“I was almost homeless literally a month before Spike DMed me,” says Aiyana-Lee, launching into her fairy-tale story of how she came to be part of Spike Lee’s new movie “Highest 2 Lowest.” The 24-year-old musician, who had seen some success releasing music online, woke up one morning two Decembers ago to a DM that began, “Yo, this is the real Spike Lee. Are we cousins?”
“I woke my mom up, it was like 6 a.m., and I said, ‘I think Spike Lee just texted me,’” Aiyana-Lee says. “And I met him that same day. So something was in the air.”
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At first, the legendary filmmaker didn’t even mention his movie to her.
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“He was just giving me the history of how he approaches film and music in film and what that combo looks like. And he was giving me the rundown of a lot of his movies, how he makes creative choices, things he enjoys to watch, and what kind of creative history really. He showcased a lot of culturally important things I should be aware of, and movies that I should check out,” she says. “I had a lot of homework that he gave me.”
A few months went by before he started calling her again, asking if she could come to his office and read some scenes with his casting team.
“It was surreal. And he didn’t say anything after the audition. He just said, ‘Let’s go get Jordans,’” Lee recalls. “And I was like, ‘OK, so maybe I didn’t completely f–k this up because I don’t think the man would want to get Jordans for me if this was terrible.’”
Lee stars in the film as Sula, an aspiring musician, alongside Denzel Washington, A$AP Rocky, Jeffrey Wright and Ilfenesh Hadera. Sula performs the title track “Highest 2 Lowest” for executive David King, played by Washington, which Lee herself wrote for the film.
“Sula was me. You know what I mean? I’ve been through that exact situation that she goes through in the movie, to the point where I felt déjà vu as it was happening and all the same emotions were going through my head,” Lee says. “And Denzel plays such an incredible and powerful executive that you have no choice but to feel all those emotions in the moment. But Sula is such a character that anybody can relate to her.”
Lee says she can’t remember a time when she wasn’t surrounded by music. Her mother, Daciana-Nicole Anderson, is a multiplatinum singer-songwriter, and her uncle is David Ruffin of The Temptations.
“I always felt very inspired to continue that legacy, but put my own spin on it and keep that alive. I do feel like we have to try and preserve the quality of music right now,” she says. “I’ve always been so inspired by the greats in Motown and I’m thankful that my mom really gave me a great introduction to all that as well.”
She’s written her own music for as long as she can remember, and started winning songwriting competitions at the age of 8.
“I’ve always found it a therapeutic experience, especially growing up. I went through a lot of hardships, being bullied severely, my father being abusive. [Music] always felt like my home,” she says. “Being part of and being able to express myself through music was my safety net.”
When it came to making the track for “Highest 2 Lowest,” she recorded more than 10 songs before Spike Lee settled on the one heard in the film.
“He really has better ears than a lot of executives do. I’m going to be real,” she says.
Now that she’s made her acting debut, she’s eager to keep going in that industry as well.
“When you play with someone like Denzel Washington, you can’t help but feel drawn and inspired to thrust yourself in that world because it’s so magical,” she says. “And being on set was a feeling that I can’t even describe.”