Independent, cool, and relatable, K.Flay is the girl we all want as our best friend. Her indie-rap songs have a hazy, almost dreamy, feel mixed with a funky street style, making her captivatingly unique and edgy.

K.Flay entered the music scene during her undergraduate years at Stanford University—yes, she's smart too. She wrote and produced songs to show her roommates, uploading multiple mix tapes and EPs to her MySpace page. Thankfully, her peers at college noticed her talent and encouraged her to pursue music as a career.

Flash-forward a few years, K.Flay now has more than 19,000 followers on Twitter and more than 16,000 YouTube subscribers. In June, she released her first major album, "Life As A Dog," under her own record label. K.Flay's album is particularly noteworthy, since she exerts almost total control over her music, from lyrics to production. She is a refreshing change in the music scene, proving that true artistry lies deeper than just impressive vocals.

I had the chance to speak with her in the middle of her U.S. tour and discussed her career and favorite songs, ultimately shedding her artsy, tough exterior and exposing a fun, motivated woman who can laugh at herself and her quirkiness while still remaining serious about her goals. 

Neon Tommy: When did you decide you wanted music to be your career?

K.Flay: It's hard to pinpoint an exact moment. I got started making music when I was in college, just very capriciously. I was doing it for fun, you know? It was just a weird, strange thing I would do on the weekends. After I graduated, there were a few people in the area who took interest in me and mentored me and pushed me to start working on production and start taking it seriously. I think it was probably about four to five years ago when I was like, "Alright, I'm going to try to do this."

NT: Where do you get inspiration for songwriting?

K.Flay: I think a lot of it comes form my own personal experiences. The product now is more in the alternative, indie direction but there's a certain hip-hop at its core and that's kind of where it got started. So much of that genre and that tradition have to do with confessional music and introspective music. So, a lot of it is what I'm going through at the moment or even me sort of subsuming other peoples' experiences into my own story. I read a lot of books. I get a lot of ideas from books, too.

NT: What's your favorite song that you've written?

K.Flay: One of my favorite songs is called "The Cops." I was working on a project that ended up being a mix tape called "West Coast" but I wrote that song super quickly and without any premise for what I wanted to do while I was doing it. It's a song that really has resonated with a lot of people so it's been cool to do that. It's a very, I guess, weird, natural, cathartic thing that makes sense to other people too.

NT: Describe your music in five words or less.

K.Flay: Got sad and wrote songs. (Laughs) Something like that.

NT: Tell me about your new album, "Life As A Dog." How do you feel about it?

K.Flay: I'm really proud of it. I was on a major label for a couple of years, sort of in a state of limbo, you know? I put out a bunch of EPs and mix tapes, all kind of self-compiled. There wasn't a lot of support at the label and, I think, they didn't really know what to do with me because I was very much in between genres. So, I got off the label and this record was made very organically with a group of people who have supported and believed in this project for a long time. The whole thing was just such a wave of love. I formed my own record label and kind of did it all on our own terms, which, as a creative person, is just gratifying to be able to do. So, yeah, I feel great about it. I think lyrically, it's a very honest record and it's been cool to see songs resonating with people and people knowing the words. It's a nice feeling.

NT: And it must be more rewarding knowing that you had a place in every aspect of the record.

K.Flay: Yeah, even from the different album artwork and all the other related content, it's pretty much me and my management team. We kind of just buckled down every day and did everything. It really does make it that much greater when things go well or when we have a little victory because it feels like we really did it.

NT: What is your favorite song to sing in the car or shower or for karaoke?

K.Flay: My go-to, classic, quintessential karaoke song is "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. It's pretty much the most empowering song ever written. Actually last summer, we were opening for Icona Pop on tour and in pretty much every city, I tried to find a way to do karaoke with "My Way." And, strangely, I did not do a bad job with that. You'd be surprised. There are a lot of karaoke bars or a lot of bars in general that just facilitate karaoke unexpectedly. Yeah, that's the song. That's the one.

NT: Guilty pleasure?

K.Flay: My guilty pleasure is watching Guy Fieri shows. My drummer and I are pretty legitimately obsessed. It's not even like an ironic thing! I'm not making fun of him or anything. We love "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." We love any television program that man is apart of.

NT: Did you see the "Saturday Night Live" skit that they make fun of him in?

K.Flay: I did. I laughed but it also kind of hurt my heart a little because there's something about him that I really love.

NT: Lastly, what is something you want your fans to know?

K.Flay: We have been working really hard on the live show and I think, from an aesthetic standpoint, the setlist and just the overall experience is at a really good spot. I want people to know that they should come check out the show. I'm cautiously optimistic that they will like the show so that is my parting message to the people of the world. Readers of the internet, come to the show.

Reach Staff Reporter Rania Aniftos here.