Meet Sydney Osei Tutu | Recording Artist | Model | Actress | Playwright

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sydney Osei Tutu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sydney, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Whether singing, modeling, or acting, the most important decision I’ve made in my career is to simply get started. For a perfectionist like myself, this is typically the hardest part of any process. I undoubtedly am my biggest critic, so ever since I came to terms with the fact that to improve upon my work I have to first have that said work released— I’ve been virtually unstoppable. This, of course, is easier said than done. For example, for my debut album, “Songs To Get Ready To”, some of the songs included had been written for literal years. In all this time, I saw close friends following their dreams and putting out their own work and I’m not even gonna lie: I had FOMO, because here I was, sitting on hundreds of hours of songs, ideas, and strategies! So I called my cousin and producer, 9k, and told him, “I want to release an album on my birthday” which gave me a timeline of about two months. Once the words left my mouth and we hung up the phone, the rest was history! I had no choice but to go through with the project. This can even be seen in my social media marketing. Once I released the dates of my various promotional events, I had to stick to them. By becoming comfortable with vulnerability, allowing my friends and followers to hold me accountable, and releasing something of my own, I have finally begun living my dreams— something that would never have been possible had I not made the decision to start.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been singing and interested in theatre for as long as I can remember. In fact, one of my earliest memories in life is the time I sang for my family the notes to a song I heard a beautiful soprano do earlier that night during a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert (for those familiar, the song was “Der Hölle Rache” and believe it or not, I nailed it for a four-year-old). Whether it’s geeking out over the easter eggs hidden in a Pasek and Paul musical or desperately attempting to sing along to the stratospheric high notes in my favorite Pierce the Veil songs, there are very few moments throughout my day when I am not making music in some capacity. My love for music and theatre has allowed me to write and stage musicals and create pop and R&B tracks that break boundaries by borrowing from my other favorite genres (including, but not limited to K-pop, gospel, screamo, chamber, and folk) all while being one of the most dramatic people I have personally ever encountered.

This life filled to the brim with music and art did not make producing my 1st Mini Album, “Songs To Get Ready To”, a walk in the park, however. From songwriting and filming to graphic design and social media management, this project was DIY in the truest sense of the phrase. Managing long nights-turned-mornings filled with recording along with almost never-ending to-do lists, a full course load, and too many extracurriculars to count proved to be extremely stressful at times, but I knew that making “STGRT” was something that I had to do. By taking multiple deep breaths, leaning on my inner circle, and continuing to persevere, I was able to produce a body of work that I’m proud of, and believe me when I say this is only just the beginning!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My friends and I are some of the biggest foodies I know so we would have to start with a brunch run to Sweet Melissa’s (their french toast is to die for) and a quick stop by ChocoLaté Coffee for a frozen drink. After walking around Piedmont Park a little, we would have a picnic complete with our lunch picked up from Noodle in Decatur (making sure not to forget the Thai iced tea, of course)! After a nearly two-hour-long impromptu photoshoot to capture the ~*aesthetic*~ of it all, we would head to D92 Korean BBQ specifically for the galbi, kimchi fried rice, and soy-glazed peanuts before ending the night with either ice cream at Jeni’s or a quick stop by Loco Luna to dance our hearts out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The music I write is influenced by so many different people and things. Whether classic singers like Sam Cooke and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, artists I stan like Beyoncé and NCT, conversations I have had with loved ones, or emotions of mine that needed processing, I love to incorporate the sounds and sensations that stand out to me into the pieces I write. My motto is to create my favorite songs— music that I want to listen to or that I would obsessively tweet about if my faves released them and, in doing so, I’ve been able to find and stick to the sound most authentic to me.

On a more personal note, the support I’ve received for my music has been beyond anything I could ever imagine. I would be remiss to not mention God, my family (namely, my father Augustus, my mother Netherlly, Sedrick, Shabohn, my brother who is also named Augustus, Solomon, “T”, and my uncle Aaron), my professors/mentors, and my beautiful friends for listening to and instilling so much confidence in me. Without their encouragement, the long nights spent theorizing album structure, breakdowns mid-studio session over a note that just would not come out, and borderline relentless promotion of my finished project would have been that much more taxing. As I further my career, I hope to continue relying on my family (both blood and chosen) and grow the small community I’ve made for myself.

Website: https://flow.page/whatsydney

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whatsydney

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsUJ3aGJRnvqerUDHLI6h8w/featured

Other: Listen to “Songs To Get Ready To”— https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwVKSila3IdUh1Onxjw0T4Hxp7AUAP3BH Check Out Sydney’s Jazmine Sullivan Cover!— https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNdw2AzY4c4

Image Credits
KLowe Photography, Mickey Busch, Joy Ludwig