Words by The Urban Journal
This week, we profile the music of Mereba, the Ethiopian-American singer on Michelle Obama’s playlist – and soon, yours too.
Mereba’s voice is golden, with vocals few can match. Plus, she comes with Michelle Obama’s stamp of approval – that counts for something, right? Her look and sound might remind you of legends past. Lauryn Hill, in particular – and for good reason, too. She makes no secret of the influence Hill and others like Stevie Wonder have had on her work. What you get with Mereba, then, is memories of old sounds infused with modern-day melodies – making her work the best of music and culture. From her profile – and her music – temptation arises to place her in a box, to feel the need to fit her into a genre. Don’t.
Her’s isn’t a simple story of one sound, genre and body of work. As a child, she grew up between Pennsylvania and North Carolina. That, she says, along with influences from Ethiopia and other places, allows her music to be much richer that it otherwise might’ve been. In her latest album, The Jungle is the Only Way Out, that richness is on show for all to see (or hear?). Her influences, mind you, don’t end with musicians. She counts Nelson Mandela and Miriam Makeba amongst her inspirations, adding to her unique perspective as an artist. In The Jungle is the Only Way Out, those inspirations and influences are more-than evident: sounds from across the world, melodies from different genres and a voice so obviously unique take centre stage.
Amplifying the Black voices of business, style and culture.
When listening to the album itself, you might get the impression that its calculated sound was planned in advance, with every note carefully curated. That much is to her credit. No intentional planning, just vibes – and pretty good vibes, too. “Nothing about this album was intentional. Each song was born out of what was happening in my life at the time. ‘Heatwave’ was written after Ferguson and the death of Mike Brown by the police. ‘Get Free’ came out of struggling for money — I was dead broke, working all these jobs, and I couldn’t catch a break. I was thinking about our relationship to capitalism and how living check to check makes it impossible to find what’s making you feel free. It all comes from natural questions I’m asking at the time,” she said in an interview with Sheshreds.
With The Jungle is the Only Way Out, Mereba is going back to her roots whilst fixing her eyes on the future. Guitar strapped, charisma abound and talent unmatched: she’s an artist charting her own course.
Check out the other artists in our Discover Weekly series.