Thatâs So Raven was just about everyoneâs favorite 2000s Disney Channel show, so itâs no surprise that Disney ultimately decided to create a revival. Ravenâs Home, which follows Ravenâs and Chelseaâs lives as single mothers in Chicago, made its debut in 2017. Season 2 of the series premiered on June 25, and all the showâs best characters were back in action, including breakout star Sky Katz, who plays neighbor Tess.
At just 13 years old, Sky Katz is an actress, rapper and philanthropist, and sheâs sure to have even bigger things coming in the future. Sky chatted with Her Campus about being a part of the Ravenâs Home cast, her rap music influences, her new single âFall Backâ and more.
Her Campus: Season 2 of Ravenâs Home came out this week! Iâm sure that was very exciting for you. I know this is the second season, so youâve already been there for a bit, but whatâs it like working on the spinoff of such an iconic show that was so big in some peopleâs childhoods?
Sky Katz: When I found out I got it, I was freaking out, but I wouldâve still been freaking out if it was any other show. But since itâs the spinoff of such an iconic show, I was even that much more excited and grateful that I got it, so itâs just crazy. Sometimes Iâll just be sitting and Iâll be like, âIâm on a Disney show! This is crazy!â If you told me this years ago, I would never believe you. Itâs crazy. Iâve always wanted this, but I donât know. Being here is different than thinking about it, which is really cool.
HC: Did you watch the original?
SK: I did, because I have older siblings [that are from] that generation.
HC: Working with big stars like Raven Symoneâsheâs a household name, everybody knows herâmust be insane, but it does seem like everyone in the cast gets along really well. Do you have any favorite memories from set, or from hanging out with the cast?
SK: We just found a basketball court on the location where we filmâa basketball hoop, not necessarily a court. Now the whole cast goes to play there, and itâs so much fun.
HC: Thatâs so fun! And itâs great that while youâre working, you also get to have fun at the same time, because most jobs are not like that.
SK: Yeah, and working is fun, honestly! Mostly with the people in the cast.
HC: Beyond acting, youâre also a rapper. You put out your own music, you were on Americaâs Got Talent and youâve been rapping from a very young age. Youâre still very young, but an even younger age.
SK: Yes, a whole lifetime ago! [laughs]
HC: I wanted to ask you about that, because most kids, when theyâre young and they want to try a new art form, they usually go to singing or a more traditional type of musicâso what drew you to rap and hip-hop, specifically?
SK: My parents are from Queens, and that was their environment. So they always played me rap music, and everyone in my family loves rap music. I loved it, and they loved itâbut I loved it. It just had that effect on me. I wanted to be a rapper. Thereâs things you can express through music [that] I feel like you canât express through talking, I donât know. It has an effect on me and it gives me a feeling that not a lot of other things do.
HC: And in terms of the music that you grew up with, who would you say are your biggest influences?
SK: Well, Nicki Minaj is part of the reason that I started rapping. I love her attitude, I love her sass, I love how bold she is.
HC: Is there anyone you would like to work with in the future, if you could do a collaboration?
SK: Selena Gomez.
HC: I think that could happen! I mean, sheâs a Disney star, too, originally.
SK: I guess so! I guess, if I could compare myself to anyone, I would want to be Selena Gomez. Not with the genre of music, but the way she came off of Disney and blasted off.
HC: Yeah, I think sheâs a really great role model for that because she really came into her own and made it her own thing.
SK: Exactly.
HC: In terms of being a Disney star, tooâpeople always talk about Disney stars because it can be so difficult to start a career and be in the public eye all the time, when youâre so youngâis there anything that you do to stay grounded? Because I know things can get crazy really easily.
SK: Well, actuallyâself-promo here for a sec, but a song I just recently came out with called âFall Back.â The music video came out: I directed it, for the first time, it was crazy. But itâs really about falling back to reality and staying grounded … no matter where life takes you. So I feel like I spread my messages and words through music.
HC: I think thatâs a great way to do it, because itâs still very productive as well. Another thing that I thought was really great about you is that you have this platform now, you have a level of fame, and you use it for a good cause. Youâre an ambassador for the Sunrise Association.
SK: Honestly, I was honored to have that experience. There was an ambassador there, alsoânot the celebrity ambassador, but the ambassador that went to the camp there. She went to the camp, her and her siblings, and seeing the way Sunrise made them so happy⌠I donât know, I just love seeing people happy and making people happy, and spreading good messages does that.
HC: Can you explain a bit about what the Sunrise Association stands for and what they do?
SK: Sunrise is a summer day camp that allows kids with cancer and their siblings to go to camp with no fee, and itâs the only day camp that does that across the world … so itâs very special and means something to me and all the kids that go there. And the parents as well, I mean, could you imagine?
HC: Yeah, and I think the fact that thereâs no fee is really great because when youâre a cancer patient, obviously, you have to pay for so many things.
SK: Yeah! Thereâs so many fees for kids, obviously. And this really helps. Itâs great because it always cheers them up.
HC: I was looking through your Instagram, and I noticed that you have a really great sense of style. You were talking about the âFall Backâ video, and I know in that you were wearing a bright yellow fur coat.
SK: I was the stylist for that, too! Thank you!
HC: You were the stylist for it, too? Thatâs so great. Iâve seen you wear a purple leather jacket, and all these bright colors and patterns, and I think itâs really cool that youâre not afraid to be bold and go there. Where did you get your sense of style? Whatâs your inspiration for that?
SK: Well, growing upâIâm still growing up, I donât know what Iâm saying. [laughs] I always steal my sisterâs clothes, so sheâs someone whose fashion sense I look up to. I feel like you can tell people apart from their fashion and it says things about them that they donât.
HC: Are there any fashion trends that you love or hate right now?
SK: I honestly love everything! I canât be specific, but everything is special in its own wayâyou know what I mean?
HC: Yeah! I think, like you said, it depends on the person and what they want to say about themselves.
SK: 100 percent!