Photo Credit: Ady Suleiman / YouTube
Ady Suleiman is a British neo-soul artist making headway. Born on July 1, 1992 to a British mother and Tanzanian father, this neo-soul artist uses life experiences to cultivate creatively produced music. His soulful music has skyrocketed him to stardom in the ranks of artists like Chance the Rapper, Lianne Le Havas, and Leon Bridges. He made his introduction to the music scene in 2012.
Listening to Jimi Hendrix and other artists from the sixties, Ady fell in love with music when he was 13-years-old. He started playing the guitar shortly after and by 17, friends and family encouraged Ady to sing. That is when Ady began his musical career. Musical artists like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Lauryn Hill influenced his style of music as Ady strived to connect with listeners. Amy Winehouse became his musical inspiration in the way that she sonically blended genres that he loved.
In April of 2015, Ady released his first EP, This Is My EP. The emotionally packed four songs present a brief glimpse into Ady Suleiman’s artistry. Later that year in September, Ady released What’s the Score. Simon Cowell’s label Syco, under Sony Music, signed Ady Suleiman in 2016. Ady released his second EP, Ady Suleiman on June 24, 2016. Ady left the label after only two years when he realized it wasn’t working for him. The artist grappled with creative expression and connection with his audience. In many instances, he feels the music industry is a propagator of fake or empty concepts.
In 2017, the artist opened up about dealing with mental health issues. Ady realized the amount of stress he was under after having a severe panic attack before a TV interview. He began working with a London based charity called CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). Ady has since become another male voice raising awareness about mental and emotional health.
Ady’s first full-length album Memories was released on March 9, 2018 under his company Pemba. The 12-tracks blend the genres of jazz, R&B, and neo-soul together to create a harmonizing body of work. The record was done over several years and part of the reason for it taking so long was because he had to tie loose ends with his record label.
Songs like “Need Somebody To Love,” “So Lost,” and “Not Giving Up” express Ady’s deep thoughts on love and commitment. Whenever Ady thought of an idea, he created a voice memo to remember it. Because he did this, he created a large library of thoughts that he could pursue later. While some were used as interludes in Memories, the voice memos became the core of Ady’s next experimental project.
Ady’s latest mixtape, Thoughts & Moments Vol. 1 was released on April 5, 2019. These eight songs are separated into two sides. In the songs, Ady experiments with electric instrumentation and lyricism. The mixtape covers multiple emotions he experiences with the people that he cares about. A track like “Been Thru” provides an explanation of the length Ady is willing to go to get to know about someone. “Best Friends” follows up the train of thought by expressing that as long as he’s with someone he cares about, it doesn’t matter what they do.
Due to the amount of work that Ady has amassed, and the unique sound that he has shared with fans, he can take his music is multiple directions. Tracks from Ady Suleiman feel honest and vulnerable. There’s a sense of deep thought and energy put into everything that he’s released so far. While becoming a prominent name in the music industry in England, Ady Suleiman is simultaneously growing his international fan base. Ady’s authentic lyrics, heartfelt emotion, and smooth production will hopefully give him a solid creative platform to continue to explore the world of music.
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