Spike Lee’s fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest (a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low) is a morality tale dressed up as a kidnapping thriller. Beyond the nail-biter of a rescue story, the film asks heavy questions like, Am I my brother’s keeper? What am I willing to do to maintain my relevance? How much money is enough? What is the meaning of art in my life? To that last question, enter Aiyana-Lee and Nicole Anderson, a mother and daughter songwriting team. Nicole is a veteran songwriter with a number of platinum records to her name. Aiyana-Lee is her co-conspirator with a powerful voice.
The two women were living in Hollywood in an apartment under fear of eviction until Spike Lee came calling through social media after viewing a clip of Aiyana-Lee singing. After getting past the “Is this a prank?” moment, what happened next was a journey that included Anderson and Aiyana-Lee writing a song together for the film, Aiyana-Lee recording it, and then being given a role as an aspiring artist who then must perform said song in front of Denzel Washington (while trading lines with the two-time Oscar winner) in the film’s final scene. And, oh yeah, Aiyana-Lee had to sing it live.
That song, Highest 2 Lowest became the film’s theme. Aiyana-Lee and Anderson’s collaboration is now sitting on the shortlist for Oscar consideration for Best Original Song from a film.
I had the pleasure of speaking with both women about their writing process, what the song means to them and the film, and working with legends like Spike Lee and Denzel Washington.
The Contending: So Spike Lee found you on Instagram and then DM’d you. Tell me what that was like.
Aiyana-Lee: Oh my goodness. What a journey. It’s not your typical everyday story. It’s like the new version of running into someone at the grocery store, and they change your life. It was 6:00 in the morning, and I was scrolling on Instagram when I happened to look at my DMs and saw one that said “Spike Lee.” I thought I was getting scammed and that this must be a fan. Someone is probably impersonating him, or maybe they’re sending me a link, and my bank account will be drained if I click it. (Laughs). I woke my mom up and said, ” Hey, I got this message. It might be Spike Lee, but I don’t know.” She was just like, “Girl, go back to sleep. This is delusional. We’ve been in Hollywood too long.” On a whim, I thought maybe it was Spike. He said he happened to be in LA that day. He’s usually in New York full-time. He said, “Where are you based?” I said, “I’m in LA.” He said, “Oh, amazing.” I met him that very same day. He FaceTimed my mom pretty much immediately, and that’s when our journey together began.
The Contending: He then asked you to write a song for the movie, which would serve as its theme song. That’s jumping up from hey, can you record somebody else’s song for the mfilm Or maybe I can pluck something you’ve already recorded. He asked for something new. What was the writing process like for the two of you?
Aiyana-Lee: It was really important for him to make sure that it was something that captured the movie, captured the story, and also was a crescendo to what had happened (in the film), and also something that felt real and honest from my perspective of being an artist, having gone through my experience in the music industry, my highs and lows, pun intended. He was very hands-on. We talked every single day for a week, trying to make sure we nailed something perfect for this. He’s someone who really cares about music. He cares about the integrity of music as well. I think that shows in this film. He also sent me the script to make sure I had a full grasp of where in the story the song comes in. It was very intentional. We had written ten songs at that point. And my incredible mom, who is a 17-time Platinum songwriter, was such a crucial part of this: her guidance and her ability to kick the song off by stripping it down to just piano chords and seeing what came vocally for me. When you strip a song down to its core, if it can be played on just the piano or just the guitar, that’s how you know you have something. I was only able to send Spike voice notes, which were rof eally bad quality and sounded muffled and distraught. I was hoping he’d see the vision. He wanted something very specific, and after 10 songs, we finally reached a place he was really happy with and ecstatic about.
The Contending: What is your working relationship like together? It can be difficult with family.
Aiyana-Lee: For us, it’s so different because she’s a single mom, and we’ve always been very close. We share many of the same ideologies. I think the problems you’ll have in real life will be the problems you have in work, and then the ease you have in real life will also manifest itself in work. For us, we have always had a great, trusting relationship as a unit, as a family. We pretty much have the same ideas, to be honest, and the same taste, which makes things very easy. I think if we didn’t, we might go back and forth on it, but we have very similar tastes. In a way, we have very similar stories, and we are both so passionate about storytelling and share the same POV. We’ve been through a lot together, so even with this song, we were able to converse about so many of the things we’ve both been through. Being able to rant on about the industry and what that journey’s been like. Writing it has been this very therapeutic kind of crescendo.
