Of Jamaican and Iranian heritage, but a Londoner at heart, Rox grew up singing gospel in her local church choir. Having just turned 21, she is already releasing an album under the prestigious Rough Trade label. Memoirs is a jazzy number with clear influences from R&B and soul music, combined with distinctive reggae and Britpop undertones. The New Yooxer met Rox to find out more on this musical phenomenon in the making. Memoirs seems more fitting to someone much older and in a position to look back on their lives – why did you choose this title at 21?
You’re not the first one to point that out. Actually, Memoirs is the perfect title to sum up this first phase of my life, the transition from being a teenager to adulthood. I didn’t mean it to be final, it was just a way to define a moment in time. I’m hoping that throughout the rest of my life there will be many more phases and many more Memoirs to be told…

Most of the lyrics on this album explore the many sides of love: abandonment, loneliness and misunderstandings, as well as happiness and joy. Breakfast in Bed tells the story of how love can change people…
Yes, it’s odd that when you’re not in love you see this type of behavior as ridiculous and think to yourself ‘‘I am nothing like that, I’d never act like them if I were in a relationship‘‘. Then love knocks on your door and you find yourself doing all these things you were laughing at… Simple stuff like getting emotional for a bunch of flowers from your sweetheart.

Speaking from experience then…
Indeed, Breakfast in Bed is an autobiographical song!

Your mother is Jamaican and your father Iranian. How do you believe those two cultures have impacted you?
My parents are divorced and I grew up with my mother, so I’d say the Jamaican side had the greater influence. I miss my Iranian part and I often feel like filling that gap. I’m really into ancient Iranian history. It’s a country I’ve never visited though I’d love to do so as soon as the political situation is a little more stable.

Does style matter in your career?
Yes, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t, but not to the point where music becomes secondary; it’s still my main priority.

So you’re very aware of what you wear…
Choosing a style is important since it’s a way of expressing who you are. Of course in my case that would depend on the occasion… Sometimes I’ll wake up and put on the first thing I find, like jeans and a T-shirt. Other times I‘ll pay much more attention although it doesn’t necessarily mean wearing designer labels. I like to mix and match – I adore vintage, and I hit the little vintage shops anywhere I go.

What do you like about vintage?
The fact that each garment has a past and tells a story.  See this bag? (A brown leather bag with fabric panels recalling a tex-mex style – editor’s note). I found it in a small New York boutique. It might neither be chic nor trendy but I find it beautiful. The leather is a little worn, you can see it has lived and that’s what I like.