Kwabs
Popular R&B Artist
Raised on a combination of soul, electronica, rock, classical and jazz, Kwabs is one of the most exciting R&B artists to emerge from the UK in recent years. Often hailed as the new Seal, his voice is a powerful, booming baritone; appreciated even more in a live performance.
His music is unique, featuring his beautiful vocals placed in an electronic context to make explicit the soulful/synthetic contrast dubbed as “Synth&B”. After the successful release of his most recent album Love + War, It’s clear now that Kwabs is no longer just one to watch – he’s a fully-fledged, soaring talent ready to sing his one-of-a-kind story.
BIOGRAPHY
Born and raised in Bermondsey, Kwabena Adjepong’s musical education was a wide-ranging one. He studied blues at school and listened to everything from classic soul – Aretha Franklin, Donnie Hathaway – to alternative rock (The Strokes) and innovative electro-pop (Hot Chip). But it was the rhythms and improvisational scope of jazz that Kwabs gravitated towards.
Remarkably for a kid from a South London comprehensive whose childhood had been spent in and out of state care, he won a place at the Royal Academy of Music, one of the most prestigious hothouses of young musical talent in the world.
He made it to the longlist of BBC’s Sound of 2015, praising his sweet soulfoul vocals, atmospheric synths and gigantic hooks. “He possesses a voice to be reckoned with, a deep baritone vocal that rumbles and reverberates, an instrument of both power and vulnerability.”
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