyah to my list.