Lots of people in Syd’s old neighborhood, Mid-City, jokingly call the 34-year-old musician ‘the mayor’.
She remembers spending entire days outside during the COVID pandemic, cheerfully waving to passersby. Lately, though, she’s noticed some local teenagers driving recklessly and doing donuts near her parents’ home – she jokingly calls them “unruly.”
I went outside and told them to stop what they were doing. I had a truck parked nearby, and I didn’t want them damaging it. Plus, they were leaning dangerously far out of their car windows, which was really concerning.
“I’m an old head when it comes to safety.”
I’m really loving Syd’s new album, ‘Beard’! It feels like she’s truly come into her own – she’s said it’s about feeling more confident than ever before, and you can definitely hear that. The album dropped last week, and it’s a smooth blend of R&B with little hints of Afrobeats and even bossa nova. The title actually comes from a sweet request from her wife – she asked her to keep her peach fuzz! It’s her third solo album since she first came on the scene almost twenty years ago with Odd Future, and it’s been eight years since her last project with The Internet, the band she’s in with Matt Martians and Steve Lacy. Speaking of Steve Lacy, he released a new album the same day as Syd – it’s a good time for fans of their music!
Music
When creating her song “Oh Yeah?”, Lacy experienced a push and pull – moments where she felt confident it would be amazing, followed by doubts. She describes the whole process as needing to calm herself down and focus on finishing the work.
Despite all her personal growth, Syd surprisingly feels more youthful than ever. She explains the intentionally ambiguous cover art for “Beard” – a slightly melancholic photo of her shaved head – perfectly reflects the album’s vibe. It’s meant to be androgynous; someone unfamiliar with her might even guess it’s a picture of a young boy.
I’m having coffee with Syd at a busy cafe on Jefferson Boulevard – she comes here daily, and I believe it judging by how many people greet her. The cafe is close to her home, which is only eight minutes from her parents’. Eventually, her parents plan to move into Syd’s house so Syd and her wife, Simone Clay, can realize their dream of becoming foster mothers in the bigger space.
Syd, whose real name is Sydney Bennett, wants to share the advantages and stability she’s built in her life. Her brother, Travis – known as Taco – also started with the group Odd Future and has since become a successful actor.
Syd created her album “Beard” recording both at a home studio in her parents’ house and at the North Hollywood studio of R&B artist Raphael Saadiq, who is someone she looks up to. She feels a connection with Saadiq’s diverse career – balancing solo work, band involvement (like his time with Tony! Toni! Toné!), and producing for others, just as Syd contributed to Beyoncé’s 2022 album “Renaissance.”
× According to Saadiq, who played bass and helped produce parts of Syd’s album “Beard,” Syd is simply seeking genuine emotion in music. He explains that she continues to grow as an artist not for fame or trends, but purely out of passion. Both Syd and Saadiq have been dedicated musicians since childhood, always eager to collaborate and create with others in their community – the kind of kids who would ask anyone if they wanted to join a musical project.
I was really struck by the vulnerability in Syd’s new album, “Beard.” Tracks like “Closet” and “My Love” feel deeply personal, and she’s spoken about how getting married last year was partly fueled by anxieties surrounding the future of same-sex marriage rights in the US. It adds a really poignant layer to the music, knowing that these songs are coming from a place of both joy and a little bit of fear.
“You know the Supreme Court,” she says with a shrug.
She also stopped drinking because she frequently woke up with hangovers. While others didn’t necessarily notice how much she was drinking, she realized it was a daily habit, usually done at home. She believes her drinking stemmed from boredom, which she considers preferable to drinking out of sadness, but that also made it difficult to acknowledge it as a problem. Ultimately, she had to accept that even if it wasn’t a problem for others, it wasn’t helping her.
So two and a half years ago, she stopped — and on a holiday some can’t imagine without booze.
Says Syd: “I raw-dogged New Year’s Eve, bro.”
Syd’s recent business changes are also reflected in her music. After finishing her contract with Columbia Records, she signed with Warner Records last year, working with Tim Hinshaw, a friend from high school who runs a smaller label called Free Lunch. This new partnership encouraged her to try a different approach to making music, so she organized a songwriting camp with various writers and producers. Notably, the duo Nova Wav, known for their work with Beyoncé, co-wrote and co-produced two tracks on the album, the catchy “Callin” and the sensual “Jasmin 17,” named after a popular fragrance. Other contributors to the album include James Fauntleroy, Van Hunt, Rodney Jerkins, Big Sean, and Jordan Ward.
After Syd wrote and produced Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning song “Plastic Off the Sofa,” a really popular, soulful track, I guessed she quickly received many requests to work with other famous artists.
Honestly, getting that initial opportunity didn’t really open doors to more producing work, which surprised me. I wasn’t getting calls asking for beats or anything. But you know what? I wasn’t upset about it. That experience did give me the confidence to finally produce an album entirely on my own, and that’s what really mattered.
She’s busy preparing for an upcoming solo tour and finishing a new album that fans have been waiting for. The band has been recording with her on and off, and recently she spent a week at a studio in the countryside of Georgia.
The band is currently in a really good place, according to Syd. Their drummer, Christopher Smith, also just released a solo album alongside the band’s new music, ‘Beard’ and Lacy. While Syd is keeping details about the new music under wraps, she did mention they’ve intentionally avoided using Auto-Tune, a vocal effect she feels is overused in music today.
She explains that she values authenticity and depth over flawlessness. She’d prefer to make genuine mistakes instead of striving for an artificial, perfect result.
2026-07-23 13:32