Diana Gordon has been around for a while now, but in many ways, she's just beginning. After a successful stint as a songwriter for other artists (including Beyoncé) for a decade or so as Wynter Gordon, 2016 saw her change her stage name to her birth name, Diana Gordon. In an interview with Paper, Diana explained the change, saying, "When I began thinking about recording as Diana, I feared that it was too personal and I was in my head, but I felt that if I wanted to tell my story and get people to know me , then I had to do the music that I liked, and really write about my life."
2018 saw Diana release Pure, an EP that is intensely personal. It's a change from sounds that she explored previously, taking cues from alternative, grunge and '90s R&B music. Speaking to Highsnobiety, she recalled writing the EP, which came after discovering her estranged brother was homeless. “I didn’t want to make it melancholy or morbid. I was like ‘Let me take the pieces of my childhood that I used to protect myself, that I’ve used to survive.'”
Diana is responsible for one of Beyoncé's most iconic lines, "Becky with the good hair" off her track Sorry from 2016's Lemonade. Speaking about writing with Beyoncé with VICE, Diana said, "He ended up playing her the song we wrote together. She was like, “Who’s that?” He’s like, “That’s my homegirl Diana.” And she’s like, 'Bring her through to the house.' That’s how that happened.
"She was very chill, very cool. It was really amazing. She was very magic, and sweet and she gave me great fruits. I just kept staring at her skin like, “You’re glowing.” She has really clear skin and she smells good."
On her song, Becoming, Diana feels like she's found herself. She's still searching, but there's a sense of certainty to the lyrics that might not have been present previously. Speaking to Paper, Diana talked about the track, saying "It's about me being authentic, raw and consistent and making sure people can see my heart and hear my soul through my voice because that's what's always connected me to the world. So I would say I'm becoming more in touch with and aware of myself." Becoming is the next step for Diana towards her goals, and much like her life, it's both peaceful and chaotic.
Now Diana's dropped her new song Rollin and it's a grungy, distorted take on R&B, buoyed by Diana's soaring vocals. "Rollin was inspired by the high-energy charisma of classic rock and roll, drawing upon the effect of the genre’s call-and-response driven hooks, but re-imagined through a modern, urban lens," Diana explains.
It's like nothing we've heard before but it's this modern take on a genre that's well-worn is why we love her.
