After a journey of self discovery, Mancunian artist IAMDDB is back with music that embodies her rejuvenation. “The current era is giving confidence, elegance and self love,” the R&B singer tells Schön! following the release of her healing track Where Did The Love Go?. The drum and bass anthem is an evolution of what fans know and love from the Angolan-Portuguese singer who has always pushed the boundaries of R&B. Listening to IAMDDB’s new music, spirituality lies at its core. The star explores mature themes of radical self love, transitioning between masculine and feminine energy and letting go of what no longer serves you. New and old fans will be pleased to hear that IAMDDB’s upcoming project Vol 6 is on the way too. If you’re looking for a sound that’s good for the soul, IAMDDB will not disappoint.
As we’re comfortably in the new year now, how would you describe the current era that you’re in as an artist and as a woman?
The current era that I’m in is my flamboyant, colourful, healthy and expressive era. I feel like this is oozing out of my artistry. I have been gone for quite a while perfecting the energy I wanted to release into the world and now I’m ready to release and it feels fucking fantastic. The current era is giving confidence, elegance and self love.
The production on your new track Where Did The Love Go is amazing. What were some of your references in the studio?
Firstly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to my producers RNDM Beats & Alex naim. I really wanted to honour my roots with this drum and bass song. Lenzman was the first person to introduce me to drum and bass and to give me a chance at experimenting with this genre so to now be releasing a single that is fully drum and bass is a full circle moment for me. I wanted to make a frequency that indulges into self love and self healing and encourages people to really question their intention behind where the real love is.
What motivated you to make the track Where Did The Love Go?
The motivation behind the song was really just life experience and the different emotions I have been through with myself. The moments I have wanted to give my love to others knowing that I needed it for myself and coming to the realisation that the only love that could save me was my own.
The new music video for it is so calming. As the creative director, where was it shot and what story were you trying to tell?
Where Did The Love Go visuals were shot in Brazil: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Floripa to be precise. The story behind this visual was a manifestation of me shedding the last parts of my old self. It was my feminine energy reclaiming IAMDDB and my masculine energy allowing that transition to happen. I had been leading with my masculine energy for so long that my feminine energy was neglected, and now that I am back and I am whole, I am going to lead with my feminine energy because that’s what the world needs more of.
Letting go is one of the hardest things to do. Do you have any tips for those who may need it?
Letting go is hard but letting go is necessary because when you hold onto things that no longer serve you that is self sabotage. Three tips to help you let go would be to stop romanticising things and take them as they are, if ever faced with a decision where you have to pick between yourself and somebody else pick yourself, and to never ignore the red flags. When they show you who they are the first time, believe them.
“The best revenge is to love yourself” is very powerful but easier said than done. When or where do you find that you are most at peace with yourself?
I am most at peace with myself when I am honouring my emotions and when I am honouring my temple. When I put myself first, instead of making space for people that go out of their way to try and manipulate the flower that I am, that’s when I am most at peace because I know that I have protected myself from unnecessary distraction and destruction.
What do you appreciate most when you are alone?
I appreciate silence so much when I am alone. I love my frequency music, I love my food, I absolutely adore my sleep. I really love to sit in my own energy and meditate, journal, play chess, give thanks to the universe for allowing me to live out my dreams every single day and for protecting my peace. My peace is super important to me. Peace is expensive and I have fought for my peace.
Do you have any self care rituals that keep you grounded?
Self-care rituals for me include praying, fasting, reading the Bible, reading spiritual books, sage and incense and many other things like cooking and eating, of course. We love a good face mask. We love a good adventure in nature, and even at times, psychedelics…who said that? LOL.
What sparked your interest in spirituality?
Spirituality was something I was born into although I wasn’t aware of it in my primitive years. Now that I am a maturing young adult my life was the inspiration in becoming such a spiritual being. Understanding the laws of the universe and understanding that there is a higher power that protects divine beings from this dimension we live in made me really respect, not only the spirituality of life, but natural elements, mother Earth and living a life that is filled with truth and love.
Was there a turning point when you realised self love is the most important of all?
After many careless relationships of abuse and low vibrational exchanges, I realised that the person I was searching for in these partners was myself. When I realised that I knew exactly the kind of love I wanted and how I wanted to be loved. I realised I never needed them to begin with. Going on this self discovery journey has been the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I have gotten to know sides of myself that I didn’t even know existed and wouldn’t have been able to unlock had I been entertaining someone outside of myself.
What themes will you be exploring on your upcoming project Vol 6?
Volume six will consist of many different genres from trap music to drum and bass to urban jazz and Afro to mention a few. This will be the first project where I have more than one feature and they will all be male features both from the USA and London.
Lastly, what can fans look forward to from you next in 2023?
2023 my fans can expect two musical projects. Inshallah, they can expect a skincare brand launching and they can also expect a bougie tracksuit line going live 2023.
IAMDDB‘s latest single ‘Where Did The Love Go? is out now.
This online exclusive has been brought to you by
talent. IAMDDB
photography. Liam James
words. Shama Nasinde
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