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\n\t\u201cBeing from Alabama, country music was always around me,\u201d recalls Murph, who grew up idolizing Adele, Amy Winehouse and Drake. \u201cFor a long time I resented that part of myself, so I tried to shy away from it. But then, just through accepting shit, it started to seep into my music more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat through line has since helped the 19-year-old artist carve a singular lane in a crowded field of young talent. Yet at a time when country music is enjoying a mainstream high, Murph is contemplating just how much she wants to lean in. \u201cI\u2019m trying to decide that for myself because I feel like everybody\u2019s doing it now,\u201d she says with a quick sigh. \u201cSo it almost makes me want to do something a little different because I feel like [country music] is beginning to be saturated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tStill, on her forthcoming debut album due out this year, Murph \u2014 who seamlessly skips among country, hip-hop and biting pop \u2014 plans to blend them all across the tracklist. She has already proved her chops in each lane, appearing on Diplo\u2019s Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley: Chapter 2 \u2014 Swamp Savant<\/em> alongside Polo G and, \u00admost recently, scoring her highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 entry with \u201cWild Ones\u201d alongside country hit-maker Jelly Roll. \u201cThat is truly one of the best people I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d Murph says of Jelly. \u201cI feel like I could go to him about anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tBeing raised in a \u201cmusical household\u201d in Athens, Ala. \u2014 with a population of nearly 30,000 \u2014 Murph started writing songs when she was 9 years old. By 11, she was posting covers on TikTok and YouTube, nailing everything from David Guetta and Sia\u2019s \u201cTitanium\u201d to Billie Eilish\u2019s \u201cOcean Eyes\u201d to Post Malone\u2019s more singer-\u00adsongwriter-based hits like \u201cFeeling Whitney\u201d and \u201cStay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter Murph started gaining traction online, her mother, a former musician, helped her daughter navigate the offers rolling in through email. (At the time, Murph was being homeschooled during the pandemic.) She signed a management deal with Disruptor\u2019s Adam Alpert and Julie Leff in 2020, followed by a major-label deal with Columbia in 2021. Her debut single, the brooding and edgy \u201cUpgrade,\u201d arrived with a music video in which Murph dressed in a simple black outfit with slicked-back hair.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat feels like a lifetime ago,\u201d she says today, noting how much she has honed her style \u2014 and, as a result, her sound \u2014 since then. \u201cFrom where I grew up, the style was really preppy, so I used to dress like that in high school. But as I found myself through music, I found myself stylistically as well. I think that also just comes with growing up \u2026 Everybody finds their own style as they get older, but I also lend a lot of it to the snoot, honestly. The snoot has inspired so much for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe proof is in her hits. Her 2023 debut mixtape, Drowning<\/em>, included standouts \u201cAlways Been You\u201d and \u201cPray,\u201d both showcasing Murph\u2019s storytelling while spotlighting her Southern drawl and emotive rasp. The rest of her year was defined by her collaborations, adding one with Maren Morris titled \u201cTexas\u201d to her lineup.<\/p>\n\n\tBut as she believes, the best is yet to come. She says her forthcoming debut album is the most proud she has ever felt of her music. \u201cIt\u2019s just so truly me,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s some stuff on there that\u2019s definitely unexpected \u2026 I\u2019m rapping, I\u2019m belting, and some of it\u2019s slightly country. Everything I\u2019m saying on this album, I fucking mean. It\u2019s coming straight from the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHer latest single, the eviscerating \u201cSon of a Bitch,\u201d is evidence enough. While a bit of Winehouse can be heard in Murph\u2019s soulful vocals \u2014 though she sings with more grit \u2014 the song is distinctly hers. And while rooted in the familiar concept of revenge, much like Carrie Underwood\u2019s \u201cBefore He Cheats,\u201d Murph\u2019s take is more ominous, as she sings, \u201cThis side of me, she ain\u2019t Jessie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFor an artist like Murph, that kind of authenticity \u2014 personally and sonically \u2014 is crucial. And while she admits she has had to \u201coverly explain\u201d her vision in some songwriting sessions, she believes her wide-ranging interests are \u201cless of something I\u2019m meticulously doing and more because of who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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