It’s natural that riela’s music is a collision of genres: she did grow up in Miami, a melting pot of culture. The singer and songwriter, who is the daughter of Cuban and Panamanian immigrants, developed a broad musical palate because she was exposed to so many different sounds growing up. Whether it’s dembow, salsa, or reggaeton, she heard it all.
riela started singing as a child before learning to play the guitar and experimenting with the piano, but the variety of her influences have been crucial to her artistic development. She took her passion for music to Berklee College of Music, but her career started on SoundCloud when she began uploading her music to the platform. She released tranquila y tropical, the first of three EPs, on SoundCloud back in 2020. Now, riela is participating in the First on SoundCloud program to propel her career to new heights.
riela is taking her relationship with the platform to another level by taking us through her hometown in her First on Soundcloud Docuseries.
She gives SoundCloud a tour of Miami during her docuseries episode, in which she spends time with her family who explain the importance of encouragement and how that impacted her. Her mother, Laura, says that they told her she would always succeed if she did what she loved.
riela always knew she wanted to pursue music. The obstacle, at least initially, was her reluctance to share it with the world.
“I just didn’t know how I was going to do it…I had music that I was making with my friends, but just on a private SoundCloud link. I was like, ‘OK, I’m just going to release the music and hope for the best.”
There’s a mellow, familiar, and relatable element to riela’s music, even when she flips back and forth between English and Spanish. “It’s honestly a way of life,” her friend Bonnie says. “A lot of us speak the same way that she sings her music. It’s really refreshing.”
The episode also features an important moment where riela offers insight into her creative approach that can double as advice for anyone with similar ambitions. “Write what you feel and don’t make music for other people,” she says. “I think that when you make it for yourself, it’s a big difference. That’s like my biggest thing: never make music for other people or what you think other people want to hear.”
Listen to riela’s music here and watch her First on SoundCloud ‘22 docuseries episode to learn more.
LISTEN TO RIELA
Credits: Directed by Notachance
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