“That’s a lie,” Joyce Cisse laughs when I bring up the long-circulating story about how she first got into music. The story goes something like this: at 10-years-old, Cisse – better known as Flowerovlove – was given a notebook by her aunt and began writing song lyrics. Fans later speculated that said aunt was none other than Solange Knowles (yes, Beyoncé’s actual sister) and everyone ran with it.
“It’s an incredible rumour. I love her [Solange] so much and I’ve never met her before,” she says, as we both laugh at the Internet’s enthusiasm for rewriting her origin story.
When we catch up over Zoom, it’s been a couple of weeks since her Cosmopolitan UK fashion shoot, and Cisse is deep in the whirlwind of Fashion Week. “I’m outside. It’s kind of hectic. Thanks so much for being flexible with the rescheduling,” she says, breathless but smiling.
The Solange story may be a little embellishment of the truth – she did actually write lyrics in a notebook, though nobody gave it to her (more on that later) – but what is very real is that, at just 20-years-old, Flowerovlove is quickly becoming one of pop’s most exciting new voices. This month, she’ll have ticked off one of the biggest milestones of her career so far: performing at Coachella for the very first time.
“I'm very excited, also very nervous, because it’s going to be my first show of the year,” she admits. “It might be a little rusty, but I think last year was the most shows I’ve ever done in my entire life, so I’m so ready.”
The moment feels particularly full circle for the singer, who two years ago scribbled a very specific goal into a notebook: Play Coachella. Now, she’s actually doing it.
“I completely forgot that I put it in my journal until I was just going through my old journal one night,” she says. “I was like, ‘Holy sh*t!’”
Away from festival stages, Flowerovlove has also been busy releasing new music. Her latest single, 'Casual Lady', which dropped on 16 February, is a deliciously 2014-coded track that taps into the emotional whiplash of modern dating – vacillating between empowerment and embarrassment in a way that feels both playful and painfully relatable.
The song opens with a tone-setting introduction from one of Cisse’s closest friends, podcast host and former Cosmopolitan cover star Madeline Argy – which she jokingly calls a “hard launch” of their friendship.
“Whenever we hang out, I'm always like, ‘Okay, I need to leave. I need to go to the studio,’” she says. “And we have friends who are always like, ‘Oh, we want to come and do gang vocals.’ So, I was like, ‘You guys should come’ and she [Argy] was like, ‘I’d be so down.’ I thought it’d be funny if she said something crazy on a song because she has such an iconic, recognisable voice.”
The collaboration ended up fitting the track’s tongue-in-cheek tone perfectly. “She hates men, I hate that I like men,” Cisse jokes. “So, it just made so much sense. I just want the music to be as fun as possible and it was also a nice way to hard launch our friendship.”
Born in London to Ivorian parents, Cisse – who is also a model and producer – has always had an interest in music. She grew up listening to the likes of ABBA, Boney M., Tame Impala, One Direction, and is a massive Harry Styles fan (something she playfully reminds me of more than once during our call).
She used to scribble lyrics in a book, though she admits: “None of them were good. They were usually just one line over and over again.”
Her real push came from her brother, Wilfred, who taught himself to produce music on YouTube and encouraged her to take her voice seriously. “He always knew I had a great singing voice and was like, ‘We're locking in,’” she says. “He even made me sit down and watch the Billie Eilish documentary. It was kind of a vibe.”
Wilfred also helped write her first song. “I probably suggested a couple of words, but he wrote the whole thing because I wasn’t confident in songwriting back then,” she explains with a smile. Today, she says: “I know exactly what I want and what I want to write.”
During lockdown, she began writing more seriously, honing her craft with new focus and confidence. At just 15, in August 2020, Cisse released her debut single 'Kiss & Chase', followed later that year by 'Unseen Miracles' and 'Fat Wave'.
Reflecting on that time, the singer acknowledges the wider hardship of the pandemic, but says the slower pace allowed her to discover what she truly wanted to do.
