Ella Mai Speaks On Coachella & Being Inspired By Nipsey Hussle

[Amber]

The first weekend of Coachella brought a number of performances from rising stars including 24-year-old R&B singer Ella Mai. Her breakout hit "Boo'd Up" put her on the map, earning her a platinum record, but lately, it's been her single "Trip" that's been making its way through headlines. She recently caught a little heat for allegedly throwing a bit of shade toward fellow singer Jacquees who has capitalized off of her single by covering the song with a version of his own, but Ella Mai's recent focus was on performing in the California desert for thousands of screaming fans.

She recently spoke with Vibe about her Coachella performance, saying that he favorite part of being on stage "would have to be when I performed 'Naked' and because it was dark, and I performed when the sun went down, I couldn't see how far the crowd actually went back. But during 'Naked,' it was such an intimate moment I asked everyone to put their lights up (phones) and when I saw how far it went back I was like, 'Whoa.' That moment sealed it for me." She added. "Even there were two people in the audience, I still would've done my best," she added. "But just to see the crowd be so engaged, even if they didn't know the music, was a really good feeling. I had so much fun." 

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Ella has recently moved to Los Angeles, and when she was asked about her opinion on the emotional temperature of the city following Nipsey Hussle's murder, she said that while people are mourning his death, they are also feeling inspired by his life. "I feel like the energy shift went both ways; everyone was really sad, grieving and mourning but everyone feels more inspired by what he was doing that they want to go out and do something and change in their community."

"It's still a very touchy subject in L.A., especially the people that I'm around since they were very close to him," she said. "I think everyone is super inspired to do better and try to be more like him, which is great to see. YG's whole set at Coachella was dedicated to him, I know Khalid had a dedication to Mac Miller. Everyone is super aware of what Nipsey was trying to do and how he wanted to change the world."

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