Off-Season Bonus: Naaz

Photo by Julia Sara Noëlle

The road to season 6 continues, and this time it’s with an artist that has so much to offer the world. Naaz is a Dutch-Kurdish alternative pop singer that brilliantly exemplifies what this podcast is all about. I’d forgive you for mistaking this series as a podcast about music, after all, I do talk to a lot of musicians. No, this series is really about humanity and you have to admit, behind every great song and every great album is some form of hardship, some form of adversity, and quite frankly; a lot of tough shit.

Naaz is no exception to that, having not only dealt with the usual struggles of everyday life but also having to navigate cultural clashes, social pressures, and inner self-doubt. However, the result of navigating those hardships is an invigorating debut album called Never Have I Ever. It’s a body of work that cements Naaz as a trailblazer, both sonically and lyrically, and our chat is all about the difficult road Naaz had to travel to bring this work to life (along with a fuckton of laughs, big ups to Naaz for her candor and comedic timing).

After you hear the episode, be sure to check out Naaz's track Subliminal Message on the official New Exchange Playlist. Also, be sure to follow Naaz on Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.