Syd explores love and self-acceptance in her album ‘Beard’ : NPR

Syd, a contemporary R&B musician, named her latest album Beard, inspired by the peach fuzz growing above her upper lip.

“I was letting my facial hair grow just to see what I would look like with it, because I was starting to like my mustache, which, you know, is unconventional as a woman,” Syd told Morning Edition‘s A Martínez.

Although Syd is 34 years old, married and has released two previous solo studio albums, she considers Beard, her third solo album, a coming-of-age project.

“I feel like I’m blooming,” she said. “I’ve always been a late bloomer.”

Syd began her music career as a teenager. Known as Syd tha Kid back then, she gained recognition as a producer, engineer and DJ for the rowdy, alternative hip-hop collective, Odd Future. The collective consisted of talented young Black musicians like Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt, who have each gone on to become beloved artists and critically acclaimed musicians.

Odd Future was an early internet sensation, gaining attraction and popularity for their alternative, often chaotic and controversial, style, opinions, music and stunts. But Syd, the only girl in the group, always seemed to shy away from the chaos.

“The truth is, I am an introvert,” Syd said. “It’s just there’s a level of acceptance to it now. Whereas at one point I didn’t know if I was an introvert or if I was just insecure.”

Despite her doubts, Syd never stopped creating and releasing music. In 2011, she co-founded the adored alternative R&B group, The Internet, with her friend Matt Martians. And she released her last album with Odd Future in 2012. While she tended to the success of The Internet, which earned a Grammy-nomination in 2016, she also started her solo career. In 2017, she released her debut solo album, Fin, and her sophomore project, Broken Hearts Club, in 2022. Her work and music outline her journey to get to where she is today. For Syd, Beard marks her destination to self-acceptance.