Inspired by the likes of Yung Lean, Bladee and Ecco2K, Alaska1867 is the Icelandic rapper ready to go global. We join her for a Dazed Day Out in downtown Reykjavík
In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire for the bargain price of $7.2 million ($0.02 per acre). It was a deal that changed the course of history, and 150 years later, would change the trajectory of a young Icelandic rapper’s life.
While high one evening, doomscrolling from her downtown Reykjavík bedroom, Kolfreyja Sól came across a documentary about the Alaska Purchase. Maybe it was the drugs or maybe it was fate, but in that moment, the musician knew she had discovered her artist name: Alaska1867.
Today, the 25-year-old sits opposite me at Prikið, Iceland’s oldest coffee shop that also serves as a record label, creative community and meeting point for the city’s music scene. It’s the first stop of our Dazed Day Out – the cool girl’s ultimate guide to Reykjavík – which, as I soon discover, includes stops at Street Rats tattoo parlour, indie cinema Bíó Paradís, second-hand book shop Bókin Books and CBD emporium Reykjavík Headshop.
Our day comes to an end at Gaukurinn, the gritty live music venue where she says goodbye to me and hello to a packed crowd, eagerly waiting to see her perform. Making her debut on the Iceland Airwaves festival lineup, Alaska set the venue alight with her unique blend of electro-pop and Icelandic rap.
Born and raised in Fáskrúðsfjörður – a tiny town on Iceland’s east coast with a population of just over 700 people – Alaska grew up getting lost in the mountains with her head in the clouds (quite literally). During elementary school, her music teacher invited her to her first recording studio, where she realised you don’t need instruments to be an artist; all you need is a computer.
Soon after, she dropped out of school, moved to the capital and started working full-time in a local restaurant. She continued recording music, but life took an unexpected turn for Alaska when she became addicted to opioids. Eventually, she went to rehab and has been sober for over two years now, which in turn gave her the time and resources (courtesy of the Icelandic government) to release her debut mixtape, 222, earlier this year. Now, her debut album is on the way, inspired by the polarity of iron and water.
Ahead of her electric Iceland Airwaves gig last weekend, Alaska1867 took us on a tour of her hometown (see the gallery above), and sat down to unpack inspiration, addiction, heartbreak and religion.
Have you always known you wanted to be a musician?
Alaska1867: Yeah, I’ve always known I was going to be famous. I was never going to do a nine-to-five job. My mum and dad never pressured me to go to school; they just wanted me to find something I liked. You have to have a plan for the future.
Where did your plan begin?
Alaska1867: Music started as a bit of fun, but then I got sober in 2023 and began thinking about how to make it my job. I’ve said to my friends in the past, I recommend that you start taking drugs and then you stop taking drugs, because then you get the benefits. I got sober, I went to rehab and then I got assistance from the government to help me stay sober – so I had all this free time and got paid [by the government] to make a plan.
If I was making music in LA, I’d have to be really, really hungry for it, because there’s so much competition. I feel very lucky to live here because people notice you so quickly
Do you come from a musical family?
Alaska1867: No. My parents always say two minuses make a plus. They’re not musical at all – my dad is a fisherman and my mum is a principal, she teaches teachers to be better teachers. My mum is really career-driven, so she’s influenced me a lot. She managed to have three babies and still be really successful in her work. In Iceland, you have so much power as a woman.
What was it like growing up in Iceland while wanting to pursue music?
Alaska1867: If you’re making good music and doing good things, people are going to notice you because it’s so small. If I was making music in LA, I’d have to be really, really hungry for it, because there’s so much competition. I feel very lucky to live here because people notice you so quickly. But then, if you want to make real money, you have to go mainstream and make pop music and do Christmas concerts. Take Oklou, for example – I love her so much – if I were making music like her, there’s not enough of an audience for it in Reykjavík. I wouldn’t make any money or sell out stadiums in Iceland making that type of music.
Who was the first artist you remember being obsessed with?
Alaska1867: Justin Bieber and One Direction. My brother’s music taste influenced me a lot, I learnt Jay-Z’s raps and I loved Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head. I’ve never just listened to one genre. When people ask me what type of music I make, I tell them ‘good music’, it’s not about the genre, if it’s a good song it’s a good song! When I first started making music, I was listening to Charli xcx, Yung Lean, Bladee and Ecco2K, so I have that in my core. I love this new digital era of music.
If you could go on tour with anyone, who would it be?
Alaska1867: Oklou.
What was the inspiration behind your debut mixtape?
Alaska1867: I was going through a huge heartbreak when I was making this album, which was actually really nice because it was such an inspiration. I’m not making music that I think will top the charts, it’s really just an expression. “Fráhvörf” is about withdrawal – I say that opioid withdrawal is easier than heartbreak, which is true. Some of the songs are just nice trap songs, but most of them are inspired by drugs and hardship. I’ve been told that I have a fresh voice in the rap scene in Iceland, because you don’t hear rap songs from this perspective. People are hungry for something different.
Do you feel healed from the heartbreak now?
Alaska1867: 100 per cent. It took a long time, but I have a lot of respect for myself. I broke up with this guy because he was doing drugs and I wasn’t; it got out of hand, so I ended things. I was in love with him, but I still ended it. I thought about him every day for six months, but just because you love someone doesn’t mean that it’s right. You have to look at the big picture and realise that maybe it isn’t enough.
That’s very brave of you…
Alaska1867: Self-trust is earnt and I’ve earnt it. I trust myself to go to sleep sober and I trust myself to go through a breakup without losing myself.
Opioid withdrawal is easier than heartbreak
Are you religious?
Alaska1867: I believe in the moon and I believe in a higher power. I’ve always believed there’s something, because if I don’t have a purpose, I’m nothing. Having a higher power gives you purpose, because if there’s nothing to this [life], then you wake up, you die, nothing matters. I can steal, I can do drugs, I can ruin my life; it doesn’t matter. Even if it’s bullshit and I’m praying to nothing, at least it works. I’ve been sober two and a half years.
You rap in Icelandic in your music. Did you ever feel pressured to rap in English?
Alaska1867: No. How many people live in Iceland? 400,000. How many people speak Icelandic? 400,000. It’s so rare to speak Icelandic and we’re so lucky to speak this language that nobody else speaks – not even one per cent of the world. If I can make music in Icelandic, I’m going to do that.
What’s the big dream?
Alaska1867: I want to be huge in Sweden [Laughs]. Where Yung Lean is from! I think I could be bigger than just Iceland. I want to be 70 years old and not have any regrets. It would suck to be in my 50s and talking about how I was once a really cool person. I don’t want to be a sad story or someone who missed their opportunity. I want to be a grandmother who tells stories.
Iceland Airwaves 2026 will take place November 4-7 2026