Meet our June Brown Girl of the Month, Vidya Iyer, better known popularly by her handle, Vidya Vox (“Vox” is Latin for voice). She is an Indian-American classical singer who is taking the world by storm with her beautifully bright dyed hair and many mashup covers—including the popular “Lean On/Jind Mahi.”
“I was born in Chennai, India and grew up in Virginia. My family is Tamilian, but lived in Kerela so I speak fluent Tamil and some terrible Malayalam. I can get by with Hindi as well, but I often get stared at when I try.
I have an unhealthy obsession with Beyoncé, guacamole and enjoy well-decorated spaces.
My mom put my sister and me in music class when I was five years old. I initially hated it, but as I grew older, I really started to appreciate the time I had in music class. Also, my grandmother would really encourage me to practice and apply what I was learning to any movie songs that I listened to. She made it fun!
I learned for a while, stopping right before moving to GWU for my undergraduate degree in Psychology. I still sang a lot, it has always been my go-to activity if I need to relieve anxiety or stress.
I met and collaborated with Shankar Tucker while I was at GWU. We did the song ‘Nee Nenaindal,’ and that changed my life!
After college, I decided that I wanted to give music a shot, so I moved to India to restart my music lessons. It was little over a year ago that I decided to upload my first mashup on my YouTube channel, and here we are—I’m Brown Girl of the Month!
Through this musical journey, I’ve been fortunate enough to regularly perform as a vocalist with theShankar Tucker Band and have the opportunity to sing at venues around the world, including the White House, NCPA and Webster Hall.
Fusing my two worlds—the east and the west—is important to me not only with my music. It shines through with my style as well. Styling myself for my music videos is simply another way of expressing my expressing myself.
It’s been a crazy journey so far, and I’m so grateful for the immense support I have received. I’m currently working on an all original EP, which I hope to release late this year/early next year. Keep your eye out for it. Thank you for reading! :)”
Keep the music alive BGs,
-Vidya
A curated newsletter full of dinner-table worthy topics, thought provoking stories, promo codes and the spiciest memes straight to your inbox.