A few years earlier, back in high school, Brika was intimidated to play in front of a crowd of one. Her boyfriend at the time heard a song she wrote and urged her to sing it in front of his father, Julio Reyes Copello, a Latin Grammy Award-winning producer who previously worked with Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony. She giggles now thinking back to how intimidated she was. "I wasn't ready. I kept saying no but he dragged me in front of his dad to play."
Needless to say she impressed. Reyes Copello quickly signed her to his label Art House Records and in December 2014, Brika put out her first album, Voice Memos, which she said got its title from her working methods. "Before I ever intended to make a career of music I recorded songs as voice memos on my phone. I thought with this album it would be cool for people to hear the rough draft all the way to the finished, produced version."
She goes old school with her vocal influences, naming Billie Holiday as her favorite singer, and more contemporary with her songwriting heroes, listing Coldplay and John Mayer among them. She has an eclectic taste when it comes to the songs she covers. She's recorded Justin Bieber's "Sorry," Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me," and most recently the Brit-pop of the Arctic Monkeys' "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High."
"I listen to a lot of music but with covers I try not to do anything too obscure," she says. "I want them to be something people know and enjoy."
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