When Smith arrived at Isong’s studio in Bethnal Green, she thought she would leave with a four-track EP. Two days passed. “I went to my label’s office, and I was like, ‘Guys, I think this is an album. I don’t think it’s a little dance project. Like, this is serious,’” she says, her nails clacking together as she makes the point. As it turns out, Isong had a whole Pandora’s box of beats ready for Smith. “When he played everything, I was just like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait, this is sick.’ And if I hear something and I love it, I always want to sing. We listened to literally one song, and I was like, ‘OK, let’s get the mic out and sing.’” Once Smith picked up the mic, she couldn’t stop.