Nicole Anderson: To have the liberty to actually be able to create from a very free and comfortable place where you can tell your story without apologies, he (Spike) just brings that out in artists, whether they’re singers, writers, or actors, which is amazing. It’s very inspiring as well to work that way, even for somebody like me who has been in the industry for so long. But it has been years since someone inspired me to the point that I wanted to dig so much deeper and be very authentic. That’s what Spike sparks in you, always. It’s amazing for somebody to be able to do that. You think, okay, he is a movie director, but he’s so much more than that. He’s got such a deep understanding of music and the storytelling within the song. He’s very particular and very meticulous. Every single word has to make sense. Every single note, every single melody, everything has to be just right.
The Contending: Spike’s films are the ultimate combination of music and cinema because his movies are often wall-to-wall with music, creating a sort of transportive place that you go to. It’s a Spike’s Joint, because it’s nobody else’s. So, Mom, your daughter comes to you and says, “Mom, we need a song.” You touched on how you really wanted to dig deep for this, but was it at all a little intimidating for you guys? It’s not a small ask.
Nicole Anderson: I come from communist Romania. Born and raised in Romania, there was no dream of getting out or seeing movies or anything like that. Then, leaving for London and still seeing these great artists and directors from afar, it felt so surreal to me. When it came time to tell us about the song, which was a while, he actually told both of us. I was just telling Spike, it’s so great because you know how it is in the music industry, it is so hard as a woman, but I’m telling you what’s harder is to be a mother in the industry. I never thought it could get harder. But it really is because they all see you as “mom,” so you become nothing. For me, Spike is amazing because he doesn’t have that perception at all. He’s giving you freedom, importance, and respect, which is so hard to find these days, when some are so dismissive, especially when you have a talented kid. I’m not going to lie, it’s surreal, especially with Spike Lee and Denzel Washington.
The Contending: The song has to be inspirational on some level. That’s the intent of the song to some degree, but it feels so hard-won in both the lyrics and the way you sing it. Inspirational songs can go awry very easily and turn corny, but you two avoided that by getting grit under your nails with the song. How did you adjust your framework to this heavy drama with profound moral implications? The song has to reflect that.
Nicole Anderson: I have to give her (Aiyana) credit for that. When we started, we wrote so many joints, as she said, and at one point, we were like, okay, again, let’s start from scratch. Let’s just wipe everything out, blank slate. We started with just me on a keyboard, playing chords to give it a more ethnic vibe. But honestly, Aiyana-Lee just took that and ran with it and wrote the lyrics, wrote the melody, and it was like, okay, nothing for me to do now. I’m out of a job. (Laughs). She transformed. Vibes and chord progressions are a very important base to build on. These days, not many people are playing these chord variations.
Aiyana-Lee: A lot of the way I write comes from her and the way she’s always prioritizing the story. We all really relate to Spike because of that. Spike encouraged me to dig into my story as a human and as an artist. I’ve been through a lot of different situations in the music industry, and I always felt put down for a multitude of reasons. That journey really helped craft this song–it has not been a paved path. It’s been a very rocky path. When Spike found us, we were almost homeless, on the verge of losing everything, having lost our home in England, and were about to get kicked out of this apartment (in Hollywood). So it came with a lot of truths, a lot of wake-up calls, a lot of realities that were then funneled and channeled into this song. Having read the script, it felt so important because it was also Denzel’s character’s return to himself. Getting back to the truth, to real artistry, and to who he is as a person.
The Contending: When you listen to the song, it would stand on its own if it had nothing to do with the movie. It still feels like a very personal statement, but, as you pointed out, it also reflects where David (Denzel Washington’s character) is coming from. He’s reminded of why he wanted to work in music in the first place.
Aiyana-Lee: Exactly, and we wanted to amplify it.
