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Jilly is the definition of a Boss Babe, also the name of her own company and perfume titled Boss Babe by Jilly. Boasting 2.5 million followers on Instagram alone, Jilly is the definition of a multi-hyphenate, someone who excels in all areas and puts nothing but good energy into the world. And while music may be her main focus at the moment, that doesn’t take away from her exceptional cooking skills and past life as a model.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jilly was named Miss Teen Houston in 2011. Being a high school varsity cheerleader for 4 years gave her the skill sets to entertain, dancing and singing her way into the music industry and continuously locked in the studio perfecting her craft.  This has resulted in her opening for 2Chainz at an early stage in her musical career.

Fast forward to 2022, Jilly is excited as ever to finally have unveiled her newest EP titled Copy & Paste. The title itself is inspired by the fact that Jilly was the first to do a lot of these new trends you see in this day and age, but she’s gracious enough to let her own blueprint be the inspiration for individuals all around the world that they too can make their wildest dreams come true.

Sheen Magazine caught up with Jilly in downtown Los Angeles, as she was in town for a few days shooting her music video for ”Throwback.” Read below as we discuss her love for cooking, making Reels, how she stays fit, being a Boss Babe, beauty go-to’s, and more!

You’re in Los Angeles, shooting a video for “Throwback.” What can we expect?

You can expect the most sexy, most elegant, most dreamy video ever. When I say that, it gives it all in one. The concept is a fantasy, and I’m the fantasy.

And you come up with your own video treatments and all that?

Yes. What happened was, it was me and my manager talking a couple of months ago about what I wanted “Throwback” to be surrounded by. The very, very dope, amazing show that is doing crazy numbers right now is P-Valley, so we wanted to surround the video around that. I have an amazing director who was able to take my idea and turn it into a treatment.

No one knows your vision until you really elaborate. I have an incredible team who has listened to all my thoughts and has understood them and really made them come to life, so here we go. We’re about to make this planning process turn into a reality.

That’s off your Copy & Paste EP. Now that the project has been out for a little bit, how are you feeling?

I feel great. I feel so amazing. The response and the feedback has been literally nothing short of incredible. “Throwback” has been a fan favorite. We were pushing like that for a very long time, and “Throwback” organically became the fan favorite. Now it’s time to give them what they want, which is a visual to the actual song.

When a song is such a fan favorite, you have to deliver a visual that goes beyond expectations. Now my goal is to create a video so dope that people are going to love the song even that much more.

What were you on recording the record “Flex”?

I was on my boss ish. I walked into the studio that day, I wasn’t having the best day and I said “I’m leaving that shit outside the door. In here, I want to pop my shit to make me feel better.” That’s my way of coping. That’s my coping mechanism, to leave the outside world out. As soon as I walk into the studio and those doors close, nothing else matters. I was talking my shit that day, it was more so my own booster , like “You know what? Fuck this shit, everything’s okay”. It was one of those hype moments, hype myself up.

How close are you and your brother?

Oh my gosh, when I tell you that’s my best friend. I literally feel like we were in the womb together. We’re 3 years, but that’s my bestie. Growing up, when I was 16 and he was 13, that age difference is big. I didn’t want him to hang out with me and my friends. [laughs] As we got older, we grew closer, even though we were always close. But now I’m 26, he’s 23, that age gap is nothing. He was always my homie, my best friend, but now we really lean on each other.

Talk about what it means to be a boss babe.

The best way to describe it is to be on your shit. Whatever it is in the world you’re passionate about is to be 10 toes, 10 fingers all in. Because at the end of the day, your life, your brand, everything, anything that you do, anything, you gotta go 10 toes forward into it. The biggest thing to being a boss babe is to walk like a boss, talk like a boss, know you’re the shit. Don’t let anyone tell you different. 

I grind so hard, so that’s my definition of a boss. What do you do career-wise that’s elevating you? For me, it’s being an entrepreneur. It’s being a musician, and being my own boss. Really not letting or taking no from anyone. Just being a Boss Babe!

What’s the latest with Boss Babe by Jilly Anais?

Right now, I have my cookbook out. I have my perfume out as well. Pretty soon, I’ll have this Boss Babe cookbook Volume 2 in the works. As you see on my Instagram, I’ve been cooking it up. Cheffing it up. Slowly but surely, working on getting all the recipes together for a Volume 2.

Can we expect your own cooking show?

You know what’s so funny? I just got asked that. Right now, my focal point is definitely just music, because a cooking show I know would take all my time. But I’d never throw anything out in the future. Because at the end of the day, once we got this #1 album charting, it would be fun — a dope thing to do a cooking show and have nothing but my music playing. In the background, have all the videos playing. 

Make it my style. My thing is, everything I do, no matter if it’s cooking, I want all of it to all coincide with who Jillian is. You never just have “oh, here’s the musician part. Oh, here’s the cooking. Oh, here’s the perfume.” All the entire brand coincides. That’s why the cookbook is a cookbook/lookbook, because it goes with fashion. It goes with who I am. In my music videos, you see the fashion, so that’s colliding. Everything coincides with Jilly.

Do you enjoy eating out as much as you like cooking?

Yeah. Thing I love about eating out is 1, you don’t have to clean up after yourself. 2, you don’t have to cook it. 3, you just get to eat it and enjoy it. But I love cooking for my loved ones. I think that’s the best thing – feeding people you love. I love eating out, but nothing is better than cooking homemade meals. Just that camaraderie and everything, the love and the affection that comes around it.

What are your beauty go-to’s?

Lip gloss, one and done. Clear lip gloss is my go-to, I always have that on me.  2, I always say edge control. Gotta have edges on point no matter what. It doesn’t matter if your hair is up, hair down. Half up, half down. Cut off, gotta have the edges on point. I’d definitely say a good face wash. Because your skin starts underneath, so a great face wash. I’ll say my perfume, Boss Babe Parfum. My fifth one… I’m going to say my diamonds. Jewelry.

Advice for aspiring musicians?

Just keep on keeping on. At the end of the day, that’s really your dream. There’s more no’s than yes’s. You gotta keep knocking those doors down. You gotta keep knocking them down and continue fighting for your passion. Keep on keeping on, don’t let anyone tell you no.

How do you stay fit, despite being a massive foodie?

Girl, the Peloton. I’m a really big Peloton freak. Here I am, Peloton every day.

What are you excited for next? 

I’m excited one for the release of this Throwback music video. I can’t wait for that to come out. After that, I’m in pre-album production mode. Just cooking up right now, I’m in the studio like crazy. Just working on new music. I already have a whole catalog of new music, so getting that together and then album mode is next. And the tour is too. I’m ready to get on the road. At the end of 2022, I definitely want to be doing some live shows.