On a bright Los Angeles day, not far from the neighborhood where she grew up, Alex Isley sits for her Rolling Out Magazine cover shoot. The daughter of Ronnie Isley of the iconic Isley Brothers, she carries herself with a quiet confidence that speaks to both her musical pedigree and her determination to forge her own artistic identity. As our conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that Isley doesn’t just make music about love, she approaches her entire career with the same emotional authenticity that defines her songs.
“I feel beautiful, I feel confident, I feel grateful,” she says, her voice carrying the melodic quality that has made her a rising star in contemporary R&B. “Everything for me comes back to gratitude.”
The emotional architecture of a “lover girl”
Isley doesn’t hesitate to identify the emotional core of her artistic identity: “I am a lover girl. That’s where I come from first and foremost when I’m writing.” This self-definition shapes not just her lyrical content but her entire approach to music-making.
“I come from love, whether it’s writing about wanting to be in love or being in love or the heartbreak and loss of love,” she explains. “I’ve written a lot about that, but it’s all stuff that resonates with me and that I’ve been through personally.”
When asked what it means to be a “lover girl” in today’s world, Isley acknowledges the complexity: “Being a lover girl, I feel like it has its ups and its downs, sometimes more ups, of course. But I think in this climate and this world socially as far as dating, it can be a little tricky, but to hold on to your hope. But I think that natural hope is what keeps my lover girl intact.”
This emotional honesty has evolved as Isley has grown as both an artist and a person. “I think now in my life I do write more to empower lover girls,” she reflects. “Coming into my own womanhood and motherhood has changed me tremendously and has really pushed me to find more of my sense of self and come more into myself and who I am and owning that.”
Navigating legacy without being defined by it
Few emerging artists carry the weight of musical legacy that Isley does. The Isley Brothers’ six-decade career casts both light and shadow on her path, offering invaluable experience but also potential comparisons.
“The Isley Brothers and their legacy has shaped everything that I’ve done,” she acknowledges without hesitation. “Up until I was 12, that was my only concert experience. That was my first experience in the studio, in rehearsal space, was watching them. That is my foundation in every aspect of my artistry.”
The reverence in her voice is unmistakable: “I’m so proud of that lineage and to be a part of it. I’m so proud of their legacy and what they’re still doing. They’re still traveling and performing and doing what they do best.”
This deep respect for her musical heritage coexists with her determination to establish her own artistic identity. When asked about maintaining integrity in an industry that often tries to mold artists, Isley emphasizes the importance of keeping passion at the forefront.
“In order to stay true to myself in an ever-changing industry, I think keeping my love, the love and the passion for what I do first and foremost and keeping that as the focus, that’s the most important thing,” she says. “It’s easy to get caught up in what might be going on around you and trying to adapt.”
Embracing the unpredictable
Unlike artists who rely on established routines, Isley embraces variability in her creative process.
“I don’t honestly have a set process. My process differs every single time I create, but I like it that way,” she says with evident satisfaction. “I like that it’s really unpredictable. It’s different every single time I create. I like that it keeps me on my toes and it keeps me fresh in terms of creating.”
This approach to creativity reflects her larger philosophy about artistic growth. “Evolution is natural and growing and learning and experiencing as time progresses,” she observes. The key, she maintains, is balancing evolution with authenticity: “Keeping the love for what I do, the top priority, I think that’s what matters the most.”
From oceans to collaboration
For an artist whose work draws so heavily on emotional experiences, finding spaces of peace becomes essential. Isley finds hers in multiple domains.
“I go to find peace in prayer, I go to find peace with my family, with my daughter. Quality time with her and my mom means the world to me,” she shares. Her methods have expanded over time: “I find peace now more than ever also in working out and I never thought I’d say that, but I love yoga. I love bike riding. I love hiking and going to the beach by myself.”
These peaceful moments, particularly by the ocean, often circle back to the themes that drive her music. “When I’m sitting by the ocean, I find myself dreaming more often than not about love, about what I would like to experience in love and a little bit of the past and what I’ve been through.”
Beyond personal spaces of refuge, Isley finds creative sanctuary in collaboration. Her work with producers like Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, and Jack Dine has expanded her musical vocabulary while reinforcing the importance of authenticity.
“The producers that I’ve worked with, they all have something so unique about themselves. They all have something really special that only they can do, only they can emulate,” she reflects. “I love working with Terrace. He’s West Coast legend and such a heavy supporter of what I do. And he’s always so genuine and authentically himself.”
These collaborative relationships mirror the musical conversations she wishes she could have with other influences. When asked about meeting Stevie Wonder, a dream she’s been pursuing for a decade, her response reveals both fan admiration and artistic curiosity.
“It’s been an ongoing mission to meet him, but he’s one of our living legends and I just want to be able to sit and have a conversation with the man and to just pick his brain,” she explains. “I do this with my dad as well, all bias aside, my dad is one of my favorite songwriters. And so I just really enjoy sitting and talking and just picking their brains about the headspace they might’ve been in when they wrote a specific song.”
The evolution of artistic voice
Isley’s upcoming first solo album in five years represents a significant artistic evolution. “I’m really, really excited for this new space that I’ve stepped into. I feel like this music is a lot more direct and unapologetic and unafraid,” she shares with evident enthusiasm.
When asked about being called “the voice of future R&B,” she receives the title with characteristic humility. “I’m honored. I just, ultimately, I just want to do this for life. Longevity is the goal,” she says, again drawing inspiration from her family legacy. “Especially seeing my dad and my uncles and the longevity they’ve had in this business, 60 plus years and counting, I would just, I want to continue that and just continue to let my music speak for itself.”
This focus on longevity over fleeting popularity informs her approach to what makes music resonate. “I don’t know if there’s one set, yet there’s no one set answer for what makes a hit record,” she reflects. “I think the answer is always different for what makes a hit record. I think there’s structure and method in intuition and in feeling what it is that we want to say as an artist, I think that is the method. And I think going from starting from your gut and your heart.”
Passing the torch
For aspiring artists, Isley distills her experience into three essential principles: prioritize passion, remain open to growth, and embrace collaboration.
“No matter what it is, no matter what line of work it is, whatever it is that you’re passionate about, as long as you keep that first, as long as you keep the love for what you do first,” she advises, “everything else will take care of itself.”
She emphasizes continued learning, “Study, continue to study, continue to be open to learning and growing, because none of us know everything, and you know we’re not supposed to.”
Finally, she highlights the necessity of community, “Collaboration is important too. You can’t do everything on your own. I mean, you can, but you’ll drive yourself crazy. So don’t be too proud to reach out for help, to tap into the resources around you to do research and develop connections with people. Because at the end of the day, that’s what about, that’s what, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about is connecting and working together.”
If Alex Isley’s musical journey has a defining characteristic, it’s this elegant balance, between heritage and individuality, between emotional vulnerability and artistic strength, between the unpredictability of creativity and the steady aim toward longevity. In an industry that often prizes novelty over substance, Isley represents something increasingly precious: an artist whose work extends naturally from who she is, whose voice carries both the echoes of a storied musical past and the promise of an evolving future. As she continues to chart her path forward, she carries both the weight of legacy and the freedom of authentic self-expression, a balance that makes her not just the voice of future R&B, but a testament to the enduring power of musical truth.
