Aurora SaRose Turns Up: From Neo-Soul to Pirate Queen
July 16, 2025, 12:00 p.m. ET
Written by Tranae Cearnal
Aurora SaRose is like a walking piece of art.
“I like a lot of earrings. But I don’t think my sense of fashion is very flashy. I don’t really do that.”
A singer, rapper, and tattoo artist (she’s done most of her tattoos herself), Aurora’s shy, forward-facing presentation is a stark contrast to the turn-up music she’s been putting out lately. Her recent single, The Kid Next Door, feels like a big shift from her usual neo-soul sound. But to her, it wasn’t a transition at all.
“I’ve always had those rap songs saved,” she says.
In fact, her early neo-soul style came partly from external pressure to be more marketable. After finally getting the chance to sit down with the Highland Park native at Richmond’s The Black Olive, we got to see several layers of the multi-hyphenate 20-year-old.
“I fit the image,” she said. But she continued, “I’m not just one thing. I’m not just a quiet lover girl. I’m not just in my feelings all the time. I like to have fun! I like to turn up!” she smiled.
After growing up singing in the church choir, SaRose found inspiration in artists like Badu, soul singer Gloria Scott, Rico Nasty, and Ol' Dirty Bastard.
“Oh, I love ODB,” she grinned.
But in her teen years, she developed anxiety that deterred her from making her own music. It wasn’t until around 18 that she realized she had a lot to say, and needed an outlet that allowed her to express it without hiding.
After some music friends introduced her to DistroKid, she decided to return to her roots.
“I watched a YouTube video on how to use it, and I just uploaded my first song and thought, ‘That’s kinda nice!’”
Within a week of dropping her first single, she was performing at an open mic.
“I was feeling empowered! Like, I got to sing.”
That first song led to several others.
Aurora wants her music to speak to the collective. She’s got tracks for the “neo-soul baddies.”
“I make music for everybody!” she said confidently.
When asked if she writes her own lyrics, she proudly replied, “100 percent. No shade. Even if what I write is butt, I want it all to be authentically me. I do most of the recording in my house. I don’t run it by many people, except maybe my Mom.”
She smiled, “I always run everything by her because she IS a businesswoman. She’s my momager, I guess.”
Fire.
Listen To Her Latest EP: Roses Have Thorns
Recently, she’s been taking her music outside of Richmond, performing in cities like D.C., where she found the energy much different.
“I love it. D.C. was the first city where people were jumping out of their seats and screaming, and I was like, Oh shoot! Y’all really gettin’ like that?!” she laughed.
She added, “Most of the people didn’t even know me.”
Aurora says, “I love Richmond, but we’re a little more laid-back and less fast-paced, maybe. Richmond has more deep thinkers.” She also noted that most of her streaming audience is outside the city.
She does all her own recording from her room and has worked with a Russian producer on several tracks—except for Kid Next Door.
“It started off as a stutter. It was kinda pissing me off,” she said. But she kept playing with it.
“I’m kinda rocking with it! Speaking as a kid—and stuttering—was something I struggled with. And I was like, ‘Why not?!’”
When asked how she pushes past anxiety and speaking fears, she said, “Well, at first it was definitely a push. But now I just step into a zone.”
While y’all stream The Kid Next Door, Aurora SaRose is already working on her next project: The Queen of the Pirates, inspired by anime.
You can catch her performing live at the next Global Connections on July 26th.