Gently moving, “Foreign” is the kind of soul-stirring tune, that you want to listen to with your eyes closed and your heart open.
Toronto-based artist Jozem with roots in Kenya and Rwanda shares an enchanting single that blends alternative r&b, future soul and lofi in a truly elegant manner. I was blown away by the subtleness of the composition and how delicate both the production and the vocals are. Jozem crafted this beauty all by himself, letting us into his world where vulnerability is a strength. He explains:
In life, with all its noise and distractions, it is so easy to just keep going with the flow that you lose sight of your purpose and forget how you got to where you are. “Foreign” is about being lost and getting to a juncture where you are forced to face yourself and the person you have become. You start questioning who you are and question the relationships with the people who you love. Foreign is about bravely sitting in those moments of uncertainty, letting yourself question the things that you’ve been conditioned into believing about yourself, who you should be, and how you present to the world. For me, it is often in my sleepless nights where I am alone and cannot hide where I have these conversations with myself and am forced to reckon with the demons that haunt me. Ultimately it is in these moments where you really can face your truth and strive to align your being and your actions with who you truly are and want to be.
The track is part of his album it came to me in a dream, which you can explore below: