UK R&B queen SHAÉ UNIVERSE shares the her timeless new project ‘Love’s Letter’ via The Orchard. A release steeped in R&B nostalgia, the ten track project explores what it would mean for love to send you a letter for every phase of life.
Collaborating with producers from both sides of the Atlantic, the project combines Shaé’s once-in-a-lifetime raw vocal talent with sultry guitar melodies, old-school-flows and modern gritty bounces. Covering romantic love, self-love, lack of love and the role of love in spirituality, ‘Love’s Letter’ is a transformative project crafted to help listeners process their pain.
Love’s Letter opens with inspirational words from Shaé’s mother, taken from one of their real life heart-to-hearts on self love, identity and owning your spirit. The sultry guitar melodies and relaxed groove of ‘Love Self’ set the tone for this intimate, vulnerable sonic journey. Shaé made her much-anticipated COLORS debut last year with radiant ‘Summertime’, a soulful paean to a lost love. Ethereal 00’s R&B cut ‘LOML’ is next, which landed last year to acclaim from CRACK, NME and spins across BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, KISS Fresh and more. Empowering new single ‘Oh, Wait…’ details Shaé finding her inner strength after a betrayal.
Speaking on making ‘Oh, Wait…’, Shaé said – “The unpredictability of each musical section is reflective of how caught off guard I was when I wrote this song. I’d just found out my ex had cheated on me and I was still in absolute shock. This song is extra dear to my heart because at the time I didn’t speak to anyone about it immediately, but Ari Pensmith (songwriter) and Akeel Henry (producer) created such a safe space in the studio that day, I felt comfortable enough to outwardly express my feelings on the situation for the first time.”
Recent single ‘What’s Luv?’ is a sun-dappled tune shot through with breezy guitar licks and Shaé’s ethereal vocal runs, as she muses on the importance of self-love. Bittersweet breakup tune ‘Passenger Princess’ is next, which landed last year with a video featuring frequent collaborator Kojey Radical and drew heat from the likes of NME, Vibe, Wonderland, COLORS, GUAP, DMY, Complex UK, TRENCH and DJ Mag. Stripped-back interlude ‘Warzone’, meets vulnerable spoken word verses with Shaé’s honeyed runs as she deconstructs the turbulence at the end of a relationship. Imbued with honesty and the importance of understanding your own self worth, ‘No Capacity’ (produced by Sean Hamilton, Darkchild’s protegee) combines nostalgic dreamy essences with gritty bounces.
Feel-good anthem ‘More Than Enough’ features the only guest on the project – legendary US R&B star Lalah Hathaway, a true testament to just how far this rising talent has come with the single opening with an intimate voicenote as the two singers arrange to meet in LA. Closing out the project is the cinematic, soulful goodbye ‘Sincerely,’ which layers Shaé’s vocals together with final words from Shaé as she says – “nothing in life is linear / it’s ok to be ok and then not be ok and then be ok again / it’s ok to meet yourself where you’re at everyday / and sometimes you’re going to have to learn that lesson again / and again / before you overcome it / but the most important thing is that you overcome”.
Since bursting onto the scene in 2017, British-Nigerian artist Shaé Universe has made waves in the UK, West Africa and beyond making music that engages, enchants and inspires. Her mother a gospel singer and her father a pastor, Shaé weaves her spirituality, faith and sensuality through her work. Shaé is an artist who can both sing and rap, has been co-signed by the likes of Lalah Hathaway, Jorja Smith and Little Simz and has remained entirely independent – navigating the industry on her own terms.
Now in her new era following performances at legendary festivals around the world including Glastonbury, SXSW, Roskilde, De Roma Festival, The Great Escape and a lead feature on Phabo’s latest album ‘Don’t Get Too Cozy’, Shaé has truly taken her music to a global stage. With fans at the likes of British Vogue, NME, VICE, Rolling Stone, BET, Billboard, Highsnobiety, Complex, Wonderland and NOTION, and recently announced as a Pandora Artist to Watch for 2024 – this year has Sha Universe written all over it. Check out ‘Love’s Letter’ below…
Must Listens: Self Love; LOML; Oh Wait…;More Than Enough,
