Snob & Answer: Mabel
To withstand a decade in the music industry is no easy feat. You go through different phases, try new genres, mold yourself to fit into whatever box people try to put you in. Very few people are lucky enough to make it out the other end.
This is something that Mabel knows all too well. The British singer-songwriter is aware that she, along with her musical style, has shifted on several occasions since she debuted at age 19, almost a decade ago. “There are people who like Pop Mabel, R&B Mabel and Afrobeats Mabel,” she recalls. But Mabel is grateful for all the changes she’s gone through and even more grateful to her dedicated fanbase for sticking with her throughout each evolution.
With so many opinions in your ear at such a young age, it is no surprise that Mabel had so many “eras.” These changes were something that felt authentic at the time but were all really just steps toward enlightenment. “I think being a woman in the industry, there’s this pressure [for a], like, reinvention of who you are [with each new album],” she says. “It’s exhausting.” Mabel knows now that she didn’t fully understand herself back then, nor did she allow herself to be understood.
But all these different versions of herself have brought Mabel to where she is today. Now 28 years old, the only version of Mabel she’s interested in is herself, and she’s finally ready to be introduced to the world.
HIGHSNOBIETY: Who is your style icon?
MABEL: Such a random one, but I always say Celine Dion. I love her so much and I just think it’s so iconic that she keeps all of her archives. Her Law Roach era was just so good. Her stage presence is so powerful. I just love divas.
HIGHSNOBIETY: Even watching clips of you perform, you’re so diva-coded.
MABEL: Which is so funny because I’m very chill off-stage. I just build everything up. Performing is like therapy; it’s like a rage room.
HIGHSNOBIETY: Do you ever look back at your older projects?
MABEL: I feel really connected to my first proper releases because there was so much freedom there. [Back then,] I would take all my favorite parts of myself and merge them into this one project. But as you grow [in the music industry] you have lots of cooks in the kitchen and lots of opinions in your ear and the easier it is for people to try and box you into one thing.
HIGHSNOBIETY: How do you combat people trying to put you into a box?
MABEL: It took a while.. Two years ago, I was like “I want to be myself again.” I went back to writing with my brother — all the songs I’ve released this year, I’ve written with him. I also went back to trying to find a life outside of music: I was like let me nurture this healthy relationship, let me spend time with my family. And I got horses.
HIGHSNOBIETY: We love a horse girl.
MABEL: I found out on the plane yesterday that one of my horses is pregnant. I’m very excited. Also no one talks about what a slay equestrian-wear is, like whether it’s western style or British equestrian-wear. I feel so powerful when I’m in my riding gear, I love it. Even one of my horses [has a] Swarovski-coated kit.
HIGHSNOBIETY: What would you say is the best piece of advice you’ve gotten from your parents?
MABEL: When I started going back to the studio and I would question myself loads, my mom would say to me, “Can you own it? Do you feel like you’re owning it?” I use that all the time and it’s such a simple thing to apply to everything. Like, with work, if I'm writing a message and it’s a bit sharp or unapologetic, I may question myself but then I think, “You can own this.”
HIGHSNOBIETY: What is your favorite look you’ve ever worn?
MABEL: I’ve been wearing a lot by this designer called Jawara Alleyne. He actually made me a mini-wardrobe, but the idea behind it was that you can mix and match and encourage people to rewear things since there’s such a culture around buying things and wearing them once.
HIGHSNOBIETY: That’s a great mindset to have. Especially when you’re in the public eye, it’s so easy to get in your head about what you wear and if you’ve worn it before.
MABEL: It’s very liberating. I feel like going through my closet helped me loads with my identity too because I’m like, “Well, I bought these things before and I obviously like them and saw myself in them. So let me dive deeper into that relationship.”
HIGHSNOBIETY: That feels very in line with how you describe your new body of work.
MABEL: It does all feed into each other. The way I started making music and the way I was living my life, it all feeds into everything.
HIGHSNOBIETY: Who would you say are your musical inspirations?
MABEL: So many people. I think Aaliyah was number one. I just loved her delivery, her style. But I’m just inspired by other women. It’s so much easier to pretend to be something that you’re not and so when I see women in the industry that are living their truth, I think it’s so inspiring.
HIGHSNOBIETY: As a woman, you are so rarely given the space to just be yourself, especially in an industry where people always want you to be something else.
MABEL: Yeah, because there’s always a strategy behind it. People always want you to explain your album in one word. It’s not really that simple, because I’m so connected to the music I make and I’m not one thing. I just want people to understand more about me and have more of an idea of who I actually am. Not like what the era of the album is or like what the character is, I actually want them to get to know me.
HIGHSNOBIETY: No more eras!
MABEL: Just the era of me.
Mabel's new single 'Chat' is out everywhere right now.
