R&B singer-songwriter Emanuel blew me away with his first single, “Need You,” as the ingredients in this song completely captivated me and took me along a relaxing journey. And it is with pure joy and utter excitement that I share Emanuel’s new release “Black Woman,” which honors and recognizes the intrepid existence of a being that is often overlooked in society as a whole.
The video beautifully captures the inspiration for Emanuel’s heartfelt words in “Black Woman” as it opens with the recorded voice of Nikki Giovanni and her striking words from almost 50 years ago during a 1971 conversation with fellow author, poet, and activist James Baldwin.
“‘Black Woman’ is about reconciliation and also a celebration—celebrating how strong our women are and how they hold us up,” says Emanuel. “People might think this song was written as a response to the moment right now, but it’s saying the exact same thing it was saying when it was written a year ago—‘I see you, I recognize you, I appreciate you, and I love you.'”
Alongside the single’s release, Emanuel launched the “Black Woman” portrait series, creatively directed by Ashley McKenzie-Barnes, that put five influential Black women from Toronto’s artistic and advocacy communities in the spotlight. The I AM BLACK WOMXN portrait series towered over Toronto’s Yonge & Dundas Square for the full first week of release on a bespoke Spotify billboard, the first-ever of its kind. View the portrait series and vignettes HERE.
ABOUT EMANUEL
Since releasing his first single earlier this year, Emanuel has achieved international acclaim for his undeniable voice and introspective, emotionally charged music. Released at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic Emanuel’s debut single “Need You” quickly became a quarantine anthem as people from over 20 countries submitted personal videos and photos for the collaborative music video curated by Golden Globe-winning actor, musician, producer and Executive Producer of Emanuel’s debut album Idris Elba OBE.
Before even releasing his debut EP Session 1: Disillusion (shared with the world on Juneteenth), Emanuel was named Apple Music’s New Artist of the Week, one of Amazon Music’s Artists to Watch, a Soundcloud Featured Artist, and a Spotify “On The Radar” Artist. This Summer, Emanuel became the first ever artist to be chosen for Spotify’s On The Radar program in Canada and was also named the Beats Artist of the Week. With over 10.5 million streams, Emanuel’s meaningful, expressive music has resonated with people around the world in a time he describes as a “renaissance of beautiful black art in the world.”
