Janine has been waiting for this moment for a long time. It's been two years since the Kiwi singer, songwriter and producer finished 99, her debut album, and almost 20 since the year it's named after. After attracting buzz since 2013 with her singles, EPs and mixtapes – especially Hold Me, her breakthrough single featuring Pusha T – Janine says finally releasing her first full-length almost feels like "fantasy".
"It was meant to come out the year before last, and then it was meant to come out the beginning of last year, then late last year," says Janine. "It got stuck in one of those situations where [Atlantic Records] were like, 'we want to build your buzz', and then I'm like, 'well, I need new music to build the buzz'."
But Janine's not frustrated with her label; quite the opposite. "With major labels, there are pros and cons," she says. "But I also think as artists, it's easy for us to mope sometimes and not take responsibility. The thing that was hard [is that] no one said it was going to be two years until it comes out. I was just waiting and waiting. But I could have put out a bunch of mixtapes and songs and then do things on my own; I didn't do that.
"So, like I said, as artists, as much as it's really really difficult and frustrating, I don't think you can ever fully rely on anyone else, you've got to make sure you make your own plans and keep pushing regardless of what the label does."
