Dance Rookie of the Month: Inji — From Aspiring Banker to Dance-Pop Star

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Inci Gürün — better known by her stage name Inji — originally set out for a career in finance.

Raised in Turkey, Gürün trained as a classical musician from childhood: she completed a decade-long piano curriculum that began when she was seven and later moved to London at 17 to study classical singing. In 2018 she relocated to the United States to study finance at the University of Pennsylvania, where she immersed herself in business coursework and student organizations.

Music, however, never left her. While balancing finance classes by day, she sang with a jazz band at campus events. A chance comment from the band’s drummer — that he produced beats — led to a collaboration that steered her toward electronic and house-influenced music.

That early experimentation produced a breakout moment. In 2022 Inji and a fellow student fashioned a house-tinged dance-pop track called “Gaslight.” A brief TikTok snippet of the song took off, prompting a flood of interest from labels and managers and dramatically reframing what had seemed like a far-off dream.

At the time the clip went viral, she was interning at Bain & Company in New York and recalls juggling suit-and-spreadsheet days with frantic, secret phone calls about music offers. Rather than reprimand her for posting, her employer instead asked how they could grow their own social media presence.

Inji resisted early label deals and continued to build her craft organically: she took advice from lawyers, connected with managers after high-profile gigs, and navigated the practical hurdle of her student visa expiring after graduation. Her priority was clear — build something substantial enough to secure legal status and a sustainable career in the U.S.

She traveled frequently to write and record, sometimes skipping classes to fly to Los Angeles for sessions. Collaborators nudged her beyond jazz into rap, pop and electronic production; the latter felt natural given her tastes and nightlife energy. By the time she finished college she had released a follow-up single through Polydor and, in July 2023, issued her debut EP LFG. Instead of settling into a finance role she toured in New York, Los Angeles and London — stretching short catalogs into full shows by creatively looping material.

Early live performances helped her cultivate a loyal, exuberant fanbase attracted to her charisma and party-ready sound. As she refined her identity she reassessed what pop could be after hearing Charli XCX’s Brat, realizing a pop star could very much emerge from dance music and that genre boundaries were porous.

For her latest project, Inji partnered with producers and writers including Zone, Vatican and Alex Chapman — the latter fresh from work on Troye Sivan’s 2023 hit “Rush.” Those sessions culminated in Superlame, a 12-track mixtape released October 24, 2025 via AWAL Recordings. The record features three previously released singles that together have amassed millions of streams on major platforms and pairs sharp, club-ready production with playful, candid lyrics about nights out, hookups and the emotional hangovers that follow.

Inji calls the release a mixtape intentionally: she sees it as an exciting, unpolished chapter that sets the stage for an even stronger debut album. She’s measured about rapid fame, reflecting that earlier disappointments may have been a blessing — they offered time to grow into the scale of success she hopes to reach.

This year her live résumé expanded to festivals including Lollapalooza in Berlin and Paris, Osheaga and Outside Lands. She studies performance footage like an athlete, pinpointing where to improve vocally, in her movement and in stagecraft so that when the bigger bills arrive — Coachella among them — she’s ready.

Beyond technical skill, Inji is intent on foregrounding her personality. She believes dance music can support vivid pop storytelling and aims to craft lyrics that surprise, provoke laughter or gasp-worthy moments so listeners want to know who’s behind the voice.

Her family back in Turkey keeps her grounded with deadlines and candid feedback — a reminder of the practical stakes behind artistic ambition. As she works toward larger stages and better songs, she’s confident: six months, she jokes, and her mother will be impressed.