Talent doesn’t always run in the family’s blood. However, it seems like it does for Yazmine MB, a London-based singer who’s recently released her debut EP, Healer. Born to a jazz singer mother who introduced her from an early age to icons like Eryka Baduh, Amy Winehouse or Lauryn Hill, she was also surrounded by other artists, attended concerts, and saw the ins and outs of live music. Hence, she started to learn the guitar, the flute, the piano, and choir. And now, recently graduated from prestigious BRIT School, she’s been able to publish a five-track EP.
What’s even more impressive is that she wrote these songs between the ages of fifteen to eighteen. During those years, we feel more intensely than usual as we transition into adulthood with everything it entails – insecurities, fears, excitement, hope, etc. With music ingrained in her DNA, Yazmine has been writing for some time now, but after graduating, gaining professional experience, and meeting the write collaborators, she’s crafted a sound blending sound, jazz, and R&B that aims to heal those who listen to it. In her own words, “This EP is like my band-aid. I listen to it every time I need a pick-me-up. The track list is ordered to show the healing process - that it’s not linear. You get a bit better, you pick yourself up, and then maybe for a while, you dip again, and that’s ok. You’re human.”
The EP opens with Done My Time, arguably the strongest song in the record. Inspired by TV series Orange Is the New Black, Yazmine speaks of relationships she hasn’t had yet. But very maturely, she uses the prison metaphor to portray those relationships that make you feel confined and like there’s no place to go. Arranged and co-produced by Mike Collins, it features a full orchestra, saxophone, trumpet, violin, and a lively jazz ensemble. Speaking further of the song, the artist explains: “Everyones heard ‘I’m done with dating’ but ‘done my time’? Not so much. I wanted jazz and drama so before I’d written the chorus I envisioned a big brass section and dancers with top hats and tap shoes. I wrote the lyrics and vocal melody first and then sat at my laptop with the most basic Logic Pro instruments and composed the whole instrumental.” And thanks to students at Guildhall and a violin player he came across in the street by chance, she was able to produce the complete song we can listen to today.
In What’s It Like to Do Nothin’, she speaks about a feeling that most uf us feel (but when we’re older): the internal debate between being productive and just laying on the sofa. The inner fight between procrastination, guilt, and hard work is always there. “What is wrong with me? / Why I gotta be occupied all the time / Maybe I’m dizzy, should I sit myself down with some wine? / But I gotta make my dime, I gotta make my money yeah,” she says. Truly relatable. Ironically, Interlude is the longest song in the EP. That’s the more free flowing, jazz-infused song in the record, and is a testament to Yazmine’s masterful voice.
I’ll Show You is about proving you’re right while also trying to convince the person you like to stay with you. “See I finished my song (hey) you got it all wrong / It’s what I wanna do and I’m strong / I’ll get it done, and when I won / I’ll show you,” she sings with a self-assured tone. And then we get to Healer, the track that gives the EP its title. It starts very soulfully, setting the tone for what’s to come. It’s probably the most intimate, with Yazmina’s soft voice caressing one’s hearing when she sings “I choose my battles carefully / And sometimes I gotta let it be.”