Emily King is one of those artists that you need to listen to; in fact, you deserve to. Everyone deserves to hear her clear, but gritty tone, feel the grooves that surprise you in every track and the overwhelming feeling of a singer/songwriter being so deep in her bag that her music has become an experience.

Growing up in New York City, the 37-year-old songbird was gifted the unique city kid upbringing that made her undeniably cool, but if you let her tell it, she’s just trying to be cool. King’s connection to music is generational as both of her parents are jazz singers, and she’s gracefully holding up that vocal legacy. Since 2005, King has released 5 EPs and 5 studio albums–all penned by her. King’s latest album, Special Occasion, feels just like that. Mixing r&b, pop, soul, funk, and folk expertly into an intoxicating cocktail of sonic pleasure, King is one of those timeless artists with vulnerable music that speaks to the souls of all who listen.

Artists we admire often feel like polished finished products, with fans wishing they could be half as put together. King admitted that she’s joyfully a work in progress. “I'm trying to become someone who is really comfortable with myself,” Emily King shared with BET.com backstage before she performed at an LA radio station in front of a very small and obviously blessed crowd. We chatted with the songbird about heartbreak, her latest album, and music’s impact on her life.

BET.com: With your parents being jazz musicians, was your house always filled with music?

Emily King: My folks were singers separately and then when they met, they decided to join forces and do a style that was in similar style to a group that my father was a big fan of when he was a teenager. They ended up taking him under their wing and he ended up singing with them. They're a jazz vocal group called Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. They sing bebop, and they sing lyrics to the solos of these great jazz musicians. A lot of it is very quick and rhythmic, so I grew up with him singing in that way. But it was something I didn't appreciate because I didn't realize it was unusual to have parents who do that for a living. I remember like, ‘When is this gonna be over?’ like sitting waiting for the show to be over. There was even one show, I was like five years old, and I walked up and I went and [tugging] mom's dress, like, ‘Can we go home?’ [laughs]

BET.com: But you still followed in their footsteps…

Emily King: I'm just lucky that it worked out because I didn't really have an education. I didn't go to college and I dropped out of high school. They could see that I was serious and passionate, and naive enough to want to become a musician professionally. They would play with some incredible, legendary musicians. It was cool because my first introduction to this music was through actually great musicians. I think that's where I got the love for melody was from all of those jazz standards like the American Songbook, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington…

BET.com: What did it take to shape your sound?

Emily King: Now I know as a grown-up person that you can interpret songs in your own way and still honor the songwriter. You don't have to perform it like the person who performed it. But That was something I had to develop. I think I've had a lot of formative experiences with my first album. I was working with Chucky Thompson, who is an amazing musician first and producer and he produced ‘My Life’ for Mary J. Blige and he did all these amazing things. We spent a lot of time making demos for three years. The process of trial and error. I tried doing a song like this, but that's not really me.

I'm not good at saying, ‘This is exactly how I want to sound.’ I have to do it. I have to try it and then see in that moment, ‘I don't really like that chord change for some reason. Let's do this.’ So over time, it's a process of elimination for me. I try to simplify as much as I can. But also, I love the element of surprise in music. I think that's what makes music so it hits your heart. Like, ‘I didn't expect it to go there.’ But it's not too unfamiliar, that it's not taking me out of my heart and to my head. I'm leaning into my heart, it's exciting.

Honestly, I'm just limited to…I don't have the musical ability. I don't play an instrument in a way where I can do a lot of notes, so I try to lean into that. And I think honestly, that's probably what shaped my style, leaning into just what I know, what I don't do well and what I try to do better.

BET.com: Your music and the way you put together your lives shows, it’s a spiritual experience. You make people feel something…

Emily King: That's the best thing. I'm always trying to get that out of myself to make sure that I'm feeling it so that it is not faking the funk. And that's the challenging thing: when you do something so many times, to actually always be present. I'm probably the most present when I'm performing. You have to be or else everyone suffers, like the band, the audience, me. So I think it's a constant practice but there's definitely many times where I'm not present.

BET.com: You’ve said that this album is a change for you. How so?

Emily King: Well, it [change] definitely is unavoidable, right? Every day is something we shed and something that changes with or without us. I think that for me, this feels like more of reclaiming an identity that was tied in very deeply with another person, right? And through music as well, because we created music together. The change was something that rocked my whole self worth because it was very much tied in with them. And who am I is the question I'm asking myself. Who am I without this person? I really do hold them dear to me that we'll always be in each other’s lives. I feel a little bit like…not an orphan [laughs], but honestly, I just feel a little bit independent in a fresh way that I've never felt, I hadn't felt in like 15 years.

So this tour and the album, we made together, but the tours I’m doing on my own. It's an interesting place to be and I am grateful to have this experience. I was really terrified to do it on my own. And now we're two weeks in and I'm feeling stronger. It is strange to sing the songs that we've made together and I'm finding joy, thanks to all the cuties coming onto the show, they are infusing joy within me.

BET.com: Will you always do your own music yourself–the writing, the music, etc.?

Emily King: Well, I think it's a selfish endeavor. I express myself best in music. I think that it helps me to write songs and I love a great song. So if somebody had a song that I just connected with and it really fit my voice, yeah, I would sing it, but I sort of feel badly when people say, ‘We're gonna collaborate.’ It's almost like saying, ‘We're gonna date.’ It's like, ‘Whoa!’ I'm flattered, but it's a very personal thing. And I'm enjoying being okay to just write my songs myself. I think early on, I was so pressured to collaborate and I met a lot of great people, but I think that reinforced that I didn't have to. You do what feels right.