Hear Our VSN: Anaya Ford, the New Voice of New York City
Anaya Ford photographed by Official VSN (2022)
Anaya Ford has only recently begun her new life in NYC, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t already done big things. From interviews with your favorite rappers to investing in her craft, Anaya has already left quite the impact on this city. Official VSN got the inside scoop on what life’s been like for her these past few months and what’s to come next.
Introduction:
My name is Anaya Ford, and I’m from California. I’m an 18 year old creator currently residing in New York City.
Anaya Ford via Instagram (2022)
Creative Background:
So I started in dance when I was 5 years old and started modeling when I was 6 years old. I continued to dance throughout my whole life until covid hit and I quit that sh*t. I stopped modeling when I moved from Northern to Southern California.
What’s it like pursuing an education in a creative field? What part of the curriculum is sticking with you the most:
I think that pursuing an education in a creative field makes college so much easier. Since my major is music technology, entrepreneurship, and production; Producing music is new to me and I enjoy it. I also DJ as well and I think DJing is super fun!!
What about your work do you think captivates people the most:
I think my work is a combination of many different creative outlets so when people see that they’re intrigued by the work I produce.
What social media platform seems to be the easiest to gain traction on? Which one is the hardest:
I think Tik Tok is the easiest media to gain traction on because I’ve accumulated over 700k likes on my tik tok account by making music related content through interviews, concert videos, vlogs, and more. I think that Youtube is the hardest due to the fact that most people already need a fan base to get subscribers.
Anaya via photoshoot (2022)
Who’s been your favorite to photograph so far:
Steve Lacy has been my favorite to photograph so far because I’m always front row and he’s pretty easy to photograph because he doesn’t jump around like most performers do.
You seem to have run-ins with just about everybody in New York from Lil Uzi Vert, A$AP Rocky, and more. Tell me what that’s all been like:
First of all, I actually performed with A$AP during Rolling Loud 2022, I can’t get into too much detail about that one…. ;) but about two days ago, Uzi shut down the whole street for his music video. My friends and I decided to go and it was insane. I’ve run into many artists like Kenny Beats, Zack Bia, midwxst, and more throughout my two months of being here.
Most of your work so far has been shot on an iPhone camera. What would you say too upcoming creators who struggle with creating on a budget or feel like they need fancy equipment:
A piece of advice that someone mentioned to me was that it was all about my eye for photography that I didn’t need any fancy equipment. So I think it just depends on the creative individual!! I decided to invest in myself last week and buy a camera, and I’ve already achieved 3 paid shoots and many more to come.
Anaya via photoshoot (2022)
What makes your VSN unique?:
I think what makes my VSN unique is that I can combine many creative outlets and express myself and create a product with it.
What are your year end and 2023 goals?:
By the end of this year, I would like to continue getting paid for shooting photos and videos. For 2023 I would like to collaborate with more creatives and create passive income for myself.
If you could interview anyone in the world right now who would you take that opportunity with and why?:
If I could interview anyone in the world right now It’d have to be Tyler the Creator because he’s funny as hell and he’d probably make fun of me.
New York or California:
I prefer New York because of the opportunities the city has given me after living here for only two months.
One thing Official VSN & many others are excited about is your upcoming interview with Skaiwater, what can we all expect from that interview:
You can expect a great interview with an artist that has inspired me and many others. I’m still editing it so it’ll be out within a week!
Anaya & Skaiwater photographed together (2022)