Brixton singer Tanika today releases her brand new EP Birthdays In Jamaica, which sees her step away from her R&B roots and instead move closer toward her Jamaican heritage. The first release from the EP is Sweetest Thing, a Leka Beats produced piece of sweet, street soul which celebrates a sense of self-discovery that Tanika experienced earlier this year while visiting family in Kingston.
“I went to Jamaica for my birthday and none of my cousins resonated with my music, but when I sat down there to write, the JA vibe came naturally and they were loving it,” Tanika explains to i-D. “I discovered the vibe that I always had but that I didn’t feel was able to breathe in the UK. That’s how the EP Birthdays in Jamaica came about.” Sweetest Thing is the first track from the release and features east London MC Big Tobz. “He is the one; Big Tobz has got the real sauce,” laughs Tanika. “What my family think of my music and the message I’m going to leave behind is important to me. Obviously conceptually this track is about love, but it’s also about being able to show my blackness through my records. I think that’s something that’s going to make my family smile.”
Start your Friday night right and press play on Sweetest Thing.
Birthdays in Jamaica is out now.
Credits
Text Hattie Collins