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Born in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aliah Sheffield finds beauty in the in-between, the welcoming space that surrounds her ruminations on love, life, and speaking truth to the world. An avid reader and writer who trained on clarinet and saxophone, she transitioned to piano during her senior year of high school, when, she also started writing songs. Her mother introduced Aliah to records by Nina Simone, Donny Hathaway, and Aretha Franklin, iconic artists who “spoke about depression, feeling misunderstood, racial inequality; they spoke about just problems in America.” They exerted a strong influence on Aliah, as she says, “Songs can be about more than just, you know, love. You can really say something that matters.”
After leaving Berklee College of Music in Boston, Aliah settled in New Jersey and began gigging with friends around the Tri-State Area. She became a singer when she realized that if she wanted her words to be heard, she would have to sing them herself. Working day jobs ranging from music tutor to security guard to cruise ship performer, she helped relaunch the historic Philly soul/R&B label Sound Gems after its decades-long dormancy with her 2014 single “Where I’m At (Is in Love with You).”
Focused on her writing as the isolation and chaos of the pandemic lockdown took hold, Aliah developed an online audience as she uploaded videos of herself singing original songs inspired by the minutiae of everyday life. A move to Mexico resulted in her breakthrough song “Earth Is Ghetto,” whose viral success (over 1 million TikTok creates) prompted a move to Atlanta. Learning how to produce songs there, Aliah released a collaborative album, Since You’ve Been Around (2021), with jazz/soul band Soul’d Out. She signed with Def Jam the following summer, and relocated to Los Angeles in early 2023.
Aliah has found her voice with the completion of THESE SONGS ARE FOR ANYONE SICK OF EARTH, her debut EP via Def Jam (June 2023), featuring “Boo Boo The Fool” and “Some Of Your People.” After more than a decade of hard work, her story is proof that beyond the destination, there’s beauty in the journey – the in-between. For Aliah Sheffield, a new journey is beginning.
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