New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, neo-soul singer and songwriter Noba releases her debut single, "Tell Me," a smooth, sensual love song available on all streaming platforms. Infused with an urban samba essence that evokes iconic
Black female predecessors like Sade and H.E.R., "
Tell Me" marks the South African-born artist's official arrival on the music scene.
"'Tell Me' is a reflection on confusion," says Noba, who wrote the track last summer. "It confronts the lack of clarity in relationships that can leave you second-guessing yourself. It's about wanting to make a love work, and the emotional tug of war that can create."
Noba - who was born Nobantu Lindiwe Msweli - based "
Tell Me" on her own experience, and wrote the lyrics and initial instrumental in roughly 5 weeks. From there, crafting the song marked creative breakthroughs for the artist, who says she "Put down the ideas and created a soundscape" using GarageBand to develop the initial sound.
After multiple temporary partnerships with producers, Noba found her key collaborator in Brooklyn-based pianist and sound engineer
Jesse Fischer. Fischer's experience in working with jazz and world music proved an ideal match for Noba's groove, and the artist says Fischer was "the perfect person for this project."
Noba and Fischer worked on "
Tell Me" together for three months, until the final product was completed earlier this year. Noba, who resides in Queens, says "
Tell Me" is a window into her identity as a passionate emerging talent.
"This release means so much to me because it allows me to finally stand in my artistry," she says. "By listening to this song, people will get to know me for who I say I am."
Captivated by music from an early age, Nobantu Lindiwe Msweli - or Noba - is a singer-songwriter born in Mpumalanga South Africa and raised in Jahannesburg before making her way to the U.S. Boasting a warm, soulful voice with an alluring tone, Noba aspires to create music that's rich and uplifting--about love, social justice, and self-fulfillment. She began piano lessons at age six and sang in church with her mother. She's influenced by jazz, Afro-pop, R&B, and artists like Alicia Keys, Mafikizolo, and Beyonce. In New York, she has performed at venues including Madison
Square Garden, The Bowery Ballroom, and Gold
Sounds Bar.
