The Pacific Northwest isn’t exactly known for being a hotbed for R&B, pop, or hip-hop, but that could change with the career trajectory of artists like Seattle singer/songwriter/producer Parisalexa. It’s typical for Parisalexa (AKA Paris Alexa Williams) to produce herself, create beats live using a loop station, and croon along the surface.
If you’re a millennial/plant lady/person, you’re likely to enjoy the seven tracks on her critically acclaimed 2018 EP Bloom, which includes a plethora of flower metaphors about growing, evolving, and blossoming through the seasons of love. Parisalexa has since dropped another EP called Flexa (check out “Ballin’” to dip your toe), followed by a couple excellent singles: “Water Me” (Parisalexa shows she has all the vocal runs and the range), and “Hot Head.”
Parisalexa first nabbed my attention (and my heart, tbh) when she sang “Cashitis” in the semifinals of Sound Off! 2016, an annual music competition at the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly known as the Experience Music Project) in Seattle. She gave a pitch-perfect vocal, wielded it perfectly, and showed an obvious knack for creating organic, intuitive song structures. To this day, I still get chills.
