Ashley Iman’s journey into music wasn’t linear. Like many young artists, she started singing at an early age, influenced by the sounds she heard around her growing up in South London. “Croydon is full of music — rap, drill, R&B. It’s really all around you,” she says. Her interest in music deepened when she started singing regularly at ten, but it wasn’t until she applied to the BRIT School at fourteen — and was rejected — that she experienced her first real challenge in pursuing a creative career.
“That was my first rejection, and I took it hard,” Iman says. “I stopped singing for about three years. I really thought maybe music wasn’t for me.” But by the time she was preparing to enter university, she decided to try again — this time by enrolling at Point Blank Music School in London, a decision that shifted everything. “I studied a singer-songwriter course and really loved it. That’s when I started reaching out to producers and working on my first track.”
That track was “Arizona,” a song she describes as a personal turning point. “I was twenty, entering adulthood, and I just wanted to capture how I was feeling. I told my producer that I wanted to be anywhere but London. That’s where the idea came from.” While “Arizona” marked her official start as an independent artist, Iman admits that she hadn’t fully developed her sound yet. “I was just making music because I loved it. I hadn’t figured out who I was as an artist.”
That changed with “Marseille,” which she released about two years later. Inspired by early 2000s music, the song was created while she was spending time in France and leaning into a more nostalgic R&B style. “That’s when things started to click. I found a producer in France who really understood my voice and what I was going for. We worked together along with a songwriter, and that’s when I started to feel like I had something that reflected me.”
“Marseille” became one of her most successful songs to date and introduced her to a broader audience, including other artists in the R&B space. “I’m still independent, so I wasn’t expecting the kind of response I got,” she says. “When peers started reaching out, that gave me the push to keep going.” One of those peers was Rags Original, a UK-based R&B artist who praised the track and encouraged her to keep releasing music — leading to her follow-up single “Hot Topic.”
While Iman is often categorized as an R&B artist, she’s quick to clarify that her influences and ambitions go beyond one genre. “I grew up listening to Adele, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, and Cassie — a mix of vocalists with different sounds,” she explains. “R&B is my foundation, but I don’t want to limit myself. I listen to everything — pop, country, even rock sometimes — and I want my music to reflect that.”
Her earlier EP Winterlude, which includes songs like “Obsessed,” explores a more stripped-down, emotionally vulnerable side of her artistry. “A lot of people see me as someone who makes feel-good, summery music,” she says. “But Winterlude was me slowing it down and showing that there’s more to me. That I have range — not just in sound but in emotion.”
That range is something she’s continued to push. “R&B is my base, but I don’t like putting myself in a box,” she explains. “I listen to pop, country, even rock sometimes — and when I write, I just go with what feels right.”
That mindset led to the debut of her newest project, 1 of a Kind — her latest EP, released in May. The 8-track collection highlights her versatility, weaving between R&B, pop, and more unexpected sounds. While “Marseille” isn’t featured on the EP, one track nods to that same nostalgic, Y2K energy. “I didn’t want to recreate Marseille, but I knew I wanted to include a reminder of where that era brought me,” she says. “The rest of the project leans in a different direction — it’s more dynamic and experimental.”
Iman also recognizes the differences between the UK and US music scenes, especially when it comes to expectations around genre and race. “In the UK, people don’t always assume what kind of music you make based on how you look. In the US, I feel like there’s more pressure to fit into certain boxes, especially as a Black artist. But what I admire about the US is how they push and promote emerging talent — that’s something we don’t always get here.”
Still, she credits her London upbringing for her open-minded approach to music. “London is extremely diverse. That definitely shaped me creatively. You grow up around so many cultures and sounds, and that makes you want to explore more in your own work.”
As her audience continues to grow, Ashley Iman is focused on staying grounded in the music. “I’ve come a long way from where I started, but I still feel like I’m just getting started. There’s so much more I want to do.”