(December 198, 2023) Like many artists, singer and songwriter Elle B has added the title of record label executive to her resume. The big picture rationale for doing so is similar to that of other artists and includes both a desire to ensure that the music she makes conforms to her artistic vision, and a guarantee that she maximizes financial control over the music she releases.
If you drill down on Elle B’s vision for founding Audaci Records, her mission is more audacious. Through Audaci Records, Elle B seeks to create a label that will be a haven for artists from the African diaspora who seek to fuse their voices and genres such as R&B with sounds emerging from the continent. “It’s about participation in this new global moment in Black music. Not mere emulation.”
(December 198, 2023) Like many artists, singer and songwriter Elle B has added the title of record label executive to her resume. The big picture rationale for doing so is similar to that of other artists and includes both a desire to ensure that the music she makes conforms to her artistic vision, and a guarantee that she maximizes financial control over the music she releases.
If you drill down on Elle B’s vision for founding Audaci Records, her mission is more audacious. Through Audaci Records, Elle B seeks to create a label that will be a haven for artists from the African diaspora who seek to fuse their voices and genres such as R&B with sounds emerging from the continent. “It’s about participation in this new global moment in Black music. Not mere emulation.”
“Hold Me Up,” Elle B’s latest song fuses R&B with the afrobeat sound that has been taking the music world by storm. Vocally, Elle B showcases her R&B chops on a song that finds her imploring her lover to be there for her without smothering her. “Hold Me Up” is an acknowledgement of interdependence as well as an appeal for a level of independence.
Her voice soars over an arrangement that sports that trademark afrobeat percussive syncopation. Elle B’s collaborator on this cut is Iajhi Hampden, who has also been deeply influenced by music from the African continent. Check out Elle B. and Iajhi Hampden on “Hold Me Up” here.
By Howard Dukes