"Bad 4 Me": A Conversation with EB3N

Interview by Imani Dominique Busby

Photography by woes.jpg (@woes.jpg) and Jordan Bailey (@jxrdnbailey)

At Some Kinda R&B Festival, we caught up with EB3N, an emerging artist from Edmonton, Alberta. From teaching himself piano during quarantine to building a growing presence on stage, he’s quickly carving out his space in the R&B scene. Fresh off his festival performance, he opened up about his journey into music, the vibrant Edmonton scene he represents, and what’s next on the horizon.

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your introduction to making music?

I was born in the Caribbean, but in a Ghanaian household, both my parents are from Ghana. So I was always surrounded by soca, highlife, all different cultures. You know what I mean? It just naturally made me want to get into music a little bit, but I didn't take too much interest until I started playing soccer and stuff like that.

I listened to music before my games to get up, and I was like, “Yo, I actually fuck with R&B a lot.” I started singing more, playing piano more. And my uncle actually told me a minute ago, “Yo, you should try doing music because you have a really good sound or talent for rhythm and stuff like that.” I was always down to when I was a kid, always humming along and shit like that. So that's how my love for music came about. I taught myself the piano over quarantine. And then, yeah, I've just been locked in ever since.

That's really incredible. And you just played a phenomenal set. How do you feel about playing Some Kinda R&B Festival today?

This is a blessing. I'm really, really excited that I was able to do this, and I'm excited for the next one. Hopefully, I get on the next one as well, and more and more to come. I just want to keep on getting in front of people, performing, and just keep on improving as well. It's just the beginning. I feel like I'm going to get so much better throughout my career and stuff like that. This was amazing, but I want to keep on leveling up and doing even better things, improving my vocals, and going even crazier.

You also mentioned you're from Alberta. So what's the music scene like there and how has it been making the transition over here?

The music scene is crazy. We have three Edmonton artists on this lineup this year: Avenoir, FRVRFRIDAY, and myself. And more to come. We have so much talent in Edmonton. It's one of those sleeper cities. People are like, “Oh, what's going on there?” But we have a lot of talent musically. It’s just about the infrastructure, which will come with time. As more people develop and more artists come out, the world will have no choice. No cap. Absolutely.

What message do you hope to share through your music?

Me, I like to write just about things I go through day to day, make people feel not alone, and make people relate to me. I feel like I'm a relatable person because I wear my heart on my sleeve. Whether it's girls, just real-life stuff, just growing up, friends, family, just weird situations I've been through. I'll share that stuff in the music. The mic is the one thing I won't lie to.

That's really important. That's very vulnerable and brave as well. That's really cool. Then any upcoming projects, videos, anything to look out for?

Right now, it hasn't been announced yet, but I'm going to be doing a show with Ethan Lo in September in Edmonton in my city. So that's going to be a vibe. And then I'm dropping a couple of songs I performed in this setlist. So I'm going to be dropping probably next month.

Incredible. Well, thank you so much for speaking with me.

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