“No one was watching me, so I could just mess around and make what I loved. If people listened, great. I wasn’t checking streams or obsessing over feedback. It meant so much when even one person said, ‘I love this.’ I still feel the exact same. I honestly don’t care if anyone doesn’t love the music. I only care about the people who do love the music and they see it and they understand it,” she explains.
“A lot of people started studying something in Covid, and now it’s their whole career. It’s so important to have time to choose what you want to do, and to know that you have a choice. Instead of thinking, ‘Oh, time is running out, I need to keep doing this, keep making money,’ during Covid everyone was suffering. No one was really thinking about making money. It was more about surviving.”
While much of Cisse’s music is inspired by the conversations she has with her friends in the arts – many of whom she was a “fan” of before becoming Flowerovlove (shout out to Ravyn Lenae) – family remains at the heart of her journey.
“My family is so important,” Cisse says. “In any career, it’s so important to have support from your family, because if you don’t, it just doesn’t feel worthwhile. For me, community is so important, especially as an African person. The people around you, your family, your peers, they’re so important. It’s also a super hard industry, honestly – your mental health, it’s always up and down. It’s never consistent.”
Her mother is her biggest fan, with an entire TikTok account (@motherovlove) dedicated to sharing her music. “She’s the best. It’s also free marketing because she always goes viral. Honestly, she’s a legend.”
Her brother often jokes, “'I built you.' And to be honest, he’s not wrong,” she says.
“He’s the first person I go to for advice,” she continues. “If something comes up, I’m like, ‘Should I do this? Is it a good idea?’ There’s no opinion I value more. He’s just so educated and has my best interests always. He’s the person I can trust. That’s why family is so important because they love you first. The person they grew up with. We were raised together. Every success is our success. All the money is our money. All the attention is our attention. For me, it always comes back to family.”
As well as her family, Cisse’s identity as a Black woman shapes both her music and her presence in the world. She is intentional about representation and takes pride in encouraging others to embrace their natural hair and heritage. “Even when you’re out on the street and see someone with their natural hair, it hits differently,” she says. “It’s just so natural to me now, but for others it’s still a statement, and that’s powerful.”
Her awareness of self extends into how she navigates her many creative roles. As a model, singer-songwriter, and producer, she has quite the balancing act – something she manages through her alter ego. “The great thing about having a stage name is that all those roles fit into Flowerovlove and not me, Joyce,” she explains. “So, I get to just be myself when I’m not walking into the persona.”
So, who is Joyce when she’s not being Flowerovlove? Outside of her public image, she recharges in small, grounding ways: spending time with her dog, Avocado, or simply being in nature. “I love to just touch grass, feel connected to the earth, soak up the sun,” she says, her voice full of warmth.
Cisse also hopes people would see more sides of her personality. “I’m actually so woke,” she laughs. “And also, I’m petty. People don’t know that. I’m sweet, nice, but don’t mess with me.” On social media, she often scrolls past negativity, but admits she confides in her brother when something truly bothers her. “Most of the time it’s just ridiculous, but when it hits, I share it with him, and he reminds me it’s meaningless,” she says.
Even as her career accelerates, her ambitions remain bold. While she can’t share specific plans just yet, one dream has stuck with her since she first saw it on screen: headlining Madison Square Garden. “That’s been my only dream,” she smiles. “I saw Justin Bieber playing it when he was 16, and it was one of my first music memories. I knew that’s exactly what I wanted to do.”
And her creative inspirations are just as expansive. When asked who she’d love to collaborate with, she lists her musical heroes with excitement: “I’d love to do a song with Rosalía for sure, Kendrick, SZA – obviously.”
It’s this blend of confidence, self-awareness, and grounded support – from family, friends, and community – that defines Flowerovlove today: a young artist already making her mark while carefully curating the person she chooses to show the world.
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Senior Fashion Editor: Rebecca Jane Hill; Makeup: Tina Khatri; Hair stylist: Laurane Bailey; Nails: Cherrie Snow; Movement Director: Liam John; Bookings Director: Sophie Leen; Fashion Assistant: Angel Cordova-Todd; Photo Assistant: Karina Barberis
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