Sollyy is an artist, producer, and DJ who has become synonymous with Western Sydney’s vibrant music scene. For over ten years, music has been a guiding force for him, leading him from his teenage years spent experimenting with Fruity Loops to performing on stages at festivals like Parramatta Lanes and SXSW. Throughout this journey, he has nurtured an insatiable desire to push the boundaries of creativity.  

So far, his efforts have not gone unnoticed, as music fans and industry professionals alike have recognised his eclectic sound, which blends elements of boom-bap, alt-rap, underground R&B, and synth-pop. However, it’s Sollyy’s sincerity and vulnerability in his music that resonate deeply with audiences. He shares stories of personal highs and lows, nights spent pursuing relationships, and overwhelming insecurities with the same flair as his trademark stylish frames.

Hi Sollyy! Though we’re in March already (crazy), I want to say congrats on a massive 2025. Have you had time to reflect a little on everything from the last 12 months? 

Honestly not really… I feel as if I’m always just constantly onto the next. I feel like I’ll only be able to look back on it when I’ve like, maybe gone on a world tour or something. I will say that I tend to process things pretty quickly nowadays because of the pace at which things happen… 

Can you set the scene of a young Sollyy getting into music?

Yooo hahahaha I was riding in the car with my family on the way to church I think. and I think The Edge was on. 96.1. And it was ‘The Way You Move’ by OutKast. Bruhhh that song stayed with me to this day, I’m pretty sure it was the first ever song I remember listening to. 

You’ve talked about it in the past, how one of the formative moments in your early career was DJing a set for Yawdoesitall. Can you talk about that night and why it was so significant to you? 

Oiiii that was gun man. Bro Yaw is the man. He really put me on to a whole other creative world that I feel like really changed my entire look on making a career out of music. Like bruh I didn’t know what Goodspace was or Freda’s was or idk distribution of music before I met that guy. So he gave me a huge in into the music world by giving me my first DJ gig that night and I definitely credit him with opening my eyes. That’s my fkn guy man!!!

One thing we definitely have in common is an affinity for the ‘Not Many’ remix. Why did that track have such a strong impact on you? 

Bruh that song is like the fkn best shit ever. It was like my first ever exposure to Samoans and Pasifika people making hip hop so it was really inspiring to me as a young Samoan kid growing up in Sydney with a love for music but nothing to look at for a path. Bruh the remix is also way better than the original. The Savage verse is an all timer omfg I know the words back to front. 

What I like about your lyrics is how far you take your imagery and willingness to play with words. How do you approach the writing process?

I honestly don’t know… I’m so all over the place. Some songs existed for years as takes of me mumbling before I finally put words to them. Some songs I write straight away… Some songs I literally freestyled aye. ‘OH MYY OH MYY’ was written to a full different beat and sat like that for 2 years til I had the idea to chuck it onto the beat it exists on now. I think whatever way feels the most natural, suits the song, etc. I’ll go that way.

In 2025 you dropped your debut album ‘I LEFT MYY HEART OUT WEST’. Firstly, how did it feel to put it out into the world? 

I think I was just glad I could have something that I felt like was truly for me and mines… I look forward to expanding on the world I started creating with that project… I look at it as a reference point for where all my most outlandish ideas exist. If you were there for this then I feel like everything I’m about to do will make so much sense.

The album feels like a window into your life, where you detail some highs, confronting lows, and plenty of genre-blending production. How did you decide what made it on the album and what was left off? 

I definitely just wanted it to be 7 tracks. I’ve just had an affinity for 7-track projects for the longest time. I think all of Kanye’s production output from those 2018 Wyoming sessions really stuck with me. I just wanted to scratch an itch for myself with every song and also maintain a level of odd consistency across the project; every song feels like it has its own little quirky world yet I feel like it all still makes sense together coming from me.

How do you feel that the independent Australian rap scene has evolved since looking from the outside to being at its heart at the moment?

I really feel like we’ve started to stumble on a new identity that is uniquely ours. And I don’t mean the already existing Aussie rap scene. I think the scene that’s forming now is kind of a response to that. A response to living and navigating this Aussie way of life, never feeling like I truly saw myself in it, but I am still Aussie nonetheless, so I feel like this new wave of Australian rap is a direct commentary on that sentiment and friction.

A huge part of your artistry has been collaborating with fellow Sydney artists like Zion Garcia, iPod, 1300, and more. Why do you think it’s so important for local artists to work together?

I’ll refer you to Brian Eno on this:

“Like all art students, I was encouraged to believe that there were a few great figures like Picasso and Kandinsky, Rembrandt and Giotto and so on who sort-of appeared out of nowhere and produced artistic revolution… As I looked at art more and more, I discovered that that wasn’t really a true picture. What really happened was that there were sometimes very fertile scenes involving lots and lots of people – some of them artists, some of them collectors, some of them curators, thinkers, theorists, people who were fashionable and knew what the hip things were – all sorts of people who created a kind of ecology of talent. And out of that ecology arose some wonderful work. So I came up with this word ‘scenius’ – the intelligence of a whole operation or group of people. I think that’s a more useful way to think about culture. Let’s forget the idea of ‘genius’ for a little while, let’s think about the whole ecology of ideas that give rise to good new thoughts and good new work.”

Are there any Sydney artists you want to shout out? 

No big lists. Just listen to Maden Lane – ‘Bus Stop’.

To wrap things up, seeing as we started as a food account, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask what are some food spots out west we should be checking out? 

• FRIED BROTHERS (ANY LOCATION, I PREFER BLACKTOWN)
• MATE BURGER @ ROOTY HILL
• HAWA @ GRANVILLE
• PHO 76 @ GREEN VALLEY

Huge shout outs to Sollyy for taking the time to chat. You can find his music, including ‘I LEFT MYY HEART OUT WEST’, on streaming platforms now. Make sure to follow @sollyywood to see what he’s up to next.