After making a massive statement with “Rather Be Single”, South East London’s KABBA marks a daring new chapter in her illustrious career with Note to Self – a five-track snapshot of heartbreak, love, pain and strength, released independently.
Despite the feel-good sound of the EP, the stories in KABBA’s lyrics reflect on an intense period of hardship. Sonically, Note to Self hears KABBA blending her version of R&B and Pop for “tunes that highlight the process of self-discovery”.
Kicking off the EP is the lead single “Rather Be Single”; earning an abundance of international acclaim from top tastemakers like Clash, Wonderland, GRM Daily, Mixtape Madness, and PopJustice. The bold yet empowering lyrics paired with a glamorous music video explore KABBA’s journey to find her identity, a process she was able to share with her best friend MNEK who produced and co-wrote the project.
KABBA muses on whether her perception of love has been altered by the music she listens to, a concept she teamed up with Dionne Bromfield to explore on “R&B Dreams”, their bright, self-aware antithesis to heartbreak. “[I was] thinking about why I view love the in the way I do. I was like, ah, I wonder if I have internalised some of these songs and lyrics to the point where I now have a rose-tinted view of what love should be or look like”.
And whilst many of the songs on Note to Self see KABBA channelling the more vulnerable reflections of her diary, “Mood” is her moment of celebration. The track sees her give herself a pat on the back for navigating through the highs and lows in both her personal life and career to date over a tough, bouncy beat. “It is my favourite song on the EP and the one that I constantly go back to because it makes me feel so good. I wanted it to be a thing of empowerment for me, and it can be for you too.”
KABBA says about the project: “I needed to write an EP about everything that I've been through and about where I was at right this minute. Note to Self is looking over the other side and moving on.”
Born Aminata Kabba in Sierra Leone to a musical family, she moved to the UK when she was eight. Audiences will instantly recognise KABBA’s distinctive presence via her collaboration “Need U (100%)” with DJ Duke Dumont, the chart-topping track that culminated in a Grammy nomination, and undeniably huge tracks such as “My Love 4 U” with MK, Shift K3Y’s “Entirety” and “White Lies” by M-22: “I think public perception would have been that I make dance music or that I am a feature artist: as much as I love these tracks and they got me to where I am today, I always felt that I had more to show”, says KABBA.
Triumphantly dropping the stage name ‘A*M*E’ in 2019 in a move to be her true authentic self, 2020 saw KABBA finally able to stand proud as the artist she always wanted to be by unveiling her well-received body of work: KABBA. Winning acclaim for the EP from the likes of COMPLEX and HUNGER, KABBA also added chart topping hits like KSI's “Really Love” (featuring Craig David and Digital Farm Animals) and "I Wish" by Joel Corry and Mabel to her envious songwriting catalogue.
Now continuing her journey as an independent artist on a mission to make music “that speaks to people that look like me”, KABBA is operating completely on her own terms for the first time. Note to Self marks a significant chapter in the ongoing career of one of the UK’s most impressive rising talents.
