Alemeda: the alt-pop maverick putting East Africa on the map

Each week in Breakout, we talk to the emerging stars blowing up right now – whether it be a huge viral moment, killer new track or an eye-popping video – these are the rising artists certain to dominate the near future

It’s never too late to join Alemeda on her mission to disrupt the pop-rock world with her raw and emotive storytelling. Her long-awaited debut EP ‘Fk It’, which dropped last month, is a “sonic diary” that finds her exploring who she is musically and personally over pop, rock and even drum ’n’ bass beats. In the process, the Ethiopian-Sudanese singer-songwriter hopes to redefine what it means to be a Black woman in alternative music.

She finds herself representing not only a new wave of Black women in alt-pop – alongside the likes of Rachel Chinouriri and Hemlocke Springs – but also has the whole of Ethiopia on her back. “People text me like, ‘Oh my god, you’re gonna be our pop star!’ and that’s a lot of pressure, but I’m here for it,” Alemeda tells NME over a Zoom call from her California home.

The 24-year-old has really had to fight for her spot. Her mother is a devout Muslim who banned all forms of music from being played at home – even TV theme songs. Despite this, Alemeda would secretly get her musical fix by tuning into pop radio stations on an AM/FM clock radio and watching culture-defining Disney Channel originals like High School Musical, Hannah Montana and Camp Rock. Alemeda’s dreams of pop stardom frightened her mother, who told her daughter she’d “go to hell” if she continued to pursue it. In the end, Alemeda was 17 when she was kicked out and her mum moved to Africa, forcing her to figure out her music career alone.

After two years of hustling, she found some unlikely saviours: Top Dawg Entertainment. She signed to the superstar-churning label back in 2020, loving the way that they championed dark-skinned people, especially Black women like signees SZA and Doechii. But even this milestone was a struggle for Alemeda as her style wasn’t an instant match with the hip-hop and R&B musical intel TDE had on hand.

Already proving her virality on TikTok with ‘Don’t Call Me’ and ‘Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows’ – tracks which showcase her vivid tales of heartbreak – Alemeda is intent on blazing a path for Black Muslim women in pop-rock music, no matter how long it takes.

Why did you sign to TDE knowing the legacy they have within hip-hop and R&B?

“I was going through a rough patch in my life. When I was 17, [my mother] kicked me out, changed the locks on the doors, and then moved to Africa with the whole family.

“When they reached out to me, I was like: ‘oh, you guys have SZA, that’s fire! You guys respect and represent Black women.’ I think that’s what it was; the fact that everybody was a dark-skinned person and was being fully appreciated. They don’t control anything when it comes to [music] and just let me take the reins.”

How was your developmental period under TDE, and how did it lead to you developing your pop-rock sound?

“It was a very lonely process because I used to be an extrovert [but] I think music turned me into an introvert. I didn’t go to studio sessions full of six people. I just locked in because that’s what I needed. It was just me figuring out my sound, and they only had R&B or hip-hop and rap producers. It took me two years to even venture out of their network and find drummers, guitar players and actual musicians.

“One day, [a producer] was like, ‘Let’s make a list of songs that you grew up on and dissect them.’ It was all alt-pop [and] Disney Channel music, and I was like, ‘Why are we forcing the whole R&B shit?’ When I tell you, I was not able to make one successful R&B song, it was so hard… whoever was writing those songs on Hannah Montana was in their bag!”

Have any of your TDE labelmates taken you under their wings? 

“Doechii came after me. She helped me a lot with confidence. She would tell me things, give me tips and shit. When ‘Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows’ was being written, she helped me [find] the confidence to even go out there and push it.”

How is it like being a Black Muslim woman navigating pop-rock?

“I’m Ethiopian and my dad is Sudanese. There are no Ethiopian women who are in any way mainstream. There are no Sudanese women who are mainstream. It’s crazy that I get a lot of text messages or DMs from people who are Ethiopian or Sudanese and they’re like, ‘Oh my god. You’re gonna be our pop star!’

“There’s a lot of Black women like Rachel Chinouriri and Hemlocke Springs who are killing it. Before, pop-rock was such a white-dominated space. It looked like a club you cannot get into because they are so quick to put Black people in the R&B space, even if you make alternative [music].”

“Music is a therapeutic thing: I get to say my feelings, let it out, and then move past it”

You said you grew up listening to no music at all… 

“A lot of Muslim parents don’t like to play music, period, and my mom was definitely more on the extreme side. Even Ethiopian music was awesome, but the only time I would hear it was at a wedding or some sort of celebration.”

What was it like when you discovered music?

“I was addicted. I discovered music at six or seven on the home clock radio where you could switch stations between AM and FM. I knew what radio stations played good music because my stepdad would play it in the car and when nobody was home I’d listen.

“When I started going to high school, kids had iPods and [would ask], ‘Have you heard this song by this person?’ and play it on the computer. That was the only way I could because, if my mom was home, you couldn’t even play a theme song from a show. You had to mute the TV.”

Was music a form of escape or rebellion for you?

“Now, music is more of a therapeutic thing. I get to say my feelings, let it out, and then move past it. When I used to put out covers, my mum would have interventions with me and say, ‘Please don’t do it. You’re going to hell.’ Bro, that was so dramatic. There was a point where I lost respect for her back when I was 17, 18 and had to live my own life. I didn’t think it was going to go well, but there was definitely spite.”

What is it like navigating the music world whilst being a Muslim?

“It’s very contradicting. My personal life is more aligned with my religion. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink – I’m not a rock star in real life. I’m really a boring grandma. I just have my two cats [Cinnamon and Truffles]. I feel like if you grow up in a religious house, you have that guilt. I’m trying to balance it out.”

You finally released your label debut, ‘Fk It’ – what do you think about the response?

“The reception I got has been amazing. I was very anxious at first because TDE fans always expect some quality production, quality lyrics, real storytelling. I had a fear they might think my music was too pop. I definitely had imposter syndrome like crazy and it’s slightly going away [because] I’m starting to feel like an artist. Before, it felt like a game.”

You have a raw emotive way of putting things…

“I’m very dramatic, feel things very deeply and very impulsive so I write how I speak. Most of my lyrics are just straight from my diary. A lot of people try to dumb down their emotions and pretend issues don’t affect them, but shit be affecting people and it be affecting me like crazy.”

Your debut single ‘Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows’ and ‘Post Nut Clarity’ are drum ’n’ bass songs and not your usual pop-rock songs…

“When I was 12, I really locked into the UK’s whole music scene like Ella Eyre: she has a lot of drum ’n’ bass in her music even though it doesn’t sound like it.

“But [when I made ‘Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows’] I had just discovered PinkPantheress. She truly is one of a kind and [her music] in 2020 and 2021 was amazing. I didn’t want to be too late to hop on this cool-ass sound. Drum ’n’ bass is almost like a variation of pop or rock if you think about it, but it wasn’t my sound. I don’t see myself making any more.”

What’s next for you? What’s your mission?

“Just dropping more projects, hopefully touring. I’m doing a small little mini tour just in New York and LA, but I want to hop on someone’s tour – Beabadoobee would be so amazing. Obviously, Paramore and SZA too.

“[I] definitely [want to be] the representation especially for the ethnicities that I am. In general, [I want to] give people the confidence to do [pop-rock music].”

‘FK IT’ is out now on September 20 via Top Dawg Entertainment

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