INJI
about the artist
At its worst EDM, could be described as a male DJ singing bullshit lyrics that are made to mindlessly dance to. This was never the aspiration of 23-year-old Inci Gürün, the rising dance-pop juggernaut who makes club-ready music under the name INJI. "I got confused when I started in dance music because it's kind of understood that you don't have to listen to the lyrics," she says. "That's not what I want to make at all. Even though a lot of the lyrics are not deep, I actually wanted to talk about stuff that was also really important to…
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At its worst EDM, could be described as a male DJ singing bullshit lyrics that are made to mindlessly dance to. This was never the aspiration of 23-year-old Inci Gürün, the rising dance-pop juggernaut who makes club-ready music under the name INJI. "I got confused when I started in dance music because it's kind of understood that you don't have to listen to the lyrics," she says. "That's not what I want to make at all. Even though a lot of the lyrics are not deep, I actually wanted to talk about stuff that was also really important to me."
In the brief two years since the Turkish-born singer broke out off the back of her 2022 house-soaked TikTok hit "GASLIGHT," it's her winking tongue-in-cheek lyricism — wrapped up in a thumping dance-music bow — that, indeed, has become her calling card. Phrases like "gaslight, gatekeep," and "Let's roll, MADLEINE," linger in your mind like a mouth-watering aftertaste. On her second EP, WE GOOD, a five-song rush of sticky dancefloor joints that hop from jangling funk-disco to fist-pumping 2010s recession pop, she solidifies her musical voice, touching on everything from aging to dating and riding out bad days.
INJI would be the first to describe her budding path as an artist as "unbelievable" and coming "out of nowhere," but her musical roots stretch deep. Born and raised in Istanbul, she began attending the city's prestigious music conservatory for classical piano when she was seven. A move to the U.K. in her teenage years introduced her to church choirs and classical and jazz singing — as well as the cities' thriving ecosystem of dance music. By the time "Gaslight" hit the "For You Pages" of millions around the world — INJI was studying finance at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and was purely making music as a hobby. But the success of subsequent singles "MADELINE" and "BELLYDANCING," convinced her that she had something there, something she could give to others. "Similar to how I could play pretty piano and make myself feel better," she says, "I realized you can listen to boom boom boom, and it can make you feel the same cathartic way."
The idea of feeling good now serves as the foundational thesis of her latest EP. WE GOOD was born as she began to fully process the 180-degree turn her life has taken. Her journey has brought her "personal liberation," she says, but also a host of new anxieties from feeling the ageist pressures of fame to the now-heightened punch of souring relationships. "[WE GOOD] is about letting go of anxiety," she says. "It's supposed to encapsulate the feeling of like, 'We're good. Everything's fine. Pretend that everything is OK, and it turns out you feel a little bit more like everything is OK." It's "fake it til you feel it" energy.
Her songs, then, hit like a shot of straight dopamine. Opener "NICE TO MEET YA" is a horns-blazing, Pitbull-esque thumper that recruits fellow TikTok spirits Flyana Boss, because "the least stressful scenario I can imagine myself feeling is being in a pool in Miami listening to 'Fireball' by Pitbull."
On "GIRLZ," she hypes up her girlfriends over a countrified house beat, delivering a hook that feels like a refreshing nod to 2010s recession-core. "I just want to make upbeat, wild pop music like we had in 2010," INJI says.
A subtler reference hidden amongst the songwriting is her admiration of Amy Winehouse, whose deep, wiley voice and layered lyrical game serve as INJI's ultimate North Star. Her influence is heard most transparently on "SEXY FOREVER," the project's mid-point funk anthem that finds INJI declaring she'll be sexy forever — though a read between the lines reveals apprehension about her own dwindling youth (keep in mind – she's 23). Featuring guitar work from Grammy-winning musician Nile Rodgers, it's also her biggest collaboration yet.
"When I first started in the music industry, all I felt was, 'Why aren't you big yet?' Olivia Rodrigo is 18 years old. You're old, you're going to get wrinkly," INJI says of writing the song. "It's something we all think about, especially as women. There are a lot more men 50 and above in music than women – which kind of sucks."
With that said, INJI knows her music's place isn't behind the podium or pulpit, but the shoulder-to-shoulder dancefloor. After years of business school, a closet full of blazers and suits, and taking herself seriously, she's leaning into the power of loosening up. "I say I make music for your 8 a.m. car ride to work when you really don't want to go to work, but you have to and you have to get energized," she says. "Put on some INJI and that hopefully does the trick." The best part? You'll still be singing the lyrics when it's time to hang up the blazer and hang with your girlz."
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