PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Thanks to a viral moment in 2017, Portland rapper Wynne has had eyes on her long before this year. But with the summer release of her attention-grabbing EP “Some Like It Hot,” her audience has grown even larger — and she has no plans on stopping that momentum.
This year alone, the artist born as Sina Wynne Holwerda has been featured as Billboard’s hip-hop and R&B rookie of the month, freestyled on Sway’s morning show, and embarked on her first headlining tour. Now, she’s gearing up for her homecoming concert at the Wonder Ballroom.
The Lake-Oswego-raised artist is just 26 years old, but she previously told KOIN 6 she’s been honing her craft since she was 9 — when her brothers were introducing her to rap stars like Lupe Fiasco and Jay Z.
Fans who tuned in for the earlier stages of her career may be more familiar with the adolescent version of Wynne, who was defined by the witty rhymes she’d perform in rap cyphers.
The new-er Wynne is still a tried-and-true lyricist, proven by bars such as “like my mom remarried, only stepping with my bros” and “he a player, but he can’t get Wynne” — but her confident EP “Some Like It Hot” helped her reach the female audience that she’s always wanted to.
“I definitely had some older fans who were upset about the cover or upset about the way that I had started making more mainstream music, but at the end of the day, this is the music that I’ve always wanted to make, the music that inspires me,” Wynne said. “I’m proud of myself for getting to this point. It took a lot of artists’ development. You get bigger and the love grows bigger and the hate grows bigger, too, so I’m used to it.”
With that being said, the differing opinions on who she should be as an artist haven’t hindered her rise to the top. In fact, her “Hot On Their Heels” tour attracted audiences in New York City, San Francisco and about a dozen cities in between.
Although Wynne had prior touring experience as an opening act for Grammy-nominated hip-hop duo EarthGang, she said being a headlining act is an entirely different experience.
Many artists rap over backing vocals, but Wynne prides herself on solely rapping over instrumentals. For that reason, she said “pretty intense cardio” was an important part of her routine as she awaited her tour.
“Performance is a sport. It’s absolutely a sport… but there’s nothing that prepares you for being on the stage, like you can rehearse as much as you want, you can run as much as you want, but there’s a completely different adrenaline that hits you when you see the people in front of you and the lights hit you on the stage,” she explained.
Portland fans have one final chance to see the rising rapper on her first headlining tour. Tickets for her highly-anticipated homecoming concert scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 16 at the Wonder Ballroom are on sale now.
After her final show, she’ll begin working on her next EP that’s slated to drop in late winter or early spring.
