Graced with multifarious experience across industries, Sellah possesses a perceptive approach to creation! Bearing an album cover thick with symbolic references, the visionary instills a movement of freedom and success both in his work and beyond with Sorcery. He naturally gravitated to and ultimately created a life and a movement around the freedom of cultural and creative expression. Sellah honors his artistry through true dedication and focuses on every aspect of the creative process. The biggest driving force in Sellah’s journey has been his perpetual call to creativity. 

Credits: Sellah

1. Can you tell us a bit more about yourself? And where does your artist name come from? 

Sellah with two L`s comes from the word SELAH which in many cultures and religions means; weapon, meditation of the mind, body and soul, stop and listen, the ending of a prayer and many more. I was extremely depressed in 2010 while visiting my parents.

I remember waking up from a dream and hearing something whisper seeing Selah in my ear. I immediately woke up and searched the internet. I came across very deep and meaningful definitions behind the name. At this time in my life, I was going by my legal government name Michael McCloud in the industry as my artist name but it never felt right because in music to me personally, there should only be one Michael and that is Michael Jackson. I meditated on this and said Selah must be how I live my life and not just my music name. Therefore, I made it not just my artist name but more a movement and lifestyle. I added the extra L to not disrespect any religions or cultures but remain true to the idea behind the name. Ultimately, I need people to just “ Stop and Listen” to my music. Which makes me the first official Sellah with Two Ls; SELLAH.

2. Your music style is quite eclectic, you play Alternative R&B, Trap, and Rap…Which genre do you recognize yourself with mostly? 

Focusing on a specific genre for people to know me has been so challenging. I told myself with this new music keeps it feeling. Make exactly what you feel in that given moment and let the world define my genre. The King of Alternative R&B is the role, I am working for but I am pushing myself to always remain versatile and never set limits to my sounds and vocal capabilities.

3. What is your aspiration in life and where do you get your inspiration? As well for the Sorcery Album?

In life most of my inspiration comes from the things I live and go through on the daily. Being naturally an Empathetic person also makes me feel more than most. My aspiration is to live fully in my truths and be as authentic as I can be. Sorcery album is about finally claiming my own inner magic, will power and fully manifesting exactly what I want and know that I deserve. I made Sorcey to be a gateway opening portal of what the world can expect from my music for now on. The inspiration was to give the ones who care about my music a new taste of this unapologetic side of Sellah. In essence, showing more vulnerability, personality and rage, but also the beginning of a new era of Sellah

4. You produce diverse projects, such as a magazine, podcasts, and photography… Can you tell us a bit more about it, which are the topic of those? Do you like to mix all of your worlds, everything in between? 

I dropped out of my Hawaii University basketball scholarship to pursue modeling in LA over 12 years ago while going to school in Oahu. I have had a camera since I was 7 years old. The fashion industry has also had my heart and interest since I could remember. Back when I dropped out of college I told myself why just go for music? I went for anything my soul desired, especially when people said I could never do the things I already accomplished in basketball, fashion, music, photography, modeling, music and more. With many failures I learned that mixing all of my worlds has only made me more resilient in music and my careers in general. Having a magazine I created from pure thought allowed me to produce shoots and campaigns all over the world with A list celebrities, top designers and top models. Booking acting jobs in global TV shows and commercials helped me to be more personable on camera for my music. Working in the fashion industry helped me to know how to market and brand myself better as a music artist. Presently, I take and edit most of my own photos. I also edit a lot of my own vocals and do alot of my own video editing. If I am not editing my own work I am behind the direction of everything. Mixing all of my worlds has allowed me to be very hands-on with my own career and have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the real work that goes behind being an artist.

5. Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming projects, what we can expect from you in 2022?

I just finished the biggest album of my career and it will have over 25 songs. This is that album that will change my life! I have worked on this for over 3 years and just finished it here in the South of France. I have an amazing team I am building under me part of my albums like Loic Sartor, Zac Hassenfuss, TurfGawd, LIL DBOOO, My music mentor K-R.O.K, Cameron Lightley Cooldudesdotcom, Jphilly, Max Season, and Jaymie Jaylen. I dreamed of having real animation on my original music and thank you to Pixel Adgency and Benyamin Barati my dreams finally came true. I am so excited for everyone to see the visuals and experience the sounds. I created this album to put Sellah into his own world and universe. Before Sorcery, I was making music with no real storyline connected or consistent substance and now everything I do leads to something else. This is the discovery of this new world and planet I created called the Northern Light which is Sellahs ultimate form.

6. Our last issue is about Balance, so how do you achieve balance in your daily life?

The most important thing for me as of late is turning off my phone multiple times throughout the day along with daily meditation and prayer. I need to detach myself from all technologies and people a few times a day just to realign and adjust my equilibrium. This has been so healthy for me. Lastly, eliminating any negative energy from people I know personally or outside forces. If I am not feeling someone or something I just let it go immediately.

Author: Mariana Malheiro

Cover of his Sorcery Album