Meet R&B Sweetheart, Cortney Lachelle

Cortney Lachelle, one of Oklahoma City’s hottest upcoming female r&b artists is making strides toward becoming a nationwide r&b sensation.

The OKC native incorporates her smooth and regal r&b sound into a virtuous blend of nostalgic yet contemporary love songs. Cortney’s discography offers versatility as well as she is quit-witted with her rhymes when she creates under the guise of hip-hop and rap genres, with songs such as “Bad Bitch” featuring Stevonna and “Closed Case” featuring Big Ken. 

The twenty-nine-year-old artist is passionate about her craft, as she develops her sound and aesthetic with each project, drawing inspiration from influential r&b artists such as Donell Jones, Anita Baker, and more. Cortney’s first project, The Cycle- EP was released in 2020 and since then she’s released two singles and featured on several others. The body of work features kindred tracks inspired by Cortney’s personal experience, as well as close friends. 

“Taye Diggs,” a fan favorite from the extended play, recalls the aggrieved yet relatable vulnerability that accompanies heartbreak. The song has become popular on social media platform, TikTok. 

Since breaking out on the scene in 2018, Cortney has gained the attention of numerous artists, producers, and more including Bow Wow and Oklahoma City’s very own OKC Black Fashion Week, where she performed a cypher. 

Cortney became inspired to seriously pursue her career as a recording artist after posting a video freestyle on Instagram to the instrumental version of “Gucci Gang,” by Lil Pump. The freestyle went viral within her hub, leading to offers in studio time which propelled her career.

On the Flip Side had the pleasure of hosting an interview with Cortney Lachelle on October 26. 

“What was the inspiration behind your very first song?”

“The song is called ‘Steppin’, it’s no longer available to stream but it may be rereleased at some point since there is a demand for it. It’s a hype song inspired to just do you and step on the haters.”

“What do you think your sound will be like five years from now?”

“I can’t even say–I won’t lie it’s gonna be some real fly shit. I’ll be on a wave of my own and I’ll be able to incorporate more of the things that I really love like country music and pop.”

“What inspired you to not use a stage name?”

“I could not think of one! I tried to create one by playing around with the letters of my name, but I just decided that I was not meant to have a stage name. I’m okay with that though, it worked out great.”

“Aside from how your sound will evolve, what goals do you see yourself accomplishing in the near future?”

“I’m a realist, but I do believe that this is something that I have been made to do…in the next five to ten years I hope and plan to be a household name. I genuinely love music and I want it to feel like this is something I love to do, and I’m gonna keep doing it til i get paid to do it.”

“How do you feel about the ‘R&B is dead’ discourse?”

“I absolutely do not believe that r&b is dead. What I do believe, is, just like the generations before us, when you’re used to hearing a certain style of music, it can feel like it’s dead. What I can say is that people aren’t trying to get the real r&b singers out here, like underground artists.”

“If you had a feature coming your way, whether it be you’re featured on another artists’ music or vice versa, what type of feature would you enjoy?”

“I say this every time, every interview, I want my first feature to be Lil Durk. That’s the vibe I’m going for, off top.”

“What’s one piece of advice you’ve found to resonate with you the most lately, and what advice would you give to other female creatives?”

“One piece of advice that really stuck with me lately was to stop trying to control my art. I put out my project in 2020 and I haven’t put out a new body of work yet because I feel like I have to top the first one. But I was told that music is art and you can put things out based on the space that you’re in. My advice would be to just be you.”

“Do you have any women in the industry that you’d like to plug?”

“There’s a female artist here by the name of Nia Moné, she’s an amazing singer. Sarah Fina Byrd, she has a band and performs here at least twice a week… And me! I hope the people feel my vibe.”  

Make sure to check Ms. Lachelle’s music out on Apple Music, Spotify, and Youtube Music.