2. Newcomer Alert! Berhana’s The Bees Knees
So we’re perusing SoundCloud as we often do and stumble across, by way of the autoplay feature, an upbeat, playful but uber-soulful track called Janet. It’s playful because it uses the Janet Hubert (original Aunt Viv) / Fresh Prince of Bel Air controversy that flared up again during the ‘Oscar So White’ conversations back in February to voice his fears of being blown off by a previous lover; “Wonder if you’ll dismiss me, maybe light-skin Aunt Viv me”.
Janet has now collected over 230,000 plays on SoundCloud and Berhana is starting to pick up a bit of buzz. Berhana is the kind of artist we get really excited about. He does real Soul music, but feels fresh, millenial-relevant, inspired and cleverly-creative. He’s gathered a lot of Frank Ocean comparisons – high praise for any up and comer – and, while we don’t like dwelling on artist comparisons, the parallels are a good indication of the level of talent Berhana is already showcasing at such an early stage in his career. Berhana is one for fans of smooth Soul music served with even smoother crisp vocals.
In July, he released a self-titled 6-track EP, featuring more of the summery, soulful brilliance of Janet. Faves are Janet, Wade Green, Grey Luh and 80s. Listen below and follow Berhana on Twitter to keep up on the latest with him.
