R&B Up-And-Comer of the Month TheARTI$t On The Moment She Realized ‘This Is My Purpose’
Categoria: Musica
The rising Jersey artist talks about her viral single "Sober," new album 'DND' and touring with Kehlani.
Por Billboard | 28/08/2026
Before TheARTI$t knew exactly what she wanted her artist name to be, she was already practicing becoming one. Born Erica McCauley, the rising R&B artist has been a dancer, a preschool teacher and a basketball player, past lives that might seem disconnected from music at first glance, but each left lessons that she now carries onto the stage, into the studio and her everyday life. Dancing taught her precision. Teaching nurtured her creativity. Basketball taught her persistence: no matter how tired or exhausted she was, she refused to leave the gym until she made her last shot. When her 2023 single “Sober” went viral on TikTok, TheARTI$t began to understand the power of allowing listeners into parts of her private life. Now, with her latest project DND , a growing presence in the next generation of R&B and a supporting role on the road with Kehlani, she’s entering a new chapter, one defined by showing everyone who she truly is, on and off the stage. TheARTI$t’s newfound evolution extends far beyond music. Her recent collaboration with footwear brand Marc Nolan on the IRIS. loafer reflects an interest in fashion and design that has been part of her identity since childhood, while the shoe’s themes of love, devotion and connection mirror the values she wants to carry into everything she creates. If there’s one thing TheARTI$t wants people to understand about where she is in 2026, it’s that this is only the beginning. “I’m literally just scratching the surface in everything,” she says. “I’m so far from finished.” In our conversation, Billboard ’s August 2026 R&B Up-and-Comer TheARTI$t gets candid about the experiences that shaped her, learning to embrace vulnerability, finding community through her music and stepping into a new era of her artistry. Before music became the path, you were a dancer and preschool teacher and even considered basketball. What do you think those different versions of yourself taught you about the artist you are today? Dancing comes with a lot of practice and precision as well, and I feel like I carry that with me in my performance. Even in moments like these, just being precise in talking to the press and having interviews, even meeting people in the public eye, I just feel like it’s important to carry myself a certain way. And it’s kind of the same thing when it comes to dancing. As far as being a teacher, working with the younger age, like two, three year olds, the creativity that they have at such a young age truly is just inspiring. It can come down to anything, something as small as coloring to the way they put the blocks together. It just brings out the child in me, honestly. When I played basketball, I wouldn’t leave the gym until I made a shot. No matter if I just had a game, if I just had a two-hour practice, I’m exhausted, if I have an injury, I do not leave the gym without shooting and making it. And I feel like that’s the same thing in the studio and on stage. I feel like when I go into the booth, I d