Twenty-one year old Tanzanian-American singer, songwriter, and guitarist kezia (she/they) announces her debut EP today. Touching on themes such as navigating life as a biracial woman, living with mental instability and depression, exploring spirituality, and learning to love through giving love, claire is an incredibly exciting first look into the world of kezia. The Bay Area native’s sound is her own, colored by 90s R&B, shaded with American pop, filtered through her Gen Z sensibilities, and inspired by a wide array of influences from My Chemical Romance to Fela Kuti to Papa Wemba to Paramore. claire, out May 28th, will be the debut release from new London imprint NEVER SEVEN. 

To celebrate the announcement of claire, kezia shares a new single “SUNSHINE” today. The track follows her previously released track “megan fox”. kezia explains: “When I wrote ‘SUNSHINE,’ I thought the ‘you’ was my boyfriend at the time. But when I listen to the ‘you’ now, I know it’s me, my own self. The song’s about how before I learned to be myself, I would be largely absent. I would steamroll over my inconvenient inconsistencies; I would replace ego with shadow and hope with fear.”

(Photo credit: Bryana Law)