Beckah Amani links up with Ezra Collective's Femi Koleoso on "Sober"

Beckah’s yearning for social change and avenues for expression are backed by the sampling of an old Burundian folk song that was once used to welcome people and told stories of unity and caring for one another.

“For many of us, there's a conscious understanding that it’s not business as usual in the world at the moment. So many people from across the world and all walks of life are hurting and it’s hard (as it should be) to go on like everything is normal," Amani explains. "I couldn’t imagine returning to releasing music any other way than to live up to one of my musical heroes, Nina Simone's words - “You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.” I wanted the first song people hear from me to be a message of hope to those who feel unseen and unheard, and share a message that inspires reflection, conversation and action to the rest of us who are in a place of influence, however big or small."

"The lyrics of the song were first born from a place of frustration. Frustration there’s a repeated cycle where those who need our attention go unnoticed and stories which affect all of us go unheard. I was tired of realising how I quickly forget these stories with the cycle of the news and how quick as a society we’ve learned to move on," she continues. "These thoughts weighed heavy on me especially as I reflected on my own family history, stories I grew up hearing from my parents' upbringing and my own formative years in a refugee camp in Tanzania

My grandma passed on these words of wisdom; “People exist because we talk about them, that’s how we remember and acknowledge their existence.” Reflecting on her words gave me a deeper reason to translate my frustration, and that of so many of us, into a song that hopefully encourages us all to keep talking about those who might feel like they are being forgotten.”