Nicole Anderson: That’s what is so amazing about this movie, because it reflects reality. We have so much superficial stuff, and after a while, you realize what you’re doing it for and go back to your authentic self, which David did. It’s a very important message, actually.
Aiyana-Lee: Especially right now.
The Contending: At what point does Spike say, ” Would you like to come and sing it in front of Denzel and trade some lines?” (Laughs).
Aiyana-Lee: Oh man. It’s funny because I auditioned, and this was months after knowing Spike and him being very mysterious. He gave me some signs that you’re going to audition for me and my team aand me theday after tomorrow. Memorize everything and have it down. The song came after the audition because he wanted to make sure it was crafted specifically for the movie. After a few more weeks go by, he is, oh yeah, by the way, you got the role, and so you’re going to be on set with Denzel Washington. After all that, he really wanted to make it more challenging for me. He wanted it to be so real, raw, and vulnerable that he didn’t see it being done any other way than live.
We did a multitude of takes. It was a very vulnerable place because I did it on an actor’s mic. We didn’t have special equipment to capture that audio. We all knew it was a dead set; there’s no echo, there’s no reverb, there’s no sound that’s going to save this recording. Nothing’s going to save this performance if I don’t deliver. It was a very vulnerable place to be, especially meeting Denzel for the first time in my life. It’s my first acting role. I’m on a set for the first time in my life, and I’m like, okay, cool. Let’s go. It was so exciting and thrilling for me, but you also feel stripped to your core because you have no crutches. I’m in front of Denzel, I’m auditioning for that big break. It feels parallel with me: auditioning as my character for Denzel’s character, I’m also auditioning to win over the audience. So much is coming and clashing together to make this performance, where you’re stripped to the bones of who you are and the story.
The Contending: You have to act right before you sing. You have to give Denzel a little sass and confidence. I noticed what he was doing during the scene, and in both long shots and tight shots, he’s very attentive. He is very in tune with what you’re doing. His character is challenging you, but he is also believing you at the same time, and now he’s saying, “Deliver.” I imagine that’s how it felt for you in every way.
Aiyana-Lee: He was so encouraging during the breaks. He really wants to help, and he’s just a genuine dude. Having that encouragement and belief from him, both as a person and as a character, felt really cool. He’s a dynamic actor. You don’t know what he’ll do next. A lot of what he did was improv. It’s really what he’s feeling in that moment. So every take kept us on our toes.
The Contending: You sang the song live. That adds another level of stress. Because even if you get multiple takes and cuts, it’s tough to go in and out of your voice as a singer if you’re flowing or if you’re frustrated, struggling a little bit, it’s a hell of a thing to do.
Aiyana-Lee: It was a lot. I had to sing it from head to toe each time. We didn’t cut and stop.
Nicole Anderson: Every time he changed the angle, it was the whole song from beginning to end. She had to deliver every single time.
Aiyana-Lee: I’d do the whole song. They’d cut, do a different angle. I’d do the whole song again, cut, another angle. It was quite a challenge. You also don’t know what’s going to end up in the movie, and you’re like oh my gosh, I know what every flaw is going to be. So I didn’t know what it would look like until the premiere. I think my shock, and maybe both of our shocks, was just how big the scene became. It became such a big moment, and we did not at all anticipate it. I really did not think it would become what it became, and for everybody to be talking about it, and for people online and in the theater who really related to it.
Nicole Anderson: We’ve seen the film quite a few times after the premiere with normal people in the theater, which is great because we wanted to see reactions. It made me cry every single time because it’s so emotional to see people loving it, clapping, and breathing it with you. It’s just what it’s supposed to be. That’s not appreciated enough. People love living that moment with you, those notes, and everything you do. You just have to give them that and give them space to do that, which is rare.
The Contending: What’s next for you two?
Aiyana-Lee: I love film. I definitely want to do more in that world. This was such an inspiring and incredible experience that I’d really like to continue on. And then more music to come that we’ve been heavily involved in and are working on to release this year, and hopefully some great live performances. Expand the journey. Expand the world. I’m someone who loves art and loves music, film, and everything to do with writing. I just want to be able to do more. And I’ll always have my mom as well, doing a lot of the creative work with me